Ali Al-Marri Indicted for Providing Material Support to Al-Qaeda

WASHINGTON – A federal grand jury in the Central District of Illinois has returned a two-count indictment charging Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, 43, with providing material support to al-Qaeda and conspiring with others to provide material support to al-Qaeda, Attorney General Eric Holder announced today.

The indictment was returned yesterday and unsealed this morning. If convicted, al-Marri, a dual national of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, faces a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment for each count of the indictment.

“This indictment shows our resolve to protect the American people and prosecute alleged terrorists to the full extent of the law,” said Attorney General Holder. “In this administration, we will hold accountable anyone who attempts to do harm to Americans, and we will do so in a manner consistent with our values.”

On Jan. 22, 2009, the President ordered the Attorney General to lead an interagency review of al-Marri’s case. Specifically, the President instructed the Attorney General, the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Homeland Security, as well as the Director of National Intelligence to conduct a review of the factual and legal basis for al-Marri’s continued detention, and to identify and thoroughly evaluate alternative dispositions for al-Marri.

After the indictment against al-Marri was returned, the President directed the Secretary of Defense to transfer, upon the request of the Attorney General, al-Marri from the custody of the Defense Department at the Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, S.C., to the custody of the Justice Department for purposes of criminal prosecution. The President’s memorandum supersedes a June 23, 2003 Presidential directive that ordered al-Marri detained as an enemy combatant by the Defense Department. The transfer will be accomplished once the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a motion that the Acting Solicitor General files later today.

In conjunction with the indictment announced today, the Justice Department’s Office of the Solicitor General will be moving to dismiss al-Marri’s pending litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court.

“We look forward to prosecuting this critically important case and thank the many investigators, analysts and prosecutors who worked tirelessly to make it possible,” said Matthew Olsen, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security and Executive Director of the Guantanamo Detainee Review Task Force.

“These charges remind us of the importance of vigilant law enforcement across the country working individually and together to protect Americans,” said FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III. “It was important seven years ago, and even more important today.”

“The indictment alleges that Ali al-Marri provided material support to al-Qaeda, which has committed horrific terrorist acts against our nation,” said U.S. Attorney Rodger A. Heaton. “As a result, he will now face the U.S. criminal justice system, where his guilt or innocence will be determined by a jury in open court.”

Al-Marri entered the United States on Sept. 10, 2001, purportedly to pursue a second bachelor’s degree at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill. After having been detained in the Central District of Illinois, al-Marri was transferred to the Southern District of New York as a material witness in the investigation of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Al-Marri was charged with credit card fraud, false statements and identity fraud in the Southern District of New York. After al-Marri withdrew his waiver of venue, the court dismissed the charges and the government brought its case in the Central District of Illinois. On May 22, 2003, after being returned to the Central District of Illinois, al-Marri was indicted by a grand jury in that district. The May 2003 indictment alleged the same offenses that had been alleged previously in the Southern District of New York.

On June 23, 2003, al-Marri was designated by President Bush as an enemy combatant and transported from the Central District of Illinois to the Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, where he has been detained since. The criminal charges against al-Marri were dismissed with prejudice on the government's motion on June 23, 2003, prior to his transfer to South Carolina.

The al-Marri investigation was conducted by the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in Springfield, Ill. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Joanna Baltes and John Gibbs of the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Risley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois.

The public is reminded that the charges contained in an indictment are mere allegations and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

