|
PETITION
FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS OF PETITIONER-DEFENDANT,
TIMOTHY JAMES McVEIGH AND BRIEF IN SUPPORT MARCH 25, 1997 |
STATEMENT OF MATERIAL FACTS II. PHYSICAL AND POLITICAL MAGNITUDE OF THE
DESTRUCTION OF THE ALFRED P. MURRAH FEDERAL BUILDING. A. Immediate Effects of the Explosion. On April 19, 1995, at approximately 9:02 a.m.
a "massive explosive" detonated outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal
Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The shockwave of the explosion blew into
and through the Murrah
Building and scores of other buildings in the downtown
Oklahoma City area, including the United States Courthouse located just one
block away. D.E. 222 at 1. Alerted by the concussion of the blast, crowds of
persons appeared from the areas surrounding the blast site and immediately
began to tend to the injured, most cut by flying debris and still in
uncomprehending shock at what had happened. Persons present near the explosion
began to comprehend the scale of
destruction that had occurred when they looked at the gaping ruins that
moments before had been a federal office building--but which in a matter of
seconds had been turned into a grave site for 168 federal workers with scores
still trapped and injured in the collapsed, still smoking building. When the explosion occurred, the United
States Courthouse trembled one block away as if caught in an earthquake. Over
one hundred 36" by 54" windows shattered and flew into the
Courthouse. Id. Inside, heavy courtroom doors were jammed, courtrooms were
flooded with broken glass, judges' chambers were turned into piles of plaster,
fallen ceiling tiles, and broken glass. Shards of glass peppered and scarred
desks, courtroom furniture, and walls.
Inside the Courthouse and the remaining structure of the Alfred P.
Murrah Building, there was pandemonium. People ran screaming from courtrooms,
judges' chambers, and offices. The halls quickly became jammed with
panic-stricken people and a stifling mixture of dust and acrid smoke. The
Courthouse exits were destroyed, making evacuation excruciatingly slow for
everyone. No one had any idea what had befallen them or those far less fortunate
in the Murrah Building. Terror and shock permeated the Federal Courthouse, the
trapped survivors of the Murrah Building, and the occupants of surrounding
buildings. See D.E. 222 at 6. The destruction of the Murrah Building, and the
subsequent investigation by federal and state law enforcement, is simply
unparalleled in American history. The resulting criminal prosecution of Timothy
James McVeigh and Terry Lynn Nichols has resulted in an Indictment which
accuses these two Defendants of participating in a crime which encompasses the
intentional homicides of 168 people, inflicting injuries upon 503 others,
damaging 320 structures in the area surrounding the Murrah Building, and being
responsible for approximately $651 million dollars in recovery costs. D.E. 215
at 16. This is a federal criminal case
in which the able 53-year-old Republican Governor of Oklahoma, Frank Keating,
stated that the bombing in Oklahoma City was unlike anything he had ever seen
as an FBI Agent, U.S. Attorney, or law enforcement official in the Reagan and
Bush Administrations. This is a case in which Kevin McNally, Federal Death
Penalty Resource counsel, stated in a sworn affidavit that, to his knowledge,
is the largest murder case in American history. Id. This is a case which immediately captured the
personal attention of the President of the United States, resulting in a trip
to Oklahoma City by President Clinton to address survivors of the bombing and
the nation. This is a case in which a Federal Grand Jury met and a preliminary
hearing was held on an Air Force Base amidst the chirping of a family of birds
because the bombing had significantly destroyed the Federal Courthouse in
Oklahoma City. See United States v. McVeigh, No. M-95-98-H, Transcript of
Preliminary Hearing had on April 27, 1995 at 3. The magistrate presiding over
the preliminary hearing noted with judicial understatement that this case
presented "unusual circumstances." Id. at 4. Susan Otto, the Federal
Public Defender for the Western District of Oklahoma, in support of a Motion to
Transfer, stated that she had not found a case in the history of this country
that was of such magnitude. Id. at 10. This is now a capital case involving
multiple investigation sites including Oklahoma, Kansas, Michigan, Arizona, New
York, Florida, as well as others worldwide.
