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Case 1:19-cr-00830-AT Document 33 Filed 04/09/20 Page 12 of 38

ARGUMENT

A. The Complete Inspector General’s Report, as Well as the Other Reports
Requested Are Necessary for Michael Thomas to Prepare His Defense

Mr. Thomas’ requests for the aforementioned discovery is authorized and contemplated
by the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Fed. R. Crim. P. 16(a)(1)E, provides:

“(E) Documents and Objects. Upon a defendant’s request, the
government must permit the defendant to inspect and to copy or
photograph books, papers, documents, data, photographs, tangible
objects, buildings or places, or copies or portions of any of these
items, if the item is within the government’s possession, custody,
or control and:
(i) the item is material to preparing the defense;
(ii) the government intends to use the item in its case-in-
chief at trial; or
(iii) the item was obtained from or belongs to the
defendant.”

Rule 16(a)(1)(E)(i) entitles a defendant to documents or other items that are material to preparing
arguments in response to the prosecution's case-in-chief. See United States v. Armstrong, 517
U.S. 456, 462 (1996). The key term for present purposes is "material." A document is material if:

[I]t could be used to counter the government's case or to bolster a
defense; information not meeting either of those criteria is not to
be deemed material within the meaning of the Rule merely because
the government may be able to use it to rebut a defense position....
Nor is it to be deemed material merely because it would have
dissuaded the defendant from proffering easily impeached
testimony. U.S. v. Rigas, 258 F.Supp.2d 299 (S.D. N.Y. 2003)

The federal courts have consistently taken an expansive view of what the term “material” means
when it comes to ruling in favor of disclosure under Rule 16. Evidence is material if its pretrial
disclosure will enable a defendant to alter significantly the quantum of proof in his favor. See
United States v. McGuinness, 764 F. Supp. 888, 895 (S.D.N.Y.1991) and U.S. v. Giffen, 379 F.
Supp. 2d 337 (S.D. N.Y. 2004) Numerous federal districts have repeatedly ruled that “evidence
is material under Rule 16 as long as there is a strong indication that it will play an important role

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