Hal Turner Court Records

A mistrial has been declared in the case of Hal Turner, the white supremacist radio host accused of inciting violence against law enforcement figures and judges. The mistrial due to deadlocked jury does not appear to hinge on the accusation that Turner was an FBI informant, but much digital ink has been spilled on this subject during the course of the trial. Here are some of the key documents.

Hal Turner criminal complaint

Hal Turner indictment

The following transcripts are related to Turner's claim of being an FBI informant, including the government's concession that the radio host had "intermittent" contact with the FBI.

Transcript of July 28, 2009

Transcript of August 10, 2009

Affidavit of Phyllis Turner (claiming her husband worked for the FBI)

Labels: Hal-Turner, white-supremacists

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Tarek Mehanna Superseding Indictment and Evidentiary Proffer

Two new documents filed today in Boston in the case of alleged jihadist Tarek Mehanna. Updated analysis can be found on AmericanJihadists.com.

According to an evidentiary proffer:

MEHANNA also sought to provide material support to al Qa’ida and other terrorist organizations by translating and distributing videos and text that were intended to inspire others to participate in jihad.

Among those translations, the proffer alleges, was a document called "39 Ways to Serve and Participate in Jihad." An online correspondent of Mehanna said the work was establishing him as "Al Qaeda's English wing" and "Al Qaeda in Iraq's media wing."

Mehanna later asked that a third party post the work so that his name wouldn't be associated with it, according to the proffer.

Mehanna also translated videos related to terrorist acts by Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, the emir of Al Qaeda in Iraq, the proffer alleges.

The proffer relates the contents of an instant messaging exchange between Mehanna and another individual, which was recovered from Mehanna's computer. The exchange features the two men joking about the videotaped beheading of Nicholas Berg by Zarqawi.

MEHANNA: we can have a movie night

DS: What movie? ... "State of the Ummah"?

MEHANNA: ni ... no ... Heads Up

DS: lol ... Heads Up?

MEHANNA: hehe joke

DS: Does it star Mr. Z?

MEHANNA: yes

DS: it shoud be Heads Off

MEHANNA: hehe yeah

Mehanna made jokes about the September 11 attacks, the proffer alleges, and went with two friends to visit Ground Zero.

Tarek Mehanna Superseding Indictment

Tarek Mehanna Evidentiary Proffer

Labels: Tarek-Mehanna

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American Jihadists

AmericanJihadists.com is a new Web site in the INTELWIRE.com family. This site will start as a document-oriented blog connecting to resources and documents on the subject of American citizens who take part in military jihad activities.

The blog will give way in 2010 to a broader and more ambitious Web site that provides detailed source material from my forthcoming book, "American Jihadists." I hope to have an update soon with details about the book release.

The topic of "American Jihadists" is fairly complex and has not received the media attention it deserves. There are dozens of cases of American citizens who have been arrested and indicted for various jihad-related activities. There are also cases in which Americans have taken part in military jihad overseas but have not been indicted and those who are not directly linked to terrorism.

AmericanJihadists.com

Labels: Site-News

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Criminal Complaint on Detroit Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah

From the complaint:

The investigation has shown that Luqman Ameen Abdullah, Imam of the Masjid AI-Haqq, in Detroit, Michigan, is a highly placed leader of a nationwide radical fundamentalist Sunni group consisting primarily of African-Americans, some of whom converted to Islam while they were serving sentences in various prisons across the United States. Their primary mission is to establish a separate, sovereign Islamic state ("The Ummah") within the borders of the United States, governed by Shariah law. The Ummah is to be ruled over by Jamil Abdullah AI-Amin, formerly known as H. Rapp Brown, who is currently serving a life sentence in the Florence, Colorado Supermax for shooting two police officers in Georgia.

Luqman Adbullah was taped by an informant with a variety of interesting comments, including the following:

[U]ntil you act black and believe in that you are the leaders of mankind, you are going to be astray. If you can't please the Christians and the Jews. You cannot please them until you follow their religion. [...]

Obama is a Kafir [infidel]. McCain, all the rest of them Kufrars, are Kuffars. You can't make them a good Kafir, bad Kafir. [...]

