Harland Braun

Harland Braun was a prominent Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who represented LASD Deputy Daniel Garner during the Operation Big Spender corruption trial. He had previously defended actor Lee Marvin in his famous "palimony" suit and would later successfully represent one of the officers in the Rodney King beating case.¹

Garner's Defense and the Lister Documents

When Garner hired Braun, he brought papers he had secreted away as "insurance" from the 1986 raid on Ronald Lister's house. Garner told Braun: "They can't touch us." The documents, which Garner had secretly copied from the seized Lister files, detailed CIA connections to the Contra drug trade. Braun privately doubted the records would have the impact Garner expected but agreed they could serve as a bargaining chip.¹

The Contra-CIA Defense

During the October 1990 trial, Braun cross-examined an FBI agent about seized drug money being laundered by the federal government and diverted to the Contras by the Central Intelligence Agency. Federal prosecutors leaped to object. After court, Braun told reporters he was laying the groundwork for an outrageous government conduct defense: Deputy Garner, a court-certified expert in money-laundering issues, would explain how some of the cash they were accused of stealing had been laundered by the CIA for Contra arms purchases.¹

Gag Order

The Justice Department demanded a gag order. Braun responded with an inflammatory motion detailing the Majors' 1986 raid on Lister's house, describing films of Central American military operations, technical manuals, documents showing drug money purchasing military equipment, and photographs of Lister with Contras. Braun wrote that the government's refusal to deny the allegations was "a tacit admission" that the claims were true. "The government obviously fears the exposure of its drug financed Central American operations."¹

Judge Edward Rafeedie lashed out at Braun, calling his motion a "bad faith" effort and issuing a gag order preventing him from saying anything "that a reasonable person would expect to be disseminated by means of public communication." Braun was not permitted to gather additional evidence to substantiate Garner's claims. Six of seven deputies were convicted.¹