MARCH 2002 : (THE FBI HAS LINKED ALI SALEM KAHLAH AL-MARRI WITH SOME OF THE 9/11 CONSPIRATORS VIA A PHONE NUMBER IN THE UAE ---- See AL HAWSAWI , RAMZI BINALSHIBH, ZACARIAS MOUSSAOUI, MOHAMMED ATTA) CHICAGO (AP) - FBI agents searching telephone records have linked a 36-year-old Illinois student to the terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon, according to newly unsealed court papers. Ali Salem Kahlah Al-Marri has not been charged with any role in the Sept. 11 attacks and his lawyer, Richard Jasper Jr., questioned the link. ... The basis for the suspicions of investigators is spelled out in an affidavit accompanying an application for a search warrant for Al-Marri's home. Agents were seeking evidence of several crimes, including "material support for terrorism."
The document filed in federal court in Peoria, first obtained by the (Peoria) Journal Star, details how suspected Sept. 11 hijackers used a telephone number in the United Arab Emirates before the attacks. It also says Al-Marri, using calling cards, attempted to call the same number three times after Sept. 11 - on Sept. 23, Oct. 24 and Nov. 4. According to court documents, Sept. 11 hijacker Mohammed Atta sent a Federal Express package from the United States to the UAE on Sept. 4 and gave the phone number as a contact point for the recipient. According to the affidavit, the number was also used a day earlier by an unidentified individual for a transfer of money to Ramzi Bin Al-Shibh, an unindicted co-conspirator in the federal indictment against Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker now in custody in Virginia.
The first of the "attempted calls" on cards traced to Al-Marri was made on a pay phone in a Peoria store through a calling card issued by Network IP. The same card was used five days later in a call from Al-Marri's cellphone and again on Oct. 24 in a call from the Al-Marri home in West Peoria, 130 miles southwest of Chicago.
The second call to the UAE number was made from a pay phone in a Springfield service station, using the same card.
The third call was made from the Summit Hotel in Chicago, using a card issued by Qwest Communications. The same day, the card was used to place four calls from the Al-Marri home in West Peoria. ...------- FBI Agents Say Phone Records Link Illinois Student to Sept. 11 Terrorists Associated Press By Mike Robinson , Published: Mar 20, 2002

2003 : (REPORT : IANA CONTRIBUTED $10,000 TO MACOMB MOSQUE IN ILINOIS-- See BRIDGEVIEW/PEORIA CELL'S AL MARRI --) The Islamic Assembly of North America, an organization that the government accused of creating Web sites to promote violent jihad, contributed $10,000 to the mosque, according to documents filed in federal court in a 2003 terrorism case. Several members of the Macomb [IL?] mosque’s board had dealings with the group, those records show. ---- On the trail of an 'enemy combatant'~Details emerge on Marri's alleged role in 2nd wave..., Washington Post ^ | July 19, 2007 | Susan Schmidt, Posted on 07/21/2007 12:43:11 PM PDT by ZacandPook

MARCH 1, 2003 : (KSM IS CAPTURED IN THE HOME OF BACTERIOLOGIST ABDUL QADOOS KHAN- KSM SPILLS THE BEANS ABOUT AL MARRI BEING A SLEEPER AGENT - See ILLINOISCELL, ANTHRAX) I located that Newsweek article, dated June 16, 2003. In it are admissions made by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (KSM), al-Qaida’s director of global operations, after his capture on March 1, 2003. KSM reportedly has revealed al-Qaida recruiting techniques. “Using ‘mosques, prisons and universities throughout the United States,’ according to [intelligence] documents, KSM reached deep into the heartland, lining up agents in Baltimore, Columbus, Ohio, and Peoria, Ill,” said Newsweek. “The Feds have uncovered at least one KSM-run cell that could have done grave damage to the United States.” The cell's location was not named.
About al-Marri, Newsweek reported:
"During his interrogation, KSM identified a man named Ali S. Al-Marri as 'the point of contact for AQ operatives arriving in the US for September 11 follow-on operations.' KSM described Al-Marri as 'the perfect sleeper agent because he has studied in the United States, had no criminal record, and had a family with whom he could travel.'... The Qatari national had returned to the United States on Sept. 10, 2001, to pick up a graduate degree in computer information systems from Peoria's Bradley University.... Al-Marri's apartment was filled with Islamic jihadist materials. His computer included bookmarked Web sites for hazardous chemicals, computer hacking and fake IDs, according to court documents. Bookmarks in an almanac marked entries for dams, reservoirs and railroads." -------- The IL General Assembly: terrorist aides Illinois Leader ^ | December 31, 2003 | JILL STANEK
*********
Khalid Mohammed was allegedly arrested in the home of an elderly bacteriologist, Abdul Qadoos Khan. KSM's laptop with undated anthrax spraydrying production instructions was allegedly found in the home. There is no indication, however, that Dr. Khan had the relevant skills to weaponize the product used in the second batch of mailings in the US. The family stridently denies even that KSM was arrested in the home.------ "No Attacks Since 9/11? Al Qaeda was way ahead of what the U.S. understood its expertise and potential to be.," By Cliff Kincaid, AIM, May 6, 2005

