Tommy K’s Gov Deal A Secret to His Lawyer?The one time Greg O’Connell, lawyer for Thomas Kontogiannis, answered my phone calls, he respectfully told me he wasn’t going to talk with me and ended the conversation. My loss: I’d love to ask him about this statement he made in court on February 23.
I only have the broadest understanding of the things that this government is asking my client to do.
In context, O’Connell was imploring Judge Burns to keep as much of the hearing transcripts classified as possible, so it’s possible that his plea of ignorance is something of a rhetorical gambit — i.e., how can the public be permitted to know aspects of the case forbidden even to Kontogiannis’ attorney? But maybe the substance of his cooperation is so super-secret that even O’Connell, a former assistant U.S. attorney, is in the dark.
(A digression: Even if his lawyer is in the dark, Kontogiannis is getting some plush treatment. The North Country Times reports tracking Kontogiannis to a “five-star hotel in Greece.” In February, Kontogiannis surrendered his passport and was forbidden travel outside of federal custody. Usually, that means travel occurs only for family or urgent business, and it’s an open question what in the world Kontogiannis is doing in the lap of Grecian luxury.)
