Judge denies defense motions case involving Egyptian cleric

NEW YORK -- The government does not have to reveal whether it is monitoring the conversations of an attorney accused of helping a jailed Egyptian cleric direct terrorism, a judge ruled Thursday.

In his decision, U.S. District Judge John Koeltl denied a motion by the attorney, Lynne Stewart, that would have forced prosecutors to disclose whether they were listening to her conversations with her clients. Stewart's co-defendant, U.S. postal worker Ahmed Abdel Sattar, had joined in the request.

The judge said the defendants had not explained how the government's "legitimate interest in engaging in covert investigations of ongoing criminal activity or for foreign intelligence purposes could be maintained if the government were required to disclose any such investigations in advance."