Southern Poverty Law Center alleges DOJ is treating star witness as a member of prosecution team

October 28, 2026 / 5:39 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — Lawyers for the Southern Poverty Law Center are asking a judge to allow them to subpoena a former informant who has provided material to the Justice Department, saying that investigators are treating the witness like he is "part of the prosecutorial team itself."

Defense attorneys for the civil rights nonprofit accused the government on Wednesday of obtaining troves of documents, recordings and intelligence briefings using peculiar PowerPoint presentations from the source, known as "F-9," without a subpoena or search warrant.

Investigators typically obtain information from witnesses using subpoenas or search warrants so they can authenticate the material at trial and ensure that all relevant documents are produced. One former federal prosecutor told CBS News that obtaining evidence without taking either step, while not unheard of, was unusual — particularly with a witness like the one in this case.

In their motion to the court, they asked the judge to order the former informant to preserve all of his original documents and allow the group's lawyers to subpoena the witness themselves.

"To be clear, F-9 should have been merely a witness in this case. But the government has treated…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/