Jeff Sessions Declares That Releasing FISA Information Would Harm National Security

Case 1:16-cr-00398-PAE Document 63 Filed 07/24/17 Page 1 of 3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DECLARATION AND CLAIM OF PRIVILEGE - V. - I 6 Cr. 398 (PAE) SAJMIR ALIMEHMETI, a/k/a "Abdul Qawaii," Defendant. DECLARATION AND CLAIM OF PRIVILEGE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED ST A TES I, Jeff Sessions, hereby declare the following: I. I am the Attorney General of the United States of America and head of the United States Department of Justice, an Executive Department of the United States. I have official custody of and control over the files and records of the United States Department of Justice. The matters stated herein are based on my knowledge, on consideration of information available to me in my official capacity as Attorney General, on information provided by agencies in the U.S. Intelligence Community, on discussions that I have had with other Justice Department officials, and on conclusions I have reached after my review of this information. 2. Under the authority of 50 U.S.C. §§ 1806(±)and I 825(g), I submit this declaration pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ("FISA"), as amended, in connection with the above-captioned criminal proceeding. I have been advised that the Government presently intends to use information obtained or derived from PISA-authorized electronic surveillance and physical search in the criminal proceeding against the Defendant. See 50 U.S.C. §§ 1806(c) and 1825(d). Accordingly, Defendant Alimehmeti, by and tln·ough his attorney, filed a motion seeking disclosure of PISA-related materials and suppression ofFISA-

Case 1:16-cr-00398-PAE Document 63 Filed 07/24/17 Page 2 of 3 acquired information (hereinafter the "Defendant's Motion"). The Government will file a response to the Defendant's Motion. For the reasons set forth in the Government's Response, it is necessary to provide this Court with the application(s) submitted to, and the order(s) issued by, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ("FISC"), as well as other related documents (hereinafter collectively referred to as "the FISA materials"). 3. Based on the facts and considerations set forth below, I hereby claim that it would harm the national security of the United States to disclose or hold an adversary hearing with respect to the FISA materials. The United States will be submitting the relevant classified documents to this Court as part of a "Sealed Appendix," so this Court may conduct an in camera, ex parte review of the legality of the FISA collection at issue. My Claim of Privilege also extends to the classified portions of any memoranda and briefs the Government may file in connection with this litigation and to any oral representations that may be made by the Government that reference the classified information contained in the FISA materials. 4. In support of my Claim of Privilege, the United States is submitting to the Court for in camera, ex parte review the Declaration of Bradley G. Mendenhall, Assistant Director, Counterterrorism Division, Federal Bureau oflnvestigation. Mr. Mendenhall's Declaration sets forth, in detail, the specific facts on which my Claim of Privilege is based. The Declaration of Mr. Mendenhall is classified at the "TOP SECRET" level. 5. Relying on the facts set forth in the Declaration of Assistant Director Mendenhall, I certify that the unauthorized disclosure of the FISA materials that are classified at the "TOP SECRET" level could reasonably be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security of the United States. I further certify that the unauthorized disclosure of the -2-

Case 1:16-cr-00398-PAE Document 63 Filed 07/24/17 Page 3 of 3 FISA materials that are classified at the "SECRET" level reasonably could be expected to cause serious damage to the national security of the United States. The FISA materials contain sensitive and classified information concerning United States intelligence sources and methods and other information related to efforts of the United States to conduct counterterrorism investigations, including the manner and means by which those investigations are conducted. As a result, the unauthorized disclosure of the information could hmm the national security interests of the United States. 6. I respectfully request that the Court treat the contents of the Sealed Appendix, for security purposes, in the same sensitive maimer that the contents were treated in the submission to this Court, and to return the Sealed Appendix to the Department of Justice upon the disposition of the Defendant's Motion. The Department of Justice will retain the Sealed Appendix under the seal of the Court subject to any further orders of this Court or other courts of competent jurisdiction. Pursuant to Title 28, United States Code, Section 1746, I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on the day of July 20 I 7. /f' .,;, -3-