This is a case in which Judge Russell, in granting the government more
time to issue an Indictment, observed that the facts upon which the Grand Jury
must ultimately base its determination are "highly unusual" and
"complex"; that the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Murrah Building
was an act of unprecedented terrorism resulting in a massive criminal
investigation; that the criminal investigation has required the government to
follow up more than 100,000 phone calls, analyze thousands of business records,
and interview hundreds of witnesses and potential witnesses; and that there
exists a huge volume of evidentiary material subject to a myriad of chemical
and physical tests. See D.E. 107 (United States v. McVeigh, No. M-95-98-H,
Order filed June 12, 1995 at 5). Three
of the most rarely granted defense requests in criminal litigation were granted
in this case because of its unique nature. This Court, in considering a Petiton
[sic] for Writ of Mandamus, removed the then-presidng [sic] Judge assigned to
this case in the initial stages. See Nichols v. Alley, 71 F. 3d 347 (10th Cir.
1995). As a result of this Court's decision, the Chief Judge of this Circuit
assigned Chief Judge Richard P. Matsch to preside over this litigation. See
D.E. 711. After giving careful consideration to the facts of this case, Chief
Judge Matsch changed the venue of the prosecution to Denver, Colorado (918 F.
Supp. 1467 (D. Colo. 1996)), and subsequently granted the defendants' motions
for a severance (169 F.R.D. 362 (D. Colo. 1996)). See D.E. 984; 2376. Timothy
McVeigh will be tried beginning March 31, 1997. D.E. 3429 B. The Response of the Federal
Government. The prosecution in this case
has at its disposal the resources of every federal, state, and local agency in
the United States to interrogate, arrest, prosecute and convict those the Grand
Jury charges with the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building. The President
of the United States pledged to send "the world's finest investigators to
solve these murders." See D.E. 1079 at 10. Within hours of the President's
statement, the Attorney General of the United States emphatically stated that
"[t]he FBI and the law enforcement community will pursue every lead and
use every possible resource to bring these people responsible to justice."
Id. Innumerable federal agencies have participated in the investigation of this
case. The day after the bombing the New York Times reported as follows: From offices and bases around the
country, government aircraft
carried to Oklahoma City an array of federal law enforcement officials, emergency
management personnel and military
forces, an operation that constituted one
of the vastest[sic] responses to a crime in American history. A 24 hour FBI command center with 400
telephones was established in
Oklahoma to coordinate the work of
explosives teams, bomb technicians and portable scientific gear used to analyze chemical
residues. D.E. 1079 at 10-11. According to a May 31, 1995,
"Nightline" broadcast interview of former FBI Assistant Director Buck
Revell, ". . . when you have an event of [the Oklahoma City bombing's]
magnitude, you have to cast a very broad net." D.E. 1079 at 11. The
President of the United States "dispatched a small army of federal
investigators to Oklahoma and pledged a relentless hunt for the killers."
Id. 1. The Government's Immediate
Response to the Bombing. a. Mobilization. The government began its search for suspects
within minutes after the gravity of the Oklahoma City bombing became apparent.
The White House Situation Room, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI)
Command Center, the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) Watch Office, and other
agencies' nerve centers undoubtedly monitored media reporting of the bombing
and established communications with personnel located at or near the scene in
Oklahoma City. D.E. 1079 at 2. Government agencies throughout the United States
were alerted to the potential for similar attacks. At the White House, a "crisis
team" was convened in order to coordinate the intensive investigation. Id.
at 13. This team, under the direction of the Justice Department, consisted of
personnel from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, the Secret Service, the Central Intelligence Agency, the
National Security Agency, and members of the National Security Council.
According to media reports, this crisis team was formed in the wake of the
blast and met on Wednesday, April 19, 1995, via teleconference in Washington
and convened again on Thursday morning at the White House. Id. CIA spokesman David Christian has verified
to the media that the agency was involved in the Murrah bombing investigation.
Id In addition, the investigative machinery of U.S. military intelligence
agencies has been utilized in this criminal case. One media source reported
that "the nation's intelligence community, the CIA and defense
intelligence officials, also will contribute information, and send their own
agents overseas to work digging up leads, according to the law enforcement
experts." Id. Civilian and
military intelligence agencies were placed on the highest alert here in the
United States and similar warnings of impending attacks were forwarded to United
States installations overseas. For example, The CIA's Directorate of Operations
(DO) transmitted to stations and bases worldwide a high precedence cable
instructing agency officers to query sources for information about the attack.
The FBI's Counterterrorism Center issued a directive to all CIA stations to
search their international sources for possible leads among foreign terrorist
groups. Id. at 14. Officers in the CIA
Directorate's six overseas divisions immediately began arranging meetings and conducting
debriefing sessions. The domestic arm of the DO - the National Resources (NR)
Division - also began combing contacts for leads concerning the bombing. (NR
Division's procedures for obtaining information are described in United States
v. Reward, 889 F. 2d 836 (9th Cir. 1989), although NR is described therein as
the Domestic Collection (DC) Division).
