7526 4aqesat1 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 1 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK 2 -------------------------------------x 2 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 3 3 v. S1 02 Cr. 395 (JGK) 4 4 AHMED ABDEL SATTAR, a/k/a "Abu Omar," 5 a/k/a "Dr. Ahmed," LYNNE STEWART, 5 and MOHAMMED YOUSRY, 6 6 Defendants. 7 -------------------------------------x 7 8 October 26, 2004 8 9:15 a.m. 9 9 10 10 Before: 11 HON. JOHN G. KOELTL 11 12 District Judge 12 13 13 APPEARANCES 14 14 DAVID N. KELLEY 15 United States Attorney for the 15 Southern District of New York 16 ROBIN BAKER 16 CHRISTOPHER MORVILLO 17 ANTHONY BARKOW 17 ANDREW DEMBER 18 Assistant United States Attorneys 18 19 KENNETH A. PAUL 19 BARRY M. FALLICK 20 Attorneys for Defendant Sattar 20 21 MICHAEL TIGAR 21 JILL R. SHELLOW-LAVINE 22 Attorneys for Defendant Stewart 22 23 DAVID A. RUHNKE 23 DAVID STERN 24 Attorneys for Defendant Yousry 25 SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7527 4aqesat1 1 (Trial continuing) 2 (In open court; jury not present) 3 THE COURT: I have a motion in limine, and is this an 4 issue? 5 MR. TIGAR: Not today, your Honor. 6 THE COURT: Actually, I was asking -- 7 MR. TIGAR: Oh, I'm sorry. 8 MR. DEMBER: Your Honor, I'd like to look at this. 9 It's something that was a potential area that we might want to 10 cross-examine. There was no -- I hadn't made a definitive 11 decision as to whether or not I would. Obviously they are 12 teeing up the issue, apparently not for today, so obviously 13 we'd like to look at their letter and get back to the Court. 14 THE COURT: All right. You should do that by early, 15 early this evening. 16 MR. DEMBER: Your Honor, I will try at the very least 17 to look through the letter at the lunch break. And perhaps 18 after the lunch break we could take it up at some point in the 19 afternoon, if your Honor wishes, without me -- if your Honor 20 wants -- depending on how I want to deal with the issue. 21 THE COURT: Right. If it's not an issue -- 22 MR. DEMBER: Obviously, there's nothing to deal with. 23 THE COURT: -- just tell me it's not an issue. 24 MR. DEMBER: If, your Honor, we only have a few things 25 to add or really just very little to add in terms of what our SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7528 4aqesat1 1 argument is, maybe we can do that orally, if your Honor wishes. 2 THE COURT: My sense is that it's better addressed in 3 writing. 4 MR. DEMBER: That's fine, your Honor. 5 THE COURT: If it's necessary. 6 MR. TIGAR: Your Honor, we received the Court's ruling 7 on the redactions and the rule of completeness. And in light 8 of those I have a request. 9 THE COURT: Sure. 10 MR. TIGAR: And that is that I be permitted, then, to 11 read Mr. Khuzami's opening; that is, the portion that you 12 marked. 13 But before I do so, and because Mr. Khuzami refers to 14 other defendants in the course of what we're going to hear, 15 that I be permitted to read from page 1580, line 16, down to 16 1581, line 2, which is Judge Mukasey talking about the separate 17 consideration of each defendant. It's that final standard 18 paragraph of instructions that he gives that just before -- 19 THE COURT: Sure. 20 MR. TIGAR: -- Mr. Khuzami speaks. 21 THE COURT: Sure. 22 MR. TIGAR: And that I be permitted to read that as 23 well, making clear it's Judge Mukasey that said it. 24 THE COURT: Yes. 1580, line 16, through 1581 -- 25 MR. TIGAR: 1581, line 3, your Honor, down to the word SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7529 4aqesat1 1 consideration. 2 THE COURT: Sure. Sure. I deliberately phrased my 3 order in such a way that it's really up to the defendant how 4 they wish to put this in. If you wish to read the government's 5 opening, you know, you're welcome to do that. If you prefer 6 the government to read the government's opening, you can do 7 that. It's your case. 8 The only reason for the other parts of the document 9 that are in evidence in any way is solely that the jury hear 10 both parts together. But the manner in which they hear it is a 11 matter for discussion. I mean, you know, I place that -- 12 MR. TIGAR: Yes, I know. I will read it and I'll -- I 13 have been a prosecutor before once or twice, and I'll do my 14 best. 15 THE COURT: No, but -- 16 MR. TIGAR: I didn't mean to make light of a serious 17 matter, your Honor. Will do. 18 THE COURT: I mean, I've had at least one other case 19 where there was discussion back and forth as to, you know, who 20 wanted to read the other parts, so I'm deferential to that. 21 MR. TIGAR: That was an issue in this case, your 22 Honor, early on. And the Court did make some rulings about it. 23 But our desire to read it, I think, is consistent with the 24 ruling your Honor issued earlier in this case. 25 THE COURT: All right. OK. Anything else? SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7530 4aqesat1 1 Otherwise, I'm just waiting for the jury. 2 (Pause) 3 THE COURT: OK. The jury needs a few minutes to fill 4 out the menu so I'll see you shortly. 