David Ashenfleter / Free Press & Kurt Haskell / Haskell Law Firm – 2010-09-25 23:05:19
http://www.freep.com/article/20100913/NEWS01/100913036/1318/Terror-suspect-fires-his-lawyers
Flight 253 Terror Suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab Fires his Lawyers
David Ashenfleter / Free Press
DETROIT (September 13, 2010) — A 23-year-old Nigerian who allegedly tried to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear on a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day fired his lawyers during a dramatic court hearing today in federal court.
“Yes, I understand,” Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who authorities allege is an al-Qaida operative trained in Yemen for the suicide mission, said repeatedly when US District Judge Nancy Edmunds asked him a series of questions and
warned him that he was making an unwise
decision.
Abdulmutallab said he didn’t think Federal Defender Miriam Siefer and three members of her staff were working in his best interests, but he declined to elaborate. He said there were differences but wouldn’t explain.
Siefer said he has “a right to represent himself.” Edmunds said she would appoint standby lawyers to represent him if needed. Abdulmutallab signaled that he might be considering pleading guilty to some of the charges against him.
Asked if he had any questions, Abdulmutallab said: “If I want to plead guilty to some counts, how would that work?” Edmunds said she couldn’t provide him with any legal advice.
Today’s appearance was Abdulmutallab’s first since his arraignment in January. He is said to be cooperating with US authorities, which could lead to a possible plea deal to avoid a costly trial. Edmunds postponed setting a trial date.
Abdulmutallab was subdued by passengers aboard Delta-Northwest Airlines Flight 253 as is approached Detroit Metro Airport on a flight from Amsterdam. There were 279 passengers and 11 crew members aboard the Airbus 330.
About 20 minutes from the airport, passengers heard a sound like a firecracker exploding. Passengers subdued him and he was taken into custody after the plane landed, authorities said.
The incident reignited the debate about the effectiveness of US security measures to prevent terrorism aboard airliners and whether Abdulmutallab should have been tried as an enemy combatant in a military court rather than in a US criminal court.
Abdulmutallab’s father had contacted US officials before the incident to warn that his son may have joined extremists, yet the son’s name wasn’t added to a no-fly list. He also was flying without luggage, or a coat, which should have set off red flags, security experts said.
He is being held at the federal prison in Milan pending trial on charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder. The first charge, a terrorism count, carries a mandatory penalty of life in prison.
dashenfelter@freepress.com.
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
Why an Underwear Bomber Trial
(with an Entrapment Defense)
Would Be One of the Greatest Events
In the History of the US
Kurt Haskell / Haskell Law Firm
It has been nearly nine months since Lori and I were almost killed by the Underwear Bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. For the first few months, Lori and I were very vocal over the media blackout and corresponding cover up to the real story of the Christmas Day events. If anyone is not familiar with our experience, our story can be read here in this blog. For the past few months, we have chosen to sit back and watch as the trial, or lack thereof, plays out in the courthouse we regularly practice in.
While the media blackout to the true events continues, the failed attack on our credibility has been replaced with deafening silence as to our eyewitness account. To us, this matter has never been about seeking vengeance against the Underwear Bomber.
When taking our eyewitness account and adding it to the small amount of honest facts that have come out, one can only recognize the Underwear Bomber as a mere patsy. It is quite shocking that, thus far, the Underwear Bomber hasn’t been forever silenced as other patsies that have come before him. What has led me to write this update is the following article:
It seems as though the Underwear Bomber has now decided to fire his attorneys and represent himself. I am actually not too surprised by this event. Being an attorney myself, I can see his attorneys trying to stuff a settlement down his throat while he argues in opposition that he was set up. Further, I must consider the following in realizing why this happened:
My nephew recently started law school. In August he had an orientation with a guest speaker. That speaker just happened to be none other than the Underwear Bomber prosecutor, Barbara McQuade. During such orientation, Attorney McQuade indicated that she has a case in which certain information can only be given to the judge and not released elsewhere due to “National Security.”
Since Attorney McQuade was only appointed as a federal prosecutor in the summer of 2009, it is not too difficult to determine what case she is referring to. I am sure that this information could only lead to further frustration on the part of the Underwear Bomber and continued conflict with his attorneys.
When I read the Free Press article today, the attorney in myself came out and I had to ask how I would like to see the defense of this case handled.
It seems to me, that now that the Underwear Bomber is representing himself, or possibly using new attorneys, that the use of an entrapment defense is not out of the question. The use of such a defense could be one of the greatest moments in the history of the United States of America. Only through a defense such as this, could the full involvement of the US Government be fully discovered and divulged. Please consider the following:
1. The Underwear Bomber was escorted through security without a passport by the Sharp Dressed Man who by all accounts, appears to be a government agent.
2. Congressional hearings have confirmed that the Underwear Bomber was likely let on flight 253 intentionally.
3. The bomb failed to detonate, and by many accounts, was designed so that it would not detonate.
4. The entire terrorist attack was filmed from before it started until after it ended.
5. The bomb was obtained in Yemen where the CIA has been known to have agents interacting with Al Qaeda.
Once you accept the above, it is not so far fetched to believe that the US Government planted a defective bomb on the Underwear Bomber to:
1. Renew the Patriot Act
2. Get body scanners in the airports
3. Further the US involvement in strategically located Yemen
4. Further the fraudulent war on terror
5. Provide further profit to the military industrial complex
Only through an entrapment defense that is fully litigated in open court could the American citizens get what they deserve, an open honest investigation into the Christmas Day events of 2009. Such a trial could possibly wake up the millions of American citizens that fail to even consider that its government is corrupt, dishonest, and working for those who only seek to consolidate their power and wealth.
I am not holding my breath that a trial with an entrapment defense will occur. Nor could I (under the rules of the State bar), or would I, want to be involved in the representation of a man that almost killed me. I encourage my fellow members of the bar to consider representing the Underwear Bomber pro bono and using such a defense to help not only your potential client, but also your fellow American citizens.
It is not the prosecution of the Underwear bomber that will help fight the fraudulent war on terror. It is the prosecution of the US Government officials responsible for the Underwear Bomber attack that will put an end to the USSA (United Socialist States of America) and restore the USA.
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