The CIA's sources include individuals holding positions in governments,
military services, corporations, universities, political parties, and terrorist
groups. Id. The agency's officers utilized both unilateral assets - those who
are cooperating with the United States unbeknownst to their superiors; and
liaison relationships - formal contacts between the CIA and foreign law
enforcement, intelligence, and security agencies. Military Intelligence and the
CIA similarly obtain information through the use of ostensibly private or
commercial entities that are, in fact, intelligence platforms. Through liaison
relationships, the government is also able to avail itself of the multitude of
sources operated by foreign governments. See infra for description of
assistance from Israel. b. Evidence From
Public Sources of Government Use of Intelligence Networks With Foreign Nations
in the Investigation of the Alfred P. Murrah Building Bombing. In its annual report, the State Department's
Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism reports that the Clinton
Administration is "deeply engaged in cooperation with other governments in
an international effort to combat terrorism[.]" D.E. 1079 at 15. Such
cooperation includes an "active network of cooperative relations with
counterparts in scores of friendly countries" involving United States
intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Id. The State Department's Office of
the Coordinator for Counterterrorism conducts consultations on counterterrorism
with many other governments including G-7 nations and the European Union.
Additionally, there are now 11 treaties and conventions that commit signatories
to combat various terrorist crimes. Id.
United States government agencies, including the CIA and FBI, maintain
liaison relationships with many countries. The Supreme Court has recognized the
existence of these relationships, as well as the United States government's
receipt of information through such contacts. See Snepp v. United States, 444
U. S. 507, 512 (1980) (''[T]he CIA obtains information from the intelligence
agencies of unfriendly nations and from agents operating in foreign
countries"). The United States derives substantial information from these
associations. These liaison relations would have provided numerous reports
concerning the Oklahoma City bombing, possible motives for the bombing, and
possible suspects other than Timothy McVeigh.
In an interview on CNN on April 20, 1995, White House Chief of Staff
Leon Panetta confirmed that the Justice Department was reviewing all of the
intelligence network data in order to determine whether there are any leads.
D.E. 1079 at 15. Mr. Panetta stated that the investigation into the bombing
clearly involves looking at communications, both within the United States and
outside the United States. Id. Also, CNN's State Department correspondent Steve
Hurst stated that there was bound to be a volume of cable traffic coming into
the State Department and into the CIA from stations abroad concerning
information about the bombing. Presumably, Mr. Hurst is proficient and
knowledgeable in the operations of the State Department, and his observations
are supported by other media accounts establishing an FBI directive to CIA
stations to search its international sources for possible leads among foreign
terrorist groups. Id. at 16. c. CIA and
NSA Investigation Protocol. In the
immediate aftermath of the bombing, the CIA searched its databases for
candidates who might have the means and motive to perpetrate the bombing. The
databases were also used to verity the bona fides of sources providing leads.
The CIA's stations and bases submitted numerous "name traces" on
individuals as a result of the bombing investigation. These traces were
requests for information on individuals, including those suspected of having
knowledge of the bombing. Technical assets, such as global, regional, and local
communication intercepts and reconnaissance satellites, were also used to
obtain or verify information about the Oklahoma City bombing.[5] ------------------------------------ FOOTNOTES: [5] On May 10, 1995, the
government, as part of its investigation of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah
Building, enlisted the aid of the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas,
in obtaining Global Positioning System (GPS) readings for twenty (20)
geographical sites. These readings were taken by the "Magellan GPS Nav
1000." The readings were taken "for possible satellite photograph
requests[.]" D.E. 1079 at 16 n.7 (Exhibit "D"). ------------------------------------ The CIA's Counterterrorism Center was the
focal point for all reports. The information gathered was then sent to
government analysts and other official consumers, including the Justice
Department. Id. at 16-17. Also in
response to the attack the National Security Agency (NSA) promptly supplemented
their existing "watch list" for domestic terrorist threats with specific
terms related to the Oklahoma City bombing, potential suspects and suspect
organizations. Id. at 17. A watch list enables NSA listening posts to key on
specific words spoken in their global net of intercepted oral communications.