5 (Recess) 6 (Continued on next page) 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7531 4aqesat1 1 (At side bar) 2 THE COURT: The district executive wrote to Mr. -- to 3 one of the people who is here that -- about his hat and informs 4 him that it's OK to wear his hat; that the Court understands 5 it's a sign of his religious conviction; that he's a member of 6 the Society of Friends and the hat is an article of his 7 religious conviction. And so the person presented the note to 8 the CSOs, and that's why the person is wearing his hat in the 9 audience. 10 And I wanted to bring it to your attention. And the 11 parties are welcome to look at the letter that was sent to -- 12 that the district executive sent, OK? 13 MS. SHELLOW-LAVINE: Are we going to mark this as a 14 court exhibit, your Honor? I don't think so -- 15 THE COURT: I wasn't going to. 16 MS. SHELLOW-LAVINE: That's fine. I just didn't 17 know -- 18 THE COURT: I just wanted to make sure the parties saw 19 the letter and understood what was going on. 20 I don't see any reason to file this under seal. I 21 didn't disclose the person's name out of deference to the 22 person. Unless the parties see any reason to seal this -- 23 MR. MORVILLO: Government sees no reason to. 24 MR. PAUL: No, your Honor. 25 (Continued on next page) SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7532 4aqesat1 1 (In open court; jury not present) 2 THE COURT: The parties agreed yesterday that 2009A is 3 admissible only against Ms. Stewart and Mr. Sattar. And I take 4 it I should remind the jury of that the first time that 2009A 5 is mentioned? 6 MR. DEMBER: We agree, your Honor. 7 MR. RUHNKE: We do agree, your Honor, yes. 8 Your Honor, I'm wondering about the use of the phrase 9 "admissible against" in that context; whether the instruction 10 should be that the exhibit is considered relevant only as to. 11 I don't think it's being offered against Ms. Stewart at this 12 point. 13 THE COURT: I'm happy to say is relevant only with 14 respect to the exhibit, right. 15 (Continued on next page) 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7533 4aqesat1 1 (In open court; jury present) 2 THE COURT: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Good 3 to see you all. 4 All right. Ms. Stewart is on the stand. 5 Mr. Fletcher? 6 THE DEPUTY CLERK: Ms. Stewart, you are reminded you 7 are still under oath. 8 LYNNE STEWART, resumed. 9 DIRECT EXAMINATION (Continued) 10 BY MR. TIGAR: 11 Q. Ms. Stewart, yesterday several times you referred to the 12 rules that lawyers follow. Now, what rules are you referring 13 to? 14 A. These are ethical rules which we -- which are part of the 15 rules of each appellate department in the State of New York. 16 And they are codified. I think it's disciplinary rules, is the 17 exact title. And they are broad statements of what the 18 lawyers' ethical obligations are in representing persons across 19 the board. There is a special section about representing 20 people accused of crime. 21 Q. And that's what you're referring to when -- 22 A. That's what I was referring to, yes. 23 Q. Well, returning now, as we started to yesterday, to the 24 trial of your client, Sheikh Abdel Rahman. Were there opening 25 statements made to the jury in that trial? SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7534 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 A. Yes, there were. 2 MR. TIGAR: If your Honor please, I'd like permission 3 now to read portions to the jury and have Ms. Stewart read 4 portions to the jury from Government Exhibit 2009A in evidence. 5 THE COURT: All right. Ladies and gentlemen, this 6 exhibit is relevant only for Ms. Stewart and Mr. Sattar. 7 Q. Now, Ms. Stewart, before I ask you about what you said to 8 the jury in that case, I want to read out first a short part of 9 what Judge Mukasey, the presiding judge, said to the jury and 10 then some of what the prosecutor said in their opening 11 statement. 12 Beginning at page 1580, line 16, Judge Mukasey said, 13 "One last subject before we hear the government's opening. I 14 referred several times today and earlier to all of those who 15 are charged in this case collectively as the defendants. And 16 it may be that I will use that word or that expression again 17 during this trial. But from your standpoint as jurors, 18 understand that there is no such thing as the defendants as a 19 group. There are 12 individual people on trial here. They are 20 being tried together because it is convenient to do it that 21 way. But each of them, understand, is entitled to separate 22 consideration before you. In essence, each of them is entitled 23 to his own trial before you, so please give each of them your 24 separate consideration." 