The premise of Allah, and Islam said, "the worst of [unintelligible], the worst
Muslim is better than the best Kafir." [...]

It's impossible to for you to take and change this thing around, trying to go through it the same way. You know, like, "OK, let me become a part of it then. I'm going to change it." You cannot do that. It don't work like that. And you cannot have a non-violent revolution.

Oct. 27, 2009 Criminal Complaint, Luqman Ameen Abdullah et al.

Labels: American-Jihadists, Luqman-Amin-Abdullah

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1994 State Department Cable Referencing Al Qaeda

Earlier this year, I posted some material about the date of Al Qaeda's founding, and a corollary issue, the earliest date of a U.S. government document that mentions the name of Al Qaeda.

The document question stems from an assertion by the House and Senate Select Intelligence Committees Joint Inquiry Into September 11 that the earliest reference they could find mentioning Al Qaeda by name was late 1996 (see Report Of The Joint Inquiry, page 745).

Although the original document has not been released to the public, we know from a reference in a later document that the FBI was told the name Al Qaeda in 1993 by Ali Mohamed, a former U.S. Special Forces sergeant who had infiltrated the U.S. on behalf of Al Qaeda.

Here's a another interesting example, a State Department cable dated Feb. 2, 1994, detailing a published interview with Talaat Fouad Qasem (aka Talaat Fouad Qassem, Abu Talal Al-Qasem and Abu Talal al-Qasimy), an extremely important leader of the Islamic Group. This document is full of interesting (and possibly fanciful) claims, but here's one of the highlights:

Some of the group of Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahry went to Saudi Arabia, and he went to Peshawar. In the beginning, they were called 'The Accused In The Jihad Organization Case.' When they got acquainted with Osama Ben Laden, a wealthy Saudi who believes in the principle of Jihad, he trusted them, and they jointly started to establish the 'Base,' a guest house for those desiring to participate in the Afghan Jihad. Ever since, they named themselves The Jihad Group ("Gama'at Al-Jihad").

"The Base" is, of course, the English translation of "Al Qaeda." Given that the "Base" is referenced in quote marks in two different places in this cable, it's safe to assume the translator realized it was supposed to be a name -- but neglected to provide the original Arabic as he or she did for "The Jihad Group" just one sentence later.

At any rate, this is an interesting document both for its early reference to Al Qaeda (firmly situating it with the known terrorist group Al Jihad) and for its confirmation of other documents placing the founding of Al Qaeda as roughly concurrent to the waning years of the Afghan Jihad.

Perhaps more significantly, it also corroborates other intelligence that specifies the importance of Ayman Al-Zawahiri to Al Qaeda from day one. Qasem here indicates Zawahiri is an equal co-founder of Al Qaeda. Although many sources refer to a 1998 "official" announcement as the date of the merger between Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Al Qaeda, it's quite clear from a wide variety of sources that the two organizations were joined at the hip from Al Qaeda's earliest days.

Feb. 2, 1994 State Department cable, "ISLAMIC GROUP" SPOKESMAN OUTLINES TERRORIST STRATEGY AND ALLEGES USG "ASSURANCES" TO THE IG

Labels: Ayman-Al-Zawahiri, Egyptian-Islamic-Jihad, Islamic-Group, Osama-Bin-Laden, Talaat-Fouad-Qassem

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Tarek Mehanna Complaint and Search Warrant

10/21/2009: Criminal complaint re: Tarek Mehanna

10/20/2009: Affidavit in support of search warrant re: Tarek Mehanna

12/2008: Archived copy of Tarek Mehanna's blog writings

Labels: American-Al-Qaeda, American-Jihadists, Boston, Tarek-Mehanna

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Secret Service Document Describes Missing Scenes From FBI Release of Oklahoma City Bombing Videos

A Secret Service timeline of events around the Oklahoma City bombing describes video surveillance tapes that show the Ryder truck used in the terrorist attack both before and during the detonation.

The FBI last week released security camera footage of the moments after the bombing. The videotapes, which the FBI claims were not edited, do not show the Ryder Truck, McVeigh or the explosion.

