Last week, the Assistant U.S. Attorney wrote a proposed order for the exoneration of bail and return of passports to all defendants. The order should be signed by a judge promptly.

As of this posting, the AETA4 legal team have still not received word from the government regarding their plans for this case. It has now been over nineteen weeks since Judge Whyte’s dismissal without prejudice, and exactly thirteen weeks since FBI agents took a sample of Joseph’s DNA in an attempt to match his DNA to a particular megaphone seized from his former co-defendant Maryam’s vehicle back in 2008.

What is going on within the Department of Justice and FBI is anybody’s guess. However, the AETA4 case should not be regarded as closed. This case still needs our help, support, and continued fund-raising efforts in the chance that they are re-indicted.

If you’d like to donate to the AETA 4 Defense Fund, you can send check or money order to:

The AETA Defense Fund
PO Box 99162
Emeryville, CA 94662

Or through PayPal by sending the donation to support@aeta4.org

Recently, Joseph Buddenberg was interviewed by The Vegan Police (www.theveganpolice.com) about the AETA4 case and its implications for activist movements. He also personalizes himself against the dehumanization of Green Scare repression. He speaks of the death of his mother, and the several months he spent on house arrest. The full interview can be read at:
http://theveganpolice.com/main/?p=1035

Joseph’s attorney, Robert Bloom, received the DNA sample warrant and affidavit in support of the warrant from the Assistant U.S. Attorney today. The warrant is signed by Judge Lloyd out of San Jose. The documents can be read at:

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/08/26/18656880.php

Joseph Buddenberg’s attorney Robert Bloom received a call from Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant Fondo this afternoon. Fondo stated that the FBI has a warrant compelling a sample of Joseph’s DNA. His co-defendants all received identical federal search warrants in 2008. This warrant comes over a month after Judge Ronald M. Whyte dismissed without prejudice the indictments of the AETA4. The judge’s dismissal left the ball in the prosecution’s court, so to speak, as to whether they will choose to re-indict the defendants.

Joseph’s attorney has requested a copy of the warrant and the supporting papers from the prosecutor. He has not heard back from the government as of this writing. We’ll keep you posted.

In the days following Judge Whyte’s order dismissing the indictment, the Assistant U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case stated to AETA4 defense attorneys that the government would contact them with their plans by August 13, 2010.

However, yesterday, one of the defense attorneys received a call from the U.S. Attorney. The call was to the effect that although she had promised us some kind of communication on or about August 13 regarding status, she is still working on it and we should not expect to hear anything regarding status before mid-September. She would/could not go into any details about what is going to happen.

On July 12, 2010, Judge Whyte ruled to dismiss without prejudice the indictment of the AETA4 because the indictment does not specify the criminal conduct alleged to have been committed by the four defendants. The government still has the option to re-indict if they wish.

The scheduled July 19 court appearance of the AETA4 has therefore been canceled. We’ll keep everyone posted as soon as we have any developments in the case.

The legal battle is not over! The government still has the option to re-indict. Donations are still needed to help cover the legal fees!

If you’d like to donate to the AETA 4 Defense Fund, you can send check or money order to:

The AETA Defense Fund
PO Box 99162
Emeryville, CA 94662

Or through PayPal by sending the donation to support@aeta4.org

All funds go directly towards the costly legal battle of the defendants.

For all media requests, please email support@aeta4.org

The government filed their responses to the defense motions today. In addition to their responses to motions to suppress several illegal searches, they filed:

Response to defense motion to dismiss and for a bill of particulars:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/05/21/18648554.php

Response to defense motion for a determination of the scope of relevant evidence and for jury instructions:
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/05/21/18648553.php