Reporter's Death Inspires a Seminar and a Lawsuit

Much has been written about Pearl's death, including books by his wife, Mariane Pearl, and French writer Bernard-Henri Lévy.

Although Mohammed "has confessed to the crime, there hasn't been any publicly disclosed corroborating evidence," Todd wrote in an e-mail. "One of the goals of the Pearl Project is to establish whether there is any evidence linking . . . Mohammed to the murder. Even if we establish conclusively that he did murder Danny, there were three murderers and we want to establish the identities of the other two."

The class was designed to function like a newsroom, with 32 students reporting over two semesters on beats such as the FBI and Pakistani intelligence. The students learned to verify identities and track people down. They found home addresses for suspects and spoke with families. But they kept hitting walls.

They turned to the Freedom of Information Act, a 1966 law that requires government agencies to disclose requested documents unless they are withheld for reasons that include national security and privacy. But the government can decline to confirm or deny that records exist. Delays are common.

The students filed dozens of requests, including one to the FBI for communications and documents related to Mohammed's confession, hoping to find evidence corroborating it.

The FBI response, according to the complaint, was that the bureau could not process the request without a signed privacy waiver from Mohammed.

Todd instant-messaged one of the students, joking, "Do we have KSM's cell number?"

Todd contends that Mohammed's privacy is clearly outweighed by the public interest in having the records disclosed and that as a Pakistani national, Mohammed is not entitled to privacy protection under federal law.

Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman wrote in an e-mail that "the Department strives to strike the right balance between transparency in our operations while at the same time protecting sensitive information critical to the national security. Since the Pearl Project has an active appeal pending with the FOIA office, it would be inappropriate to discuss specifics of the request."

According to the complaint, the FBI told Todd that she needed a privacy waiver from Reid, who tried to blow up a jetliner over the Atlantic Ocean in 2001.

The students appealed the denials. Mark Zaid, a lawyer who specializes in FOIA cases, volunteered to help. The complaint filed yesterday also names the Defense Intelligence Agency, the U.S. Central Command and the State, Justice and Treasury departments.

"We have been able to establish cells beyond the four men that were convicted, been able to establish the identities of suspects that are walking the streets," Nomani said. "I really do believe that we can identify the murderers."

Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.