The Secret Service document, dated May 1, 1995, and provided to INTELWIRE by Attorney Jesse Trentadue, describes:

"Security video [that] shows the Ryder truck pulling up to the Federal Building and then pausing (7-10 seconds) before resuming into a slot in front of the building."

"Security video tapes from the area show the truck detonation 3 minutes and 6 seconds after the suspects exited the truck"

The word "suspects" in plural refers to a witness report that two men exited the truck. It is not entirely clear from the document whether the security tape shows anyone exiting the truck. Witness reports also described a third suspect, a woman believed to have been directing the truck into position for detonation.

Timeline document (excerpt)

The videotapes were released to Trentadue under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Trentadue sued the FBI to force it to disclose information about the Oklahoma City bombing after the death of his brother, Kenneth Trentadue, in federal custody on Aug. 21, 1995. Kenneth Trentadue's death was initially declared a suicide by prison officials, but the family discovered signs of numerous injuries when preparing him for burial. The family was awarded more than $1 million after winning a wrongful death suit against the government. Trentadue believes his brother was mistaken for a suspect in the case.

For more information on Trentadue's lawsuit including documents he has obtained through his FOIA lawsuit, click here.

Labels: OKBOMB, Oklahoma-City-Bombing

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Najibullah Zazi Indictment, Detention Document

9/23/2009: Najibullah Zazi indictment

This is an indictment for planned use of Weapons of Mass Destruction (in this case, bombs).

9/24/2009: Affidavit in support of detention of Najibullah Zazi

This is a much more informative document detailing why Zazi is a flight risk.

An interesting note: Zazi rented a hotel room with a stove specifically so he could cook up TATP, a fairly powerful improvised explosive.

Ramzi Yousef, working in a Manila apartment in 1995, also used a stove to prepare explosives, and TATP was found in his apartment after it was exposed.

Yousef's footprint has loomed large for years after his incarceration.

* September 11 was at least inspired by Yousef, if not wholly concocted by him.

* The 2006 London airliner bomb plot -- the reason you can't take shampoo on a plane -- involved smuggling TATP or its components onto a plane or planes. In addition to the chemical explosive coming up again, the method of smuggling and the number of targets were both extremely similar to Yousef's Bojinka plot, which would have deployed lquid explosives against a dozen U.S.-bound airliners).

* The "shoe bomb" concept used by Richard Reid is reminiscent of some of Yousef's plan for smuggling bomb components onto airplanes in the heels of his shoes. That bomb also used TATP.

* Yousef's chemical recipes and specific bomb designs continue to be distributed online through jihadi forums and at terrorist training camps.

Labels: Najibullah-Zazi

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Najibullah Zazi, Queens Suspect, Criminal Complaint and FBI Affidavit

Criminal complaint for Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan-American suspected of ties to Al Qaeda, and his father, Mohammed Wali Zazi. According to the complaint:

[T]he defendant NAJIBULLAH ZAZI traveled to Peshawar, Pakistan from Newark International Airport via Geneva, Switzerland and Dohha, Qatar. ...

On or about September 11, 2009, FBI agents conducted a legally-authorized search of the defendant ZAZI's rental car, which was parked near the Queens Residence. During the search of the car, a laptop computer was found containing a jpeg image of nine-pages of handwritten notes (the "handwritten notes"). The handwritten notes contain formulations and instructions regarding the manufacture and handling of initiating explosives, main explosives charges, explosives detonators and components of a fuzing [sic] system.

According to the complaint, the FBI obtained the passwords to three of Zazi's email accounts, through unspecified means. One of the accounts was "known to law enforcement" prior to the FBI's search of Zazi's laptop. Media reports have said Zazi traveled to an Al Qaeda-linked training camp in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area, but the complaint does not contain this allegation.

The complaint also says Zazi's father and an individual referred to as "the imam" from New York both warned Zazi that he was under investigation.

"The imam" was an "individual known to law enforcement, whom the NYPD has utilized as a source for information in the past," the complaints state. "The imam" said in a phone call to Zazi:

"I want to speak with you about something . . . I want a meeting with you [and others]. You probably know why I'm calling you for this meeting . . . I was exposed to something yesterday from the authorities. And they came to ask me about your characters. They asked me about you guys....