JUNE 24, 2003 : (REPORT : AL MARRI WAS INVOLVED IN "SECOND WAVE" PLOT - See KSM, MIDHAT MURSI) June 24— The Qatari man designated an enemy combatant by the Bush administration was planning another Sept. 11 attack, sources told ABCNEWS. Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, 37, was deemed an enemy combatant by the Bush administration on Monday after officials said he was positively identified by an al Qaeda detainee as being part of a planned second wave of terror attacks on the United States. Government officials said they believed al Qaeda's top leadership sent Al-Marri to the United States to coordinate a new round of attacks.
"Al-Marri was sent to the United States as a facilitator for other al Qaeda individuals who would come in to conduct follow-on attacks," Attorney General John Ashcroft told ABCNEWS.
Sources told ABCNEWS that recently captured senior al Qaeda operative Khalid Shaikh Mohammed confirmed Al-Marri's mission to U.S. officials. Mohammed has provided a great deal of information about al Qaeda's presence in the United States, officials said.
Government officials told ABCNEWS that Al-Marri — a Qatari native who had been living in Peoria, Ill. — repeatedly tried to contact an al Qaeda leader suspected of helping finance the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. Officials said that when FBI agents searched Al-Marri's Peoria home, they found dozens of credit card numbers on his laptop, information on toxic chemicals, and an almanac with a variety of potential attack targets, including dams and railroads.
Al-Marri had been in custody in the civilian court system since December 2001, first as a material witness and later on charges of lying to the FBI and credit card fraud. .... As a designated enemy combatant, Al-Marri is in the custody of the Defense Department, has no right to legal representation afforded defendants in civilian court and could be held by the military indefinitely, possibly to face trial by military tribunal.
Sources told ABCNEWS that government officials transferred Al-Marri to military custody for two reasons: They want to try to force him to talk, and in civilian court defense attorneys for Al-Marri would be able to call senior al Qaeda officials as witnesses. Government officials do not want al Qaeda leaders to testify about classified information in open court.
-----------Planning Another 9/11 - Sources: ‘Enemy Combatant’ Was Plotting New Round of U.S. Attacks ABC News ^ | June 24, 2003

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Transfer-of-Detainee-to-Control-of-the-Attorney-General/

THE BRIEFING ROOM

Friday, February 27th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Transfer of Detainee to Control of the Attorney General

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
__________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release February 27, 2009

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

SUBJECT: Transfer of Detainee to Control of the Attorney General

Based on the information available to me, including the memorandum from the Secretary of Defense and the Attorney General dated February 26, 2009, and the joint recommendation contained therein, I hereby determine that it is in the interest of the United States that Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri be released from detention by the Secretary of Defense and transferred to the control of the Attorney General for the purpose of criminal proceedings against him.

Accordingly, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, I hereby direct you to transfer Mr. al-Marri to the control of the Attorney General upon the Attorney General’s request. This memorandum supersedes the Presidential directive of June 23, 2003, to the Secretary of Defense, which ordered the detention of Mr. al-Marri as an enemy combatant. Upon Mr. al-Marri’s transfer to the control of the Attorney General, the authority to detain Mr. al-Marri provided to the Secretary of Defense in the June 23, 2003, order shall cease.

BARACK OBAMA

# # #

Note: Photo included:

http://www.foxnews.com/images/513825/2_61_022709_almarri.jpg

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,506265,00.html

“Supreme Court Dismisses Ali al-Marri’s Detention Challenge”
Friday, March 06, 2009

WASHINGTON —

SNIPPET: “Last week, President Barack Obama ordered al-Marri transferred from military to civilian custody to face federal charges of conspiracy and providing support to terrorists.

But Obama has not renounced the use of preventive detention, which was pursued and defended aggressively by the Bush administration after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.”

SNIPPET: “A computer specialist, al-Marri was ordered to wreak havoc on the U.S. banking system and serve as a liaison for other Al Qaeda operatives entering this country, according to a court document filed by Jeffrey Rapp, a senior member of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Al-Marri was helped in his mission by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, and Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, who allegedly helped the Sept. 11 hijackers with money and Western-style clothing, according to Rapp’s memo. Mohammed and al-Hawsawi are being held at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, naval base.”

