Stephen Emerson’s recent article “Al-Arian’s Third Strike” has provoked responses from two federal officers who disagree with George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley’s view that there is “a new and disturbing trend by the Bush Administration in using grand juries against individuals who they fail to convict in criminal cases.” According to Emerson:

One pointed out that civil contempt has been used during a number of presidential administrations of all stripes to compel testimony and recounted in detail how, after several tries, a reluctant witness in a drug case finally testified truthfully and triggered indictments of dozens more people. We are publishing the comments of the other official, who consented under a condition of anonymity.