25 Now, Ms. Stewart, in your experience as a trial SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7535 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 lawyer, is that the standard sort of instruction that a judge 2 gives to the jury in a multidefendant trial? 3 A. It is. 4 Q. And will you share with us, do you as a lawyer try to 5 discuss with the jurors giving independent and separate 6 consideration? 7 A. It's of utmost importance. And in this case, because the 8 Sheikh's case was very distinct from his codefendants, it was 9 very important that the jury be able to focus on his case 10 separately and together with everyone else's, but understanding 11 that he had a like and separate consideration. 12 Q. I'm now going to begin reading from the opening statement 13 of the government, Mr. Khuzami. That's the prosecutor you 14 mentioned yesterday, is that right? 15 A. Yes, that is. 16 MR. TIGAR: And I'm reading the -- some excerpts here: 17 Ladies and gentlemen, this is a case about war. The 18 enemy in this war was the United States of America. The 19 battlefield in this war was the streets and the buildings and 20 the tunnels of New York City. The weapons in this war were car 21 bombs and terrorism and homemade explosives. The soldiers who 22 fought this war are seated before you in this courtroom. They 23 called their war jihad. 24 One of the plans involved driving car bombs into the 25 Lincoln and Holland Tunnels. The plan involved driving those SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7536 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 cars and then pretending they had engine trouble and abandoning 2 them and then fleeing in a backup car. And as that abandoned 3 car sat in the tunnel with the traffic backing up behind it, 4 the timer inside was going tick, tick, tick until the bomb is 5 detonated five minutes apart, and the people trapped in their 6 cars drowned as the tunnel crashed down around them. 7 Other targets in this war was the United Nations. The 8 plan there was to drive car bombs into underground parking 9 garages beneath the building using diplomatic license plates so 10 they could enter without suspicion. Another target was the FBI 11 headquarters, 26 Federal Plaza. The plan there was to use a 12 Uzi machine gun to kill guards posted outside, drive the cars 13 into the underground garage and then flee in a backup car. For 14 both of those buildings, the hope for those soldiers was that 15 they would collapse and fall down. 16 Who was this army? Why were they fighting this war? 17 What is jihad? 18 I'd like to answer the first question first by 19 introducing the soldiers to you right now. The first one is 20 this man, Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman. He's the leader of this 21 Jihad Army, and even though he is blind, you will learn that he 22 sees with a clearer vision than most people with perfect 23 eyesight. 24 What he sees is the elimination of the State of Israel 25 and the overthrow of the government of Egypt, and his return to SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7537 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 Egypt as one of its primary leaders. 2 What he also sees in that vision is the United States 3 as an obstacle to that dream because of this country's support 4 for Egypt and its policies in the Middle East. So he used this 5 group, this band of radical followers to conduct a war of 6 terrorism against the United States so that they could 7 intimidate this country into changing its policy. As Sheikh 8 Omar Abdel Rahman will tell you himself in this very courtroom, 9 we are terrorists and we wear that title proudly. 10 Now, as the head of any criminal organization who 11 controls and influences others, Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman did 12 not fire a gun himself, did not build a bomb himself, did not 13 drive a car into a tunnel himself. But what he did was far 14 more dangerous. What he did was convince the group of 15 followers, Christians, Jews and Americans, the State of Israel 16 were their enemies. You will learn that he used this band to 17 conduct the war of terrorism, that he was consulted about which 18 targets are permissible, and you will learn he protected this 19 organization from infiltration by the United States government, 20 particularly the FBI. 21 In this opening I hope to just outline for you the 22 government's case. The purpose of this is simply when each 23 witness gets on the stand and each piece of evidence comes in, 24 you'll have an idea of how it fits into the greater whole. I'd 25 like to start to talk to you today about how these men came to SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7538 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 be in this courtroom today. 