W-OLF
03-20-2006, 06:00 PM
FBI Agent Testifies About Moussaoui Arrest
Published: 3/20/06, 11:45 AM EDT
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - The FBI agent who arrested confessed al-Qaida terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui defended himself Monday against assertions that he botched the opportunity to gain valuable intelligence about Moussaoui in the days prior to his August 2001 arrest.
FBI agent Harry Samit was cross-examined by Moussaoui's lawyers as the death trial for Moussaoui, the only person charged in this country in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, resumed after a weeklong delay.
Defense attorney Edward MacMahon questioned Samit on whether the government could have legally searched Moussaoui's Minnesota hotel room without first obtaining a warrant.
Samit said that in certain circumstances agents can conduct a search on foreign nationals immediately and obtain a warrant after the fact. But he said in Moussaoui's case, he and his supervisors determined that it would be best to arrest Moussaoui first.
Samit testified before the trial's recess last week that Moussaoui lied to him after his arrest and thwarted his ability to obtain a search warrant. Samit said that the FBI would have launched an all-out investigation if it had been able to search Moussaoui's belongings.
"You blew an opportunity to search ... without arresting him?" MacMahon asked Samit.
Samit responded, "That's totally false."
He said he found himself in a bureaucratic bind because he had opened an intelligence investigation on Moussaoui rather than a criminal investigation and therefore needed Justice Department approval to get a search warrant. Many of the barriers between criminal and intelligence investigations were removed after 9/11.
Although Samit was unable to get a warrant, he testified that he had serious suspicions that Moussaoui was a terrorist who was interested in hijacking aircraft.
He said that in electronic communications with supervisors, he referred to Moussaoui in the context of terrorism some 70 times between Moussaoui's arrest Aug. 16, 2001, and the attacks less than a month later.
He said he urged the FBI to launch an all-out investigation but that didn't happen before 9/11.
"You needed people in Washington to help you out," MacMahon suggested.
"Yes," Samit said.
"They didn't do that, did they?"
Samit said no.
He confirmed under questioning that he had attributed FBI inaction to "obstructionism, criminal negligence and careerism" in an earlier report.
MacMahon walked Samit through a lengthy report that Samit filed to his superiors and other FBI investigative units on Aug. 18, 2001. The memo listed all the reasons Samit was suspicious of Moussaoui as a terrorist who might be trying to hijack airplanes. Every time MacMahon read an example of Samit's suspicions, the agent acknowledged that FBI headquarters never called him back to discuss his concerns.
Resumption of the trial followed a one-week delay while U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema mulled whether to allow testimony by aviation witnesses considered vital to the government's effort to secure the death penalty for Moussaoui.
The delay followed revelations that a lawyer with the Transportation Security Administration, Carla Martin, had improperly coached witnesses on their testimony. That violated a court order sequestering witnesses from exposure to trial proceedings.
Brinkema scheduled a hearing to look into the matter and uncovered even more misconduct. Martin falsely told defense attorneys that two TSA employees sought by the defense as potential witnesses were unwilling to meet with the defense, witnesses testified.
Brinkema considered tossing out the government's death-penalty case entirely, but instead ruled that the government could not present any testimony about aviation security in their case to the jury.
Prosecutors responded that Brinkema's order amounted to pulling the plug on the entire case and asked her to reconsider. They said the excluded testimony was crucial because they needed to show the jury what security measures could have been implemented at the nation's airports if aviation officials had known of the threat posed by Moussaoui and his al-Qaida co-conspirators.
Brinkema relented on Friday and revised her ruling, allowing prosecutors to present testimony from aviation witnesses who were unexposed to Martin's taint.
Defense attorneys asked Brinkema late Friday to question Martin about her actions before allowing any aviation testimony, but they got no immediate ruling.
Moussaoui pleaded guilty in April to conspiring with al-Qaida to hijack aircraft and commit other crimes. The sentencing trial now under way will determine his punishment: death or life in prison.
To obtain the death penalty, prosecutors must prove that Moussaoui caused at least one death on Sept. 11. They argue he did just that by lying to agents after his August 2001 arrest and refusing to reveal his al-Qaida membership and his terrorist ties.