"I'm not sure if somebody complained about you. I'm not sure what happened. And I don't want to know. They [the authorities] said, 'Please, we need to
know who they are ... what they're all about.' I told them that they are innocent, law abiding. ...

"They [the police] came to the masjid to ask for help. That is a good sign. Trust me that is a good sign. The bad sign is for them coming to you guys and picking you up automatically."

Complaint against Najibullah Zazi

Complaint against Mohammed Wali Zazi

Labels: Najibullah-Zazi

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Oklahoma City Bombing Witness Linked To CIA, FOIA Suit Filing Says

A potential witness in the Oklahoma City bombing case had contact with the CIA.

That is just one of dozens of revelations in a document released by the CIA, in response to a lawsuit by Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue.

Trentadue has been seeking government documents related to Oklahoma City through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), as part of an investigation into the death of his brother while federal custody (story).

Trentadue sought documents from the CIA under FOIA. Although the Agency released some documents (story, documents), it withheld many more. In response to Trentadue's lawsuit, the CIA filed what is known as a Vaughn Index, describing the withheld material in detail. While much of the material was classified, the CIA also refused to disclose several unclassified documents.

Among the documents described in the index:

A document written by a CIA attorney to the Justice Department that "responds to request for information as to whether a potential witness in the Oklahoma City Bombing trial was at any time associated with the CIA." The document describes "contacts between the CIA and the potential witness," which also contains information on "the location of a covert CIA facility."

A letter to an FBI agent describing CIA records searches related to Timothy McVeigh and co-conspirator Terry Nichols.

A 10-page fax describing a name trace search conducted by the CIA on Terry Nichols.

A one-page cable dated April 19, 1995, with the subject line "Bombing in Oklahoma City," which contains information about "the location of a covert CIA facility, a CIA cryptogram, and CIA intelligence limitations and capabilities."

A two cable dated April 19, 1995, and titled "Identity of US Citizens Who Attended the PAIC [Popular Arab Islamic Conference]." The annual Sudan-based conference was known as a nexus for Islamic terrorist leaders including Al Qaeda members. The document also contains information about "CIA intelligence collection requests, the location of a CIA covert facility, and cryptonyms."

A one-page cable dated April 19, 1995, and titled "Call From Foreign Liason Contact," which describes "the identity of a foreign government that provided information to the CIA in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing, the location of a covert CIA facility, and information regarding another agency's sources, information sharing, and analysis of source information. Release of the classified information reasonably would be expected to result in serious damage to the national security of the United States."

A three-page cable dated April 20, 1995, and titled "Planned Correspondence With Foreign Government Liaison Partners," which describes contact between the CIA and "an asset regarding the Oklahoma City bombing."

A two-page cable dated April 20, 1995, and titled "Explosion at Federal Building in Oklahoma" which describes "the location of a covert CIA field station, the identity of a human source, information sharing, and information credited to a representative of a foreign government."

Multiple documents dated April 20, 1995, describing claims of responsibility for the Oklahoma City bombing. As previously reported on INTELWIRE, there were several such claims in the aftermath of the bombing (story, story).

A two-page cable dated April 20, 1995, and titled "Possible Suspect" which "provides information about a possible person of interest in the Oklahoma City bombing."

A two-page cable dated April 20, 1995, and titled "Name Trace Results" which describes "a person named in connection with the Oklahoma Bombing investigation, but whom was not the object of plaintiff's FOIA request." Trentadue's FOIA request specifically requested information on Andreas Strassmeir, a German national linked to McVeigh.

A two-page cable dated April 21, 1995, and titled "Investigative Lead."

A two-page cable dated April 21, 1995, and titled "Possible Lead."

A two-page cable dated April 21, 1995, and titled "Information Regarding Possible Suspects." It contains "the identity of an intelligence source and details regarding inter-agency coordination with respect to the intelligence as well as to protect the location of a covert CIA field station and foreign liaison"

The Vaughn Index lists numerous other leads generated by human intelligence sources.

