By Dennis Romboy, Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake attorney's dogged pursuit of videotapes associated with the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that he believes the FBI has withheld from the public gained momentum from a federal judge Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups ruled Jesse Trentadue raised enough questions that he wants the government to explain why it hasn't searched all possible databases and evidence rooms where the tapes might be stored. He posed a list of questions he wants the FBI to answer by June 30.

"It's crucial that they don't deny they exist, only that 'we can't find them. Trust us,'" Trentadue said after the hearing.

Feds must release file on Utah lawyer's sibling
By Geoffrey Fattah

Deseret News
Published: Friday, April 11, 2008 1:05 a.m. MDT

A federal judge has ordered attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice to hand over a report on the death of a Salt Lake attorney's brother by May 1 or face contempt of court action.

During a hearing Thursday, U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart noted that the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals had found attorney Jesse Trentadue had a right to a copy of a report looking into the death of his brother at a federal facility in Oklahoma City in August 1995. Stewart also noted that the federal government had until April 10 to turn over the document.

An attorney for DOJ told the court that clearance was needed from headquarters in Washington, D.C., before releasing the document and that may take an additional three weeks. Stewart said the government knew about the order for quite some time and, in a rare move, ordered DOJ to supply Trentadue with the report by May 1 or face contempt charges.