2 I refer to them as the Jihad Army or the Jihad 3 Organization, although they didn't refer to themselves that way 4 and they didn't wear uniforms that said that. But those labels 5 are simply a shorthanded way of describing for you these 6 individuals who shared a common interpretation and common 7 belief under the Islamic concept of jihad that was advocated by 8 Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman. 9 Jihad means struggle, but these defendants defined it 10 in the extreme; not just a struggle to live a virtuous or 11 disciplined life and to be a good Muslim, but a lifetime 12 struggle to take up arms and confront and fight Jews and 13 Christians, Americans, anybody they saw as the enemy of Islam. 14 It was a perpetual state of war and they saw the United States 15 as an enemy of Islam because of its policies in the Middle 16 East. 17 Sheikh Rahman arrived in the United States in 1990, 18 but even before that time the Jihad Army was organized and 19 trained in this country. Soldiers reported to him about their 20 progress of military training camps and in firearms progress 21 and practice. And he in turn gave them guidance on how to 22 resolve their disputes and how to organize their affairs. 23 You will also learn in this trial, ladies and 24 gentlemen, that within the Jihad Organization murderers are 25 heroes. They are people to be revered, and that's what SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7539 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 happened to Mr. Nosair for the murder of Rabbi Kahane. After 2 his arrest, members of the organization paid homage to him in 3 his jail cell, and Nosair basked in his new-found glory. But 4 there was more going on than just paying homage to the jihad 5 hero, because in this jail cell this group was planning more 6 and more acts of terrorism. 7 Nosair was no longer interested in fighting one on 8 one, with one gun to kill one man. Now he had a plan to fight 9 the war on many fronts, 12 bombs exploding across New York 10 City, a plot to assassinate the judge who presided over his 11 trial, a plot to assassinate Jewish leaders who had criticized 12 him for his murder of Rabbi Kahane. 13 It was to be a full-scale war of urban terrorism 14 against the United States. You will learn Mr. Nosair was well 15 prepared for such a war. There were items seized from his 16 house after his arrest. There were bomb manuals, and there was 17 terrorist paraphernalia, and there was one document in 18 particular that called upon the group to destroy the enemies of 19 Allah by blowing up the pillars and the tourist places, and the 20 statues and buildings where the people meet. And that's 21 exactly what Nosair was planning to do from his jail cell two 22 years later. 23 Nosair gave out orders for this bombing plot. He 24 ordered Mr. El-Gabrowny, his lieutenant, to get bomb detonators 25 and a safe house. He instructed Dr. Rashid, his supplier of SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7540 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 weapons, and asked for his advice on what type of explosives 2 they might use. Nosair told him to contact Sheikh Omar Abdel 3 Rahman and get his blessing for this plot, because the group 4 knew that the plans could not be carried out unless he approved 5 them and that they were in conformity with their twisted 6 interpretation of jihad. 7 Nosair also placed Mr. El-Gabrowny in charge of the 8 plot to break him out of jail. It could be no surprise to you, 9 ladies and gentlemen, nine months later on in February 1993 a 10 1200-pound bomb ripped through the World Trade Center. 11 That crime was not a specific count in this 12 indictment, but it is very much a part of the war against the 13 United States that these defendants were a part of, because the 14 men who mixed that bomb and drove that truck were part of the 15 same army as the defendants who are seated before you. 16 You will learn that one of the men who blew up the 17 World Trade Center, Mohammed Salameh, the man who rented the 18 yellow Ryder van, travelled to Attica to visit Nosair just days 19 before the bombing. He was arrested with a passport photo of 20 Nosair, and that photo matched the photo that was on the phoney 21 passports Mr. El-Gabrowny had when he was arrested days after 22 the bombing. When he was arrested, he assaulted law 23 enforcement agents in an effort to try to keep them from 24 getting their hands on those passports. 