CHICAGO – A defense attorney says prosecutors haven't denied that an expanded U.S. phone and internet surveillance program triggered an investigation that led to terrorism charges against a Chicago-area teenager.
Thomas Durkin has told a federal judge he needs to know how the government compiled evidence against Adel Daoud (dah-OOHD') resulting in charges that he tried to set off a bomb in Chicago.
In a Wednesday filing in U.S. District Court in Chicago, prosecutors indicated the evidence against Daoud was gathered using traditional methods.
The expanded surveillance program has stirred debate over personal privacy rights versus national security needs.
Durkin says the filing's language suggests the program may have triggered the investigation into Daoud. If so, Durkin wants the case thrown out on constitutional grounds.
Prosecutor's spokesman Randall Samborn declined comment.
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