DOCUMENT: Crime

BALCO Probers's Big Screw-Up

Electronic mishap unveils redactions in leak investigation filing

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BALCO Probers's Big Screw-Up

JUNE 22--In a remarkable Justice Department screw-up, prosecutors probing leaks in the BALCO steroids probe yesterday failed to secure a heavily redacted motion that they filed electronically, effectively allowing savvy viewers to read about 10 pages of confidential material. The unsecured pages describe the government's probe into the leak of grand jury material to San Francisco Chronicle reporters and details extensive e-mail contacts between between BALCO founder Victor Conte and one of the journalists. Below you'll find the two key redacted sections of the government document, which was filed in opposition to a motion to quash grand jury subpoenas served on Chronicle writers Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada. The beginning of the second section is delineated by a black line we added between the excerpts, which were cut and pasted from the poorly secured PDF file. (4 pages)