25 Another World Trade Center bomber Mahmud Abouhalima, SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7541 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 brought a sample of his test bomb to this man Siddig Ali. You 2 will learn Siddig Ali's own words, how he hugged Mahmoud 3 Abouhalima after he found out he had blown under the World 4 Trade Center in which six innocent Americans were killed, and 5 how Siddig Ali then wrote letters to his friends in the Sudan 6 to give Abouhalima a place where he can hide. 7 Sheikh Abdel Rahman also did the things you would 8 expect the head of a criminal organization to do in the wake of 9 the World Trade Center bombing. He lied to the world to 10 protect himself and to protect the soldiers in his army. After 11 they were arrested, he told the world on TV that he didn't know 12 Mahmud Abouhalima, even though he knew him very, very well. 13 And he told the world he didn't know the other members of the 14 Jihad Army. And the proof in this trial will show that he knew 15 them very, very well. 16 This case, ladies and gentlemen, is very much about 17 how other soldiers in the Jihad Army, the men sitting before 18 you, worked to make good on those threats and promises of more 19 terrorist activity. 20 In particular, there is one man who worked to make 21 good on those threats. He is Siddig Ali. Siddig Ali first set 22 his sights on President Mubarak of Egypt. Within weeks after 23 the World Trade Center bombing, three of those responsible had 24 been arrested and one, Mahmud Abouhalima, had been ordered 25 returned to the United States by President Mubarak where he SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7542 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 would stand trial. Siddig Ali saw this as nothing less than 2 treason. In his mind this man was a jihad hero to be revered, 3 not a criminal to be brought back to stand trial. 4 So he decided to avenge that action by planning to 5 assassinate President Mubarak in April 1993 during a visit to 6 New York City. He knew that he had Sheikh Rahman's blessing to 7 murder Mubarak; that is, it was a permissible act of jihad, and 8 warmed with that approval he came up with an assassination 9 plan. 10 In one plan he and his assassination team would dress 11 up as room service waiters, sneak into Mubarak's hotel room and 12 spray that suite with automatic machine gun fire. In another 13 plan they would steal a UPS truck and drill a hole in the side 14 while a sniper pointed his rifle out as he murdered him as he 15 walked into the hotel. 16 Ultimately, Siddig Ali was forced to abandon this plan 17 when word leaked to the FBI. That conspiracy is one of the 18 crimes that is charged in this case. The leak about the 19 Mubarak assassination plan combined with the capture of Mahmud 20 Abouhalima in Egypt led the group to be very concerned that an 21 informant had infiltrated their midst. Some of them even 22 accused Siddig Ali of being that informant, because he was 23 involved in both the Mubarak plot and he knew Mahmud Abouhalima 24 was in Egypt, and when the group became concerned that there 25 was an informant, Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman went to work. As SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7543 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 loud and as long as he denied in public he knew these jihad 2 soldiers, you will learn behind the scene he was doing 3 something very, very different. 4 Behind the scene he did the real work of a criminal 5 boss. He worked to protect the organization, his organization, 6 from infiltration. And he ordered Siddig Ali and others to sit 7 down in a minitrial with him presiding as judge to find out who 8 the informant was to try to protect the organization. 9 But even after Mubarak plot had been thwarted, Siddig 10 Ali was not finished. He came up with a battle plan for the 11 Jihad Army so horrible, so monstrous, so vicious that if it had 12 been successful, the lives of every person in this city and 13 this nation would be changed forever. That was the day of 14 terror, the bombing of the Lincoln Tunnel, the Holland Tunnel, 15 the George Washington Bridge, the UN headquarters and the FBI 16 headquarters in New York City. 17 Siddig Ali had one problem. He had the plan but he 18 didn't know how to build a bomb. So he approached the man 19 named Emad Salem and asked him if he would build a bomb. 20 Unknown to Siddig Ali, but fortunately for the rest of us, Emad 21 Salem was an informant for the FBI. Siddig Ali and Salem 22 agreed to rent a safe house in Queens which would be used to 23 make the bomb. Also unknown to Siddig Ali was that Emad Salem 24 rented that