Moussaoui denies he had anything to do with 9/11 and says he was training for a future attack.
credit BellSouth
Published: 3/20/06, 11:45 AM EDT
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - The FBI agent who arrested confessed al-Qaida terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui defended himself Monday against assertions that he botched the opportunity to gain valuable intelligence about Moussaoui in the days prior to his August 2001 arrest.
FBI agent Harry Samit was cross-examined by Moussaoui's lawyers as the death trial for Moussaoui, the only person charged in this country in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, resumed after a weeklong delay.
Defense attorney Edward MacMahon questioned Samit on whether the government could have legally searched Moussaoui's Minnesota hotel room without first obtaining a warrant.
Samit said that in certain circumstances agents can conduct a search on foreign nationals immediately and obtain a warrant after the fact. But he said in Moussaoui's case, he and his supervisors determined that it would be best to arrest Moussaoui first.
Samit testified before the trial's recess last week that Moussaoui lied to him after his arrest and thwarted his ability to obtain a search warrant. Samit said that the FBI would have launched an all-out investigation if it had been able to search Moussaoui's belongings.
"You blew an opportunity to search ... without arresting him?" MacMahon asked Samit.
Samit responded, "That's totally false."
He said he found himself in a bureaucratic bind because he had opened an intelligence investigation on Moussaoui rather than a criminal investigation and therefore needed Justice Department approval to get a search warrant. Many of the barriers between criminal and intelligence investigations were removed after 9/11.
Although Samit was unable to get a warrant, he testified that he had serious suspicions that Moussaoui was a terrorist who was interested in hijacking aircraft.
He said that in electronic communications with supervisors, he referred to Moussaoui in the context of terrorism some 70 times between Moussaoui's arrest Aug. 16, 2001, and the attacks less than a month later.
He said he urged the FBI to launch an all-out investigation but that didn't happen before 9/11.
"You needed people in Washington to help you out," MacMahon suggested.
"Yes," Samit said.
"They didn't do that, did they?"
Samit said no.
He confirmed under questioning that he had attributed FBI inaction to "obstructionism, criminal negligence and careerism" in an earlier report.
MacMahon walked Samit through a lengthy report that Samit filed to his superiors and other FBI investigative units on Aug. 18, 2001. The memo listed all the reasons Samit was suspicious of Moussaoui as a terrorist who might be trying to hijack airplanes. Every time MacMahon read an example of Samit's suspicions, the agent acknowledged that FBI headquarters never called him back to discuss his concerns.
Resumption of the trial followed a one-week delay while U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema mulled whether to allow testimony by aviation witnesses considered vital to the government's effort to secure the death penalty for Moussaoui.
The delay followed revelations that a lawyer with the Transportation Security Administration, Carla Martin, had improperly coached witnesses on their testimony. That violated a court order sequestering witnesses from exposure to trial proceedings.
Brinkema scheduled a hearing to look into the matter and uncovered even more misconduct. Martin falsely told defense attorneys that two TSA employees sought by the defense as potential witnesses were unwilling to meet with the defense, witnesses testified.
Brinkema considered tossing out the government's death-penalty case entirely, but instead ruled that the government could not present any testimony about aviation security in their case to the jury.
Prosecutors responded that Brinkema's order amounted to pulling the plug on the entire case and asked her to reconsider. They said the excluded testimony was crucial because they needed to show the jury what security measures could have been implemented at the nation's airports if aviation officials had known of the threat posed by Moussaoui and his al-Qaida co-conspirators.
Brinkema relented on Friday and revised her ruling, allowing prosecutors to present testimony from aviation witnesses who were unexposed to Martin's taint.
Defense attorneys asked Brinkema late Friday to question Martin about her actions before allowing any aviation testimony, but they got no immediate ruling.
Moussaoui pleaded guilty in April to conspiring with al-Qaida to hijack aircraft and commit other crimes. The sentencing trial now under way will determine his punishment: death or life in prison.
To obtain the death penalty, prosecutors must prove that Moussaoui caused at least one death on Sept. 11. They argue he did just that by lying to agents after his August 2001 arrest and refusing to reveal his al-Qaida membership and his terrorist ties.
Moussaoui denies he had anything to do with 9/11 and says he was training for a future attack.
credit BellSouth