[Headlines Only] [Top Stories Only]
Categories
· Lawsuits
· Secret Documents

Sealed Testimony From Justice Dept's Case Against Tobacco Industry 

Testimony from Former Tobacco Insider Sealed and Removed From Web Because It Quotes Sensitive Internal Memo
Jump to full article: The Memory Hole, 2005-02-26

Intro:

As part of the Justice Department's historic lawsuit against the tobacco industry (US v. Philip Morris, et al.), a Justice attorney examined Frederick Gulson under oath in Australia. Gulson used to be legal counsel for Australian tobacco company W.D. & H.O. Wills, a subsidiary of BATCo [British American Tobacco (Investments) Limited]. In the testimony, the Justice attorney repeatedly quotes an Australian court decision that contains extracts of the "Foyle memorandum," an extremely sensitive internal document concerning Wills' policy of destroying potentially damaging documents so that they cannot be uncovered during court cases. . . .

Gulson's testimony was also removed from the Justice Dept's website, but not before The Memory Hole grabbed a copy. It's posted at the link at the top of this page. It's worth reading not just for the Foyle quotes but because the whole thing is so damning.

(It should be noted that Gulson testified a second time - in DC court on 17 February 2005. This was after the seal had been granted, which means that this second testimony was sealed from the moment it occurred and never appeared on the Web.)

Jump to full article »