By Art MooreA federal judge in Washington today ordered a co-author of the book "Muslim Mafia" and his son to return internal documents, recordings and records obtained in a six-month undercover operation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations that presented further evidence of the D.C.-based group's ties to terrorism.
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly granted CAIR's request for a temporary restraining order barring P. David Gaubatz and his son, Chris Gaubatz, from further use or publication of the material and demanding that they return it to the Muslim group's lawyers by midnight Nov. 18.
Kollar-Kotelly – who as head of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court made several controversial decisions against the Bush administration's counter-terrorism policies – was criticized recently by many security experts for ruling against the military's designation of a Guantanamo detainee as an enemy combatant, allowing the Obama administration to send him home.
But Daniel Horowitz, one of the attorneys representing the Gaubatzes, said it's important to look at both sides of the judge.
"She is extremely intelligent and a strong supporter of the First Amendment," he said.
CAIR's restraining order accompanied a lawsuit in which the Islamic group alleged Chris Gaubatz, who served as an unpaid volunteer for CAIR, obtained access to the group's property under false pretenses and removed the internal documents and made recordings of officials and employees "without any consent or authorization and in violation of his contractual, fiduciary and other legal obligations to CAIR."
David Gaubatz told WND that CAIR's legal moves have been anticipated, and some of the court's order already has been fulfilled as material has been turned over to law enforcement officials.
"I do look forward to bringing all the evidence to court," he said. "Courts are a two-way system."
Gaubatz contended the research described in his book "was conducted professionally and legally."
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