What Is Going On? Defense Attorney Represents Man Against the US Government While Also Representing the US Government in Separate Proceedings.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — October 9, 2026 — A shocking Miscarriage of Justice has created a constitutional question for the federal criminal prosecution: How can an attorney defend a man against the United States while simultaneously serving the Department of Justice?
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees essential rights to individuals facing criminal prosecution, ensuring a fair and transparent judicial process.
On October 7, 2026, Dr. Surajit Khanna filed a 34-page Brief of Amicus Curiae, including eight supporting exhibits, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, exposing an apparent conflict of interest involving Lt. Col. Aniela K. Szymanski, Esq., defense attorney for federal criminal defendant Rick Kiran Saga, a U.S. citizen.
Federal court records document that Szymanski continued representing Saga while also appearing as a DOJ-USAO attorney representing the United States in separate federal proceedings.
Semper Fi is the short, everyday form of the Latin phrase Semper Fidelis, which means “Always Faithful” or “Always Loyal”. Lt. Col. Aniela Szymanski is a Judge Advocate (JAG) for the U.S. Marine Corps and attorney for Saga. Lt Col. Steven W. Myhre also served as a JAG for the U.S. Marine Corps. and is now the prosecuting DOJ-USAO attorney against Saga.
Is Myhre up to his old shenanigans? “When a federal judge dismissed the indictment against cattle rancher Cliven Bundy earlier this year due to what she described as “outrageous” misconduct by Nevada prosecutors, she repeatedly referred to similar wrongdoing in a case from a decade earlier. … A judge found that prosecutors, including then-acting U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre, withheld more than 3,000 pages of FBI reports and other documents and misled the court. This is the same sort of misconduct that led to the dismissal of the indictment in Chapman.”
(https://theintercept.com/2018/04/26/cliven-bundy-case-nevada-prosecutorial-misconduct/)
Why did Myhre characterize Saga as a Non-US Citizen to a Federal Magistrate Judge?
Was it so Myhre could detain Saga seven days longer than was necessary?
Who Was Defending Rick Saga When His Attorney Was Also Representing the United States?
THE DOCUMENTED CONFLICT
The court filing presents a disturbing chronology:
- January 11, 2026: Szymanski submitted redacted military orders referencing the
Department of Justice in Memphis, Tennessee, while representing Saga.
- January 22, 2026: Federal court records identified Szymanski as a DOJ-USAO attorney representing the United States.
- February 19–26, 2026: Nevada court filings continued identifying Szymanski as Saga’s defense attorney.
- July 28, 2026: A separate federal criminal case, United States Shanks, identified Szymanski as DOJ-USAO counsel representing the United States.
- August 19, 2026: Szymanski continued appearing in Saga’s federal criminal case as his defense attorney.
The question is unavoidable: Was Saga’s defense attorney serving two opposing interests—and did the defendant, prosecutors, and Court know?
A POTENTIAL SIXTH AMENDMENT CRISIS
The Sixth Amendment guarantees every criminal defendant effective, conflict-free legal representation.
Dr. Khanna’s filing cites landmark Supreme Court decisions, Cuyler v. Sullivan and Mickens v. Taylor, and raises questions under 18 U.S.C. § 205, which restricts certain private representations by federal employees.
The filing demands answers to three critical questions:
- Was Saga’s constitutional right to independent defense counsel compromised?
- Did federal prosecutors know of Szymanski’s DOJ relationship, and was it concealed from Saga or the Court?
- Did Saga’s confidential defense information become accessible to the government prosecuting him?
These questions remain unresolved. The filing does not establish that misconduct or a constitutional violation occurred.
WARNING: DEFENDANT AND FAMILY MAY BE IN DANGER
Dr. Khanna opens his filing with an extraordinary statement:
“It is my belief that Rick and his family’s lives may be in danger.”
This is Dr. Khanna’s expressed concern, not a judicial finding of a verified threat.
CALL FOR AN INDEPENDENT FEDERAL INVESTIGATION
Dr. Khanna requests immediate preservation of relevant DOJ records, military orders, communications, and electronic evidence, followed by a neutral, conflict-free judicial inquiry.
The central demand is simple: Preserve the evidence. Expose the truth. Protect the Constitution.
The public filing raises a question that reaches far beyond one defendant:
If a criminal defendant’s own attorney also serves the federal department responsible for prosecuting him, who is protecting his constitutional rights?
The federal court has now been asked to answer that question.
FEDERAL COURT FILING
United States v. Rick Kiran Saga
U.S. District Court, District of Nevada Case No. 2:24-cr-00142-JAD-EJY
Document 83 — Filed October 7, 2026 34 pages, including Exhibits A–H Publicly available through PACER.
MEDIA CONTACT
Linda Szynkowicz
Awake America USA
2764 N Green Valley Pkwy, Ste. 149 Henderson, NV 89014
(860) 575-7125
AwakeAmericaUSA.com
Dr. Surajit Khanna, Amicus Curiae
2500 Coney Island Ave Brooklyn, New York, 11223
(202) 280-4842
The filing raises allegations and constitutional questions that have not been adjudicated. The documented overlap does not, by itself, establish intentional misconduct, disclosure failures, misuse of privileged information, or a Sixth Amendment violation.
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