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McVeigh talks with attorney Robert Nigh in 1995.

From Susan Candiotti
CNN Miami Bureau

DENVER, Colorado (CNN) -- U.S. Justice Department prosecutors were due to reply Monday afternoon to a defense petition for a stay of Timothy McVeigh's June 11 execution.

In a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Federal Judge Richard Matsch will hear arguments from the government insisting that nothing warrants a new defense filing to vacate McVeigh's conviction or the death penalty sentence because of anything contained in the more than 4,400 new pages of material belatedly turned over by the FBI to the defense.

The convicted Oklahoma City bomber's defense team will argue otherwise, saying it could not properly defend their client during trial because it did not have access to all pre-trial discovery materials.

IN-DEPTH • Execution of Timothy McVeigh • Oklahoma City Bombing    VIDEO In a press conference, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft discusses FBI handling of documents in the McVeigh bombing case (May 24) Part I | Part II (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    MESSAGE BOARD McVeigh execution    RESOURCES • Timeline: FBI under Louis Freeh • Previous FBI controversies   LEGAL RESOURCES Latest Legal News Law Library FindLaw Consumer Center Select a topic Bankruptcy Discrimination Divorce Estate Planning Landlord-Tenant Personal Injury Taxes

In its petition for a stay of execution, McVeigh's lawyers maintain the government committed a fraud on the court by failing to turn over all materials to the defense despite repeated statements to the court that it had done so, thus, leading to a fraudulently held trial and verdict.

In the meantime, CNN has learned additional details about some of the newly turned over documents.

One involves an interview with Indiana seed dealer David Shafer who, during a visit to the Michigan farm of Terry and James Nichols, said he remembered discussions of what he called a "superbomb."

According to two sources familiar with the documents, Shafer said he saw a diagram of what he later thought was the Oklahoma City federal building.

A government source told CNN Shafer had unspecified "credibility" problems.

Other documents included letters from McVeigh to his sister Jennifer while he served in the Persian Gulf War.

Another involves transcripts from the FBI's Los Angeles office from a co-operating witness -- a girlfriend of the brother of former McVeigh Army buddy Michael Fortier who was convicted of making false statements to the FBI and subsequently testified against both McVeigh and convicted co-conspirator Terry Nichols.

Another previously disclosed document involves an interview with an Oklahoma newspaper reporter who told an FBI agent about a conversation he had with a New York Times reporter who said she had talked with someone who claimed that Dennis Mahon was involved in the bombing.

The FBI interview with the Oklahoma reporter was done in connection with an investigation of Mahon, according to a government source.

The Justice Department has insisted the interview had nothing to do with the Oklahoma bombing and was not filed with other Oklahoma City bomb documents.

The defense charges the government intentionally filed the interview separately to keep the information from the defense.

Mahon has been linked since shortly after the bombing to a white supremacist group in Oklahoma and was well-known to the defense before trial. The FBI has said he had no role in the bombing.

Judge Matsch now has all the materials subsequently turned over to the defense.

He will hear arguments at 9 a.m. Wednesday.