In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun, former Nevada U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden discussed the circumstances of his dismissal by the Bush Administration. Bogden revealed to the Sun that the unidentified obscenity case pressed upon him by federal porn czar Brent Ward emerged from last year's AVN Adult Entertainment Expo.
According to Bogden, Ward and other obscenity task force staffers came to AEE in search of potential targets for prosecution.
"They go in there, and in their super-sleuthing work, they come up with the name of an individual who may be selling obscene videos over the Internet," Bogden told the Sun.
Ward's chosen target was not selling or producing child porn or bestiality, but the kind of adults-only material considered "fairly routine" by current standards. Despite the shaky grounds for the case, "Ward's team wanted to send a message and wanted Bogden to take it on," the article stated.
Bogden told Ward he could not pursue the matter given the weakness of the case and his office's lack of available resources, but agreed to meet in one year to re-evaluate the situation.
In recently-disclosed e-mails to the Justice Department, Ward complained that Bogden was "defiant" and making "excuses." Ward also singled out Arizona U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton for lack of cooperation in the Five Star/JM Productions obscenity case.
"It just enraged me," Bogden told the Sun. "You see those e-mails and the things they say about me and the other attorneys, people who are very respected. And they are just demeaning and belittling and unprofessional."
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