garage with the FBI's assistance so that it was 25 wired up for audio and video. SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7544 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 You will see those videotapes during this trial. We 2 will take you inside that terrorist bomb factory. Siddig Ali 3 had a second problem. He needed the boss' OK. Emad Salem went 4 to Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman. Salem told Sheikh Rahman that 5 they were planning a strike more devastating than the World 6 Trade Center bombing, and when Salem told Sheikh Rahman about 7 the United Nations, Sheikh Rahman told him that the United 8 Nations bombing was not against the rules. And you will learn 9 that soldiers in this Jihad Army had to check with Sheikh 10 Rahman to make sure a terrorist target was not forbidden. 11 In this case you will learn that Sheikh Rahman did not 12 forbid the bombing of the United Nations but recommended 13 against it, not because he had any problems with terrorism; far 14 from it. He just had a better idea. He told Salem to look for 15 a plan to bomb the American military, to keep it in the army. 16 After getting the boss' OK, the planning for the day 17 of terror continued in May and June of 1993. Siddig Ali 18 introduced Salem one by one to the other members of the Jihad 19 Army. 20 Fortunately, ladies and gentlemen, the terrorist plans 21 were never completed because in the early morning hours of 22 June 24, 1993, agents with the joint terrorist task force 23 busted down the door of that Queens safe house. They arrested 24 eight people that night, five inside the safe house. It took 25 them another month to capture Wahid Saleh, who was hiding out SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7545 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 to escape capture. 2 There are a number of charges in the indictment before 3 you that arise out of this day of terror plot in the spring of 4 1993. 5 You may be asking yourselves, how does the government 6 intend to prove these charges? You heard Judge Mukasey tell 7 you that the government has the burden of proof beyond a 8 reasonable doubt. The government had that burden of proof when 9 you first walked in that door into this courtroom, and we will 10 continue to have it until you walk out that door after having 11 returned your verdict. It never shifts to the defendants, and 12 it is a burden that we welcome. 13 The government is going to present a lot of witnesses 14 to you in this case and a lot of witness evidence. One witness 15 that you are going to hear a lot about is a man named Mohammed 16 Salem. Salem is the informant who infiltrated this conspiracy. 17 The government first approached him to work on an intelligence 18 investigation having nothing to do with this case. An 19 intelligence investigation is different from a criminal case in 20 that its primary function is to gather information. It is not 21 always the intention in such cases to prosecute people in a 22 court of law like this. 23 At the government's request, Salem began to infiltrate 24 this conspiracy. It attended Nosair's state trial for the 25 murder of Rabbi Kahane. He convinced El-Gabrowny and others SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7546 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 that he shared their extremist views and that with his military 2 background and his weapons expertise, he could be useful to 3 them in their plans. He continued to gain their trust until 4 finally Nosair from his prison cell asked him to participate in 5 this plan to blow up 12 buildings or tourist locations in 6 New York City, to assassinate the judge who presided over his 7 trial and to kill Jewish leaders. 8 But there was a problem. If the government wanted to 9 prosecute these people, they had to gather evidence and 10 Mr. Salem would have to take the stand and testify against 11 them. So the government proposed to Salem that he wear a 12 tape-recorder and that he take the stand if they were arrested. 13 You will learn that Salem had no problem with tape-recording, 14 but he had a big problem with being a witness. He had always 15 drawn the line in the sand that he didn't want to be an 16 informant if that meant getting on the stand and testifying in 17 court and subjecting his family to danger. In Salem's mind, 18 the danger that would result from testifying was real and he 19 was concerned. This conflict was not resolved, so in 1992, 20 Salem backed off from Nosair and his associates and their plan 21 to blow up 12 buildings. 22 You will learn that the Jihad Army had plenty of 23 people to replace Salem, and the proof came nine months later 24 when the World Trade Center blew up. That changed the way 