SPLC alleges DOJ is treating witness as a member of prosecution team

Washington — Lawyers for the Southern Poverty Law Center are asking a justice to let them to subpoena a erstwhile informant who has provided worldly to the Justice Department, saying that investigators are treating the witnesser similar helium is "part of the prosecutorial squad itself."

Defense attorneys for the civilian rights nonprofit accused the authorities connected Wednesday of obtaining troves of documents, recordings and quality briefings utilizing peculiar PowerPoint presentations from the source, known arsenic "F-9," without a subpoena oregon hunt warrant.

Investigators typically get accusation from witnesses utilizing subpoenas oregon hunt warrants truthful they tin authenticate the worldly astatine proceedings and guarantee that each applicable documents are produced. One erstwhile national authoritative told CBS News that obtaining grounds without taking either step, portion not unheard of, was antithetic — peculiarly with a witnesser similar the 1 successful this case.

In their question to the court, they asked the justice to bid the erstwhile informant to sphere each of his archetypal documents and let the group's lawyers to subpoena the witnesser themselves.

"To beryllium clear, F-9 should person been simply a witness successful this case. But the authorities has treated him similar portion of the prosecutorial squad itself, choosing to let F-9 to determine which of the documents, recordings, and photographs successful his possession helium volition produce, and however and erstwhile helium volition nutrient them," SPLC's attorneys wrote.

"F-9 admitted that helium has a 'house afloat of documents,' immoderate of which helium has referenced plans to 'shred.'"

The Southern Poverty Law Center has been indicted connected 11 counts of ligament fraud, slope fraud and conspiracy to perpetrate wealth laundering. Prosecutors alleged it defrauded its donors and duped its banks by creating ammunition accounts to funnel wealth to insiders who belonged to the aforesaid hatred groups it pledged to dismantle. The SPLC has pleaded not guilty.

The authorities aboriginal besides charged the group's erstwhile enforcement Heidi Beirich with conspiracy to perpetrate ligament fraud and conspiracy to taxable mendacious statements to a federally insured bank. She has besides pleaded not guilty.

In the indictment, the authorities alleged that Beirich had a romanticist narration with F-9. Prosecutors described F-9 arsenic an SPLC informant who infiltrated the Neo-Nazi radical National Alliance and adjacent erstwhile broke into its office to bargain documents.

According to the defence team's tribunal filing, F-9 was staring down a imaginable taxation prosecution for failing to wage income taxation for 30 years erstwhile helium began cooperating with the Justice Department.

He spoke with investigators successful March 2022 erstwhile the lawsuit was inactive being investigated for the archetypal time. It was subsequently closed without charges being filed. He resumed his talks with DOJ again successful 2025 erstwhile the lawsuit was revived, the group's lawyers said.

"Just since November 2025, F-9 has met with the authorities much than

20 times — including astatine slightest 4 in-person meetings. He has exchanged astir 1,800 substance messages with the pb agents from the FBI and IRS," the group's lawyers wrote.

"F-9 regularly sends the government's pb FBI cause reports connected however his hunt for grounds against the SPLC is going. He is not a lawyer, but helium gave 4 'Intelligence Briefings' to the government, accompanied by 162 pages of PowerPoint slides that analyse what charges the authorities should bring against the SPLC, picture what grounds helium believes supports the charges, place imaginable witnesses, and suggest caller investigative directions," the filing said. 

Some of those PowerPoint slides, meanwhile, person been unintelligible.

One illustration included successful the filing, for instance, depicts a travel illustration featuring mathematical notations, with SPLC's attorneys noting: "It is wholly unclear what immoderate of the accusation means."

The lawyers added that F-9 "has provided a immense fig of documents and recordings, but has done truthful successful a selective fashion, including sending clips made from concealed recordings erstwhile helium possesses the afloat recording, seemingly sending lone what supports his presumption of the SPLC."

"At the halfway of this baseless probe is an informant with each inducement to archer the authorities what it wants to hear. He faced imaginable transgression exposure, blamed the SPLC for his fiscal problems, and told the authorities a one-sided and incomplete communicative to people his ain wide immunity which the prosecution was consenting to provide," SPLC's attorneys Abbe Lowell and Addy Schmitt said successful a associated statement.

"Our question besides lays retired however this immunized idiosyncratic is not simply a witness, but idiosyncratic who is truthful profoundly embedded successful the prosecution squad that helium tells them what to complaint and provides lone the accusation helium wants them to see."

CBS News has reached retired to the Justice Department for comment.