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) was also requested to assist in the
investigation of the bombing by providing satellite photography. Id. The NSA's sole reason for being is to
intercept electronic messages worldwide and analyze these interceptions for
useful intelligence and national security information. As reported by the
Senate Select Committee to Study Government Operations with Respect to
Intelligence Activities: [Tlhe National
Security Agency was created by Executive Order in 1952 to conduct 'signals
intelligence' including the interception and analysis of messages transmitted
by electronic means, such as telephone calls and telegrams. D.E. 1079 at
17. Lewis Allen, a General in the
United States Air Force and then-Director of the National Security Agency,
testified before the Committee that the "mission of the NSA was directed
to foreign intelligence obtained from foreign electrical
communications[.]" Id. But in
delineating the scope of the NSA's mission, the Committee pointed out that the
NSA has interpreted "foreign communications" to include communication
where one terminal is outside the United States. Under this interpretation, the
NSA has for many years intercepted communications between the United States and
a foreign country, even though the sender or receiver was American. Thus, the
full range of the NSA's sphere of interceptions is virtually unlimited and
unchecked. Id. at 17-18. Yet, the NSA is
allowed specifically by Executive Order to assist domestic law enforcement
authorities and to participate in law enforcement activities to investigate or
prevent clandestine intelligence activities by foreign powers, or international
terrorists or narcotics activities. Id. at 18 (Executive Order 12333). With
respect to methods of interception utilized by the NSA, a Senate Select
Committee has reported the following:
The use of lists of words, including individual names, subjects, locations, etc., has long been
one of the methods used to sort out
information of foreign intelligence
value from that which is not of interest.
In the past, such lists have been referred to occasionally as watch lists, because the
lists were used as an aid to watch
for foreign activity of reportable
intelligence interest. However, these
lists generally did not contain names of U.S. citizens or organizations. The activity in
question is one in which U.S. names
were used systematically as a basis
for selecting messages, including some between U.S. citizens, when one of the communicants
was at a foreign location. D.E. 1079 at 18. The system and the procedure for selection
and interception has been described in the Select Committee report on the
handling of the "watch lists":
The information produced by the watch list activity was, with one exception, entirely a
byproduct of our foreign
intelligence mission. All collection was
conducted against international communications with at least one terminal in a foreign
country, and for purposes unrelated
to the watch list activity. That
is, the communications were obtained, for example, by monitoring communications to and from
Hanoi. The watch list activity
specifically consisted of scanning
international communications already
intercepted for other purposes to derive information which met watch list requirements. This
scanning was accomplished by using
the entries provided to NSA as
selection criteria. Once selected, the messages were analyzed to determine if the
information met those requesting
agencies' requirements associated
with the watch lists. If the message met the requirements, the information therein
was reported to the requested
agency in writing. D.E. 1079 at
18-19. Significantly, the NSA's interception
of international communications sometimes includes, either incidently [sic] or
accidently [sic], communications between two American citizens if one of them
happens to be abroad. Id. at 19. Thus,
within hours of the bombing of the Murrah Building, the NSA's supplemented
watch lists would have enabled the agency to pluck a huge amount of data from
its incredible volume of global electronic interceptions. The result, within
this agency alone, would have been a massive amount of relevant information
concerning the bombing, none of which has been given to the defense in this
case. Procedures similar to the CIA's,
NSA's, and NRO's for gathering information on the bombing were employed by
foreign and domestic personnel of the Department of Justice and its enforcement
agencies (the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Immigration
and Naturalization Service (INS), and the U.S. Marshals); the Department of
State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS); the CIA's Office of Security (OS);
the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF,
Customs Service (USCS)), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and Secret Service
(USSS); the Postal Service's Postal Inspectors; The Department of Defense's
Armed Services, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Naval Criminal Investigative
Service, and the Defense Investigative Service, the General Services
Administration's Federal Protective Service; the Department of Transportation's
Coast Guard; and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Other agencies,
bureaus, and departments participated in the gathering of information as well.
Personnel at all levels, suspecting the bombing to be a large scale terrorist
attack resulting in numerous deaths, immediately mobilized all resources at the
government's disposal. The result was a mammoth investigation without political
or geographic limits. Id. at 19-20. 2.