Read the full document

Labels: CIA, OKBOMB, Oklahoma-City-Bombing, Terry-Nichols, Timothy-McVeigh

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

Air Force One, New York Flyover Photos

Air Force One Flyover of NYC:

New York City Flight Authorization (Manifest)

New York City Flyover Photos (6MB) 

New York City Flyover Supporting Documents - Part 1 (125MB)

New York City Flyover Supporting Documents - Part 2 (119MB)

Labels: Air-Force-One

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Full Text Indictment of Daniel Patrick Boyd

Below is the indictment for the alleged North Carolina Jihad cell consisting of Daniel Patrick Boyd, Hysen Sherifi, Anes Subasic, Zakariya Boyd, Dylan Boyd, Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan and Ziyad Yaghi.

Full text of indictment

Labels: American-Al-Qaeda, Daniel-Patrick-Boyd, Homegrown-Terrorism

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Bryant Neal Vinas Confession

In the fall of 2007, I left my home in Long Island to travel to Pakistan with the intention of meeting and joining a jihadist group to fight American soldiers in Afghanistan. When I arrived in Pakistan, I made contact with and was accepted into al-Qaeda, a jihadist group that I knew to be responsible for attacks against the United States, including suicide bombings targeting civilians.

As a member of al-Qaeda, I received training in courses in general combat and explosives. During my time in al-Qaeda, I took part, at the direction of al-Qaeda leaders, in two missions in September 2008 in which we agreed and planned to attack a United States military base near the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The first attack failed and we had to abort the mission before firing on the base, but a few days later, I took part in firing rockets at an American military base. Although we intended to hit the military base and kill American soldiers, I was informed that the rockets missed and the attack failed.

Finally, during my time with al-Qaeda, I consulted with a senior al-Qaeda leader and provided detailed information about the operation of the Long Island Rail Road system which I knew because I had ridden the railroad on many occasions. The purpose of providing this information was to help plan a bomb attack of the Long Island Rail Road system.

Full transcript

Labels: Afghanistan, American-Al-Qaeda, Bryant-Neal-Vinas, Homegrown-Terrorism

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Bryant Neal Vinas Indictment and Transcripts

From the L.A. Times:

An American Muslim convert from Long Island, N.Y., who was captured while fighting for Al Qaeda in Pakistan is now cooperating with authorities, opening a rare window into the world of Western militants in the network's hide-outs, U.S. and European anti-terrorism officials said.

Bryant Neal Vinas, 26, is one of the few Americans known to have made the trek to Al Qaeda's secret Pakistani compounds, the officials said.

Vinas has admitted to meeting Al Qaeda chiefs and giving them information for a potential attack on New York commuter trains, conversations that resulted in a public alert in November, said the officials, who requested anonymity because the case was ongoing.

Here are the key court documents in the Vinas case:

All documents

November 14, 2008, First indictment

November 22, 2008, Court transcript

January 28, 2009, Superseding indictment

January 28, 2009, Court transcript

July 22, 2009, Order to unseal

Labels: Afghanistan, American-Al-Qaeda, Bryant-Neal-Vinas, Homegrown-Terrorism, Pakistan, Terrorist-Recruitment

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FBI Investigation of Edward Said, 1 of 4

This is the first of four installments.

7/21/1972, FBI Letterhead Memorandum, opening investigation of Edward Said

10/30/1972, FBI Memorandum, Summary of Investigation, Edward Said

10/30/1972, FBI Letterhead Memorandum, Lead Sheet and Attached Biographical Data, Edward Said

10/31/1972, FBI Letterhead Memorandum, Requesting phone records for Edward Said

12/14/1972, FBI Letterhead Memorandum, Edward Said, Boston investigation and news story

12/14/1972, FBI Memorandum, INS Query, Edward Said

11/15/1974, FBI Case File, Edward Said passport photo

05/17/1982, FBI Teletype, Edward Said linked to terrorism investigation

08/28/1991, FBI Memorandum, Edward Said, Classified SECRET/NOFORN, mostly redacted

Labels: Edward-Said, FBI

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