http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/07/07/cameras_catch_mystery_break_in_at_whistleblowers_law_firm
( Another case of " plumbers " ? )
http://www.examiner.com/article/law-office-representing-government-whistleblower-robbed-valuables-left-behind?cid=rss
( Another case of " plumbers " ? )
The offices of a Dallas law firm representing a high-profile State Department whistleblower were broken into last weekend. Burglars stole three computers and broke into the firm's file cabinets. But silver bars, video equipment and other valuables were left untouched, according to local Fox affiliate KDFW, which aired security camera footage of the suspected burglars entering and leaving the offices around the time of the incident.
The firm Schulman & Mathias represents Aurelia Fedenisn, a former investigator at the State Department's Office of the Inspector General. In recent weeks, she raised a slew of explosive allegations against the department and its contractors ranging from illicit drug use, soliciting sexual favors from minors and prostitutes and sexual harassment.
"It's a crazy, strange and suspicious situation," attorney Cary Schulman told The Cable. "It's clear to me that it was somebody looking for information and not money. My most high-profile case right now is the Aurelia Fedenisn case, and I can't think of any other case where someone would go to these great lengths to get our information."
According to the KDFW report, the firm was the only suite burglarized in the high-rise office building and an unlocked office adjacent was left untouched.
The State Department, which has repeatedly disputed Fedenisn's allegations, denied any involvement in the incident. "Any allegation that the Department of State authorized someone to break into Mr. Schulman's law firm is false and baseless," spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
After assessing the surveillance footage, Schulman said he believed the motivations were likely political, but did not suspect department involvement. "It wasn't professional enough," he said. "It is possible that an Obama or Hillary supporter feels that I am unfairly going after them. And the timing of this is right after several weeks of very public media attention so it seems to me most likely that the information sought is related to that case. I don't know for sure and I want the police to do their work."
Fedenisn's case, in particular, has gained attention not just because of the substance of the allegations, but for her insistence that internal investigations into misconduct were "influenced, manipulated or simply called off" by senior State Department officials. The suppression of investigations was noted in an early draft of an Inspector General report she gave to CBS News, but softened in the final version.
Last month, her lawyers told The Cable that the department tried to intimidate her into silence. "They had law enforcement officers camp out in front of her house, harass her children and attempt to incriminate herself," claimed Schulman.
Schulman said the purpose of the visit was to get Fedenisn to sign documents admitting that she stole State Department documents -- a charge Fedenisn denies.
Schulman & Mathias represent a range of clients on matters from fraud to wrongful death to bad faith insurance practices to medical malpractice. Any number of those cases could've exposed the firm to such a break in, but Schulman said he was skeptical. "I'm involved in other cases locally, but those cases are rather stale."
Law office representing government whistleblower robbed; valuables left behind
US Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman, with his wife in Brussels, was investigated over claims he solicited prostitutes
Credits:
Zuma Press via New York Post
A Dallas law office representing 'high-profile' whistleblower was burglarized last weekend. John Hudson of Foreign Policy reported Sunday that 'Burglars stole three computers and broke into the firm's file cabinets. But silver bars, video equipment and other valuables were left untouched,'prompting attorney Cary Schulman of the law firm Schulman & Mathias to believe that the perpetrators were '...looking for information and not money...'
The whistleblower, Aurelia Fedenisn, is a former State Department inspector general investigator whose explosive allegations were reported by CBS News last month, after she leaked the documents to the news organization.
The sordid claims, if true, allege that the State Department was engaged in covering up investigations of criminal wrongdoing from State Department officials 'ranging from illicit drug use, soliciting sexual favors from minors and prostitutes and sexual harassment,' and even charges that US Ambassador to BelgiumHoward Gutman 'was suspected of patronizing prostitutes in a public park.'
After the news initially broke, Fedenisn's attorney Cary Schulman claimed that the State Department was attempting to 'bully' Fedenisn into silence,
'They had law enforcement officers camp out in front of her house, harass her children and attempt to incriminate herself.'
Last month, Guy Taylor of the Washington Timesreported that Fedenisn initially gave the documents to several members of congress before leaking them to CBS. Taylor reported that House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Edward R. Royce,
'demanded that the State Department’s office of inspector general explain passages in internal documents that refer to pressure from department higher-ups to quash investigations into suspected criminal activity...by U.S. diplomatic personnel overseas.'
The burglary suspects were captured on the local news, and although Schulman said he believed the motivations were 'likely political,' he 'did not suspect State Department involvement.'
Spokesperson Jen Psaki (whose track record has been dubious lately) said,
'Any allegation that the Department of State authorized someone to break into Mr. Schulman's law firm is false and baseless.'
It is unclear who she believes was making that charge.
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