Evidence of the International Scope of the Investigation and the Involvement of
Organs of State Intelligence in Several U.S. Domestic Bombing Cases Including
the Alfred P. Murrah Building. The
criminal investigation of this case included the use of the civilian and
military branches of government; law enforcement, intelligence, and security
agencies; foreign and domestic personnel and technical resources; and similar
assets of other nations. The international scope of the investigation of this
case is underscored by comments made by the Attorney General at an April 20,
1995, press conference: [Reporter]:
The government of Israel has offered its
help, because it has a vast experience with this sort of thing. Do you know if we are
accepting that help? [Attorney
General Reno]: We will, of course, rely
on any additional resource that can possibly be involved and be utilized appropriately
in bringing these people to
justice. D.E. 1079 at 20. In a 1981 Executive Order, President Reagan
authorized agencies within the intelligence community to "participate in
law enforcement activities to investigate or prevent clandestine intelligence
activities by foreign powers or international terrorist or narcotics
activities[.]" Id. at 21 (Executive Order 12333, December 4, 1981). The
intelligence community is also authorized to provide specialized equipment,
technical knowledge or assistance of expert personnel for use by any department
or agency or, when lives are in danger, to support local enforcement agencies.
Thus, the Chief Executive of this country has authorized specifically the use
of instruments of state intelligence to aid law enforcement agencies in
investigating terrorist attacks. The
United States Department of State has acknowledged the federal government's use
of intelligence organizations in response to terrorism: "A central element
in the effective international effort to prevent and/or to bring about to
justice those responsible for such attacks is the effective exchange of
intelligence. The United States intelligence community is cooperating closely
and effectively with other services as part of the international effort to
identify those responsible[.]" Id. D.E. 1079 at 21. In fact, a report
issued from the State Department's Office of the Coordinator for
Counterterrorism states: Because
terrorism is a global problem, the Clinton
administration is deeply engaged in cooperation with other governments in an international effort to
combat terrorism: U.S. intelligence
and law enforcement agencies have
an active network of cooperative relations
with counterparts in scores of friendly countries. D.E. 1079 at 21-22. Such cooperative efforts have been further
chronicled in the mainstream press: "In the bombing of the World Trade
Center, in February 1993, the FBI, CIA and other agencies scoured the globe for
leads and found many," Brian Duffy, et al., Extremism In America, U.S. New
and World Report, May 8, 1995 at 30, and in the May 7, 1995, San Diego Union
tribune article regarding the investigation into the car-bombing of a United
States Navy captain - "[T]he CIA, the National Security Administration
[sic], the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Naval Criminal
Investigative Service and local law-enforcement agencies were involved."
See D.E. 1079 at 22. As previously noted,
after the bombing the initial "crisis team" assembled in the White
House Situation Room consisted of personnel from the BATF, the FBI, the Secret
Service, the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, and
members of the National Security Council. Id. at 22. Military officials from
the defense intelligence agencies have participated in this investigation as
well. Finally, the White House Chief of Staff, Leon Panetta, confirmed that the
Justice Department conducted a review of data gathered from intelligence
networks, including communications from both within the United States and
outside the United States. Id. Thus,
from its very inception, the investigation launched by the federal government
in this case has utilized the resources of the FBI and other domestic law
enforcement agencies in tandem with the intelligence gathering entities of the
federal government with the imprimatur of an executive order allowing such a
symbiotic relationship. In the first 48 hours after the bombing, the domestic
law enforcement and intelligence agencies of the federal government were
mobilized and directed toward foreign terrorists (concentrating on those from
the Middle East) with no limit on available manpower, assets, technology, and
without regard to geographical borders.
3. The Investigative Focus Upon Foreign Terrorists. News reports conclusively establish that the
FBI's early analysis and the judgment of other counterterrorism experts pointed
towards foreign responsibility for the Oklahoma City bombing. See D.E. 1079 at
23. CBS News reported shortly after the bombing that the FBI had received
claims of responsibility for the attack from at least eight organizations.
Seven of the claimants were thought to have Middle Eastern connections. D.E.
1079 at 23. Steven Emerson, an expert on Islamic Jihad said: "There is no
smoking gun. But the modus operandi and circumstantial evidence leads in the
direction of Islamic Terrorism." The government received calls from six
people saying that they were from different Muslim sects and asserting that
they were responsible for the bombing. Id. at 23-24. On April 20, 1995, the New York Times
reported that federal authorities opened an intensive hunt for the perpetrators
of the bombing and "proceeded on the theory that the bombing was a
terrorist attack against the government, law enforcement officials said."
Id. at 24. The immediate speculation according to some experts, focused on the
possibility that the attack had been the work of Islamic militants, similar to
those responsible for the World Trade Center bombing in February of 1993. D.E.
1079 at 24. John Magaw, director of the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, when asked whether his agency
suspected terrorists, told CNN: "I think any time you have this kind of
damage, this kind of explosion, you have to look there first." The FBI
even went so far as to approach the Department of Defense about including
Pentagon Arabic speakers in the investigative team. Former FBI Assistant
Director in Charge of Investigation and Counterterrorism Expert Oliver "Buck"
Revell, was quoted as saying, "I think what we've got is a bona fide
terrorist attack." Mr. Revell went on to state, "I think it's most
likely a Middle East terrorist. I think the modus operandi is similar. They
have used this approach." D.E. 1079 at 24.
FBI officials in Washington, speaking anonymously, suggested strongly
the investigations were focusing on Middle East terrorists . . . among the
leads being investigated was a television report of three males of Middle East
origin who rented a brown Chevrolet pickup at the Dallas-Fort Worth
International Airport. Witnesses have reported seeing three men driving away
from the blast area in a similar pickup. D.E. 1079 at 25. An FBI communique that was circulated Wednesday
suggested that the attack was carried out by the Islamic Jihad, an
Iranian-backed Islamic militant group. The communique suggested the attack was
made in retaliation for the prosecution of Muslim fundamentalists in the
bombing of the World Trade Center in February, 1993, said the source, a non-government
security professional. "We are currently inclined to suspect the Islamic
Jihad as the likely group," the FBI notice said. See D.E. 1079 at 25. The FBI's suspicion of an Islamic Jihad
connection would have been further reinforced by a sobering fact: Oklahoma City
is probably considered one of the largest centers of Islamic radical activity
outside the Middle East. Id. at 26. The extensive loss of life and the
targeting of a federal facility motivated law enforcement, the military, and
U.S. intelligence agencies to engage in the full range of overt and covert
resources located throughout the world. Their mission was two-fold: stop other
possible attacks, and identify the individuals and groups responsible for the
Murrah Building bombing. The government's
far-reaching efforts in pursuit of Middle Eastern suspects in this case have
become part of the public record. An affidavit of FBI Special Agent Henry C.
Gibbons, filed in United States v. Abraham Abdallah Ahmed, No. M-95-94-H, W.D.
Okla., April 20, 1995, strongly suggests intelligence assets are being used in
the bombing investigation. See D.E. 1079 (Exhibit "E"). Gibbons'
affidavit explains how a Jordanian American suspect's luggage was searched in
Italy, and how the suspect was detained by British authorities and then
forcibly returned to the United States. Id.
That a suspect of Middle Eastern origin was promptly apprehended
confirmed the widely-held suspicion that a foreign terrorist group would be implicated
in the bombing. According to the New York Times, Abraham Ahmed as "caught
in the dragnet that spread around the world after the bombing." The
newspaper went on to state: In his
case, he was first singled out for attention in accordance with a general profile of
possible suspects, including young men traveling alone
to destinations like the Middle
East. The profile was issued by the
FBI to police agencies and airport
authorities throughout the world.
Mr. Ahmed lives in Oklahoma. He checked into O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on
Wednesday night for a flight to
Rome, with connections for a flight to
Amman, Jordan. In addition to fitting the suspect profile, he was dressed in a jogging
suit similar to one that a witness
in Oklahoma City had reported
seeing worn by a man at the scene of the explosion. D.E.1079 at 27. The initial focus on foreign
terrorist connections undeniably placed the intelligence community at the
forefront of the investigatory efforts, since United States intelligence assets
exist solely to protect against such foreign threats. Nor is the government's focus limited to the
Middle East. The Sunday Times in London reported on February 4, 1996, that senior
FBI sources have confirmed that the Bureau was "also pursuing inquiries
into a possible neo-Nazi link between the Oklahoma City bombers and British and
German extremists." D.E. 1079 at 27. Because of Defendant Terry Nichols'
ties to the Philippines, within days of the bombing U.S. and Philippine
officials began reconstructing his movements there. An American Embassy legal attache interviewed
Marife Nichols' father, Eduardo Torres, and showed him sketches of the two
original bombing suspects. Id. at 27-28. Philippine intelligence agents briefly
placed Mr. Torres under surveillance to make sure he was not involved with
terrorism. Id. Clearly then, the tentacles of the federal government have
reached out worldwide in the investigation of the bombing of the Murrah
building. Compelled by the urgency of a
grievous attack on the United States government itself, resources ordinarily
dedicated to military and intelligence applications were brought to bear on a
domestic criminal investigation. By the government's commitment of such
resources to a criminal investigation, the Defendant becomes entitled to the
product of these resources, so that they may be as fairly and justly applied to
his defense as they are to his prosecution. |
PETITION
FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS OF PETITIONER-DEFENDANT,
TIMOTHY JAMES McVEIGH AND BRIEF IN SUPPORT MARCH 25, 1997 |
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