AP: Public defense again sought for Demjanjuk

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

The federal public defender’s office in Cleveland has filed a motion asking to be re-appointed as co-counsel for alleged Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk.

The office claims the retired auto worker’s trial in Germany has been tainted by a secret FBI report uncovered by The Associated Press.

The motion was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Cleveland. The AP reported this month that the 1985 file indicated the FBI believed a Nazi ID card purportedly showing Demjanjuk served as a death camp guard was a Soviet-made fake.

The motion says the public defender’s office wants to “protect its former client’s legal interests.”

Demjanjuk is accused of more than 28,000 counts of accessory to murder on allegations he served as a guard at a death camp. He denies the charges.