Thanks to piasa for this additional info - quote:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2201071/posts?page=5#5

To: NormsRevenge; Cindy
2001? SOMETIME BEFORE 9/11 : (INDIANA : A SERIES OF HOAX ANTHRAX LETTERS IS SENT OUT FROM INDIANAPOLIS) before September 11, 2001: In a story seemingly unreported anywhere else, the New York Post later claims that a series of hoax anthrax letters is sent out from Indianapolis, Indiana, at some point before 9/11. The FBI allowed the Post to see copies of these letters, which had handwriting and other features remarkably similar to the later [OCT 2001] letters containing real anthrax. [New York Post, 11/1/01]
NOTE THAT IT WAS THE INDANPOLIS OFFICE OF THE FBI THAT SENT A TIP ABOUT AL MARRI THE “STEAMER CHEST GUY” TO THE FBI OFFICE IN ILLINOIS:

SEPTEMBER 2001 : (ILLINOIS : FBI INVESTIGATES AL-MARRI AND THE STEAMER CHEST——See BRIDGEVIEW IL CELL)Like so many other Middle Eastern men living in the US at the time, Ali Salem Kahlah Al-Marri became a so-called person of interest to the FBI within a week of the Sept. 11 attacks. The FBI office in Peoria had received a lead from its Indianapolis office regarding a steamer chest that Al-Marri had shipped to the US. The Peoria office also had gotten a call from a salesman at US Cellular who expressed concerns regarding Al-Marri’s cell phone account. FBI agents Nicholas Zambeck and Robert Brown began a preliminary investigation and discovered that the Social Security number used by Al-Marri also was being used by two others, someone in California and someone in Illinois. They also found a discrepancy in the date of birth on his enrollment form at Bradley. Al-Marri had first said he was born Feb. 3, 1965, and on a later form listed his date of birth as Sept. 24, 1965. - “Mystery man in 9/11 terror case-Who is Ali Al-Marri? FBI links him to hijackers,” by RICHARD T. PIENCIAK, New York Daily News 1/12/03

OCTOBER 2, 2001 : (WEST PEORIA, IL : FBI HAS FIRST INTERVIEW WITH AL MARRI) Al-Marri was accused in the indictment of lying to the FBI during an Oct. 2, 2001, interview when he told agents that he arrived in the United States on Sept. 10, 2001, and that it was his first visit since 1991. The indictment said he had been in the country during 2000. - “Terror suspect named as ‘enemy combatant,’ By Jerry Seper, The Washington Times, Published June 24, 2003

4 posted on March 7, 2009 4:43:29 AM PST by piasa
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies | Report Abuse]
To: piasa
The anthrax hoax letters sent before 9/11 from Indianapolis were these- maybe someone has more info:
AUGUST 2001 (MORE THREATENING LETTERS SIMILAR TO ANTHRAX LETTERS LATER MAILED TO DASCHLE AND BROKAW ARRIVE AT FOX ADDRESSED TO SEAN HANNITY) The letters arrived before Sept. 11 but were addressed in the same kind of block letter handwriting used in Daschle and Brokaw missives. They apparently contained no anthrax. Each line in the printed address clearly sloped downward to the right, the paper said. The envelopes bore a postmark from Indianapolis, where the Post Office discovered yesterday [OCT 31, 2001] that some of its equipment is contaminated with anthrax.
Hannity said that he’d begun receiving the suspicious mail last winter [2000late-early2001?] and again in August [2001].
“When I saw the Tom Daschle envelope and the Tom Brokaw envelope, I immediately was stunned,” Hannity told listeners. “It was the exact same handwriting that I had recognized. ... When I saw it I said, ‘Oh my God, that’s the same guy.’”
The “Hannity & Colmes” co-host revealed that in addition to the letters with an Indianapolis postmark, “one or two were from Trenton (N.J.),” where traces of anthrax have also been reported. Hannity said he hasn’t gotten any more of the letters since the Sept. 11 attacks and hasn’t been tested for anthrax exposure. -—————FROM AN ARTICLE DATED Thursday, Nov. 1, 2001VIA 38 posted on 09/05/2003 9:38 AM PDT by Princeton | To 37

5 posted on March 7, 2009 5:01:57 AM PST by piasa

March 10, 2009

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/March/09-nsd-209.html

Ali Al-Marri Transferred to U.S. Marshals Service Custody

WASHINGTON – Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, 43, has been released from detention by the Secretary of Defense and is now in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance today, the Justice Department announced.

Al-Marri was served with an arrest warrant this morning at the Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, South Carolina, and taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance at 10 a.m. today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert S. Carr in federal court in Charleston.

On Feb. 26, 2009, a federal grand jury in the Central District of Illinois returned a two-count indictment charging al-Marri with providing material support to al-Qaeda and conspiring with others to provide material support to al-Qaeda. The public is reminded that the charges contained in an indictment are mere allegations and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

The United States will seek to keep al-Marri detained pending his transfer to Illinois and his trial. After his initial court appearance today, al-Marri will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending his next court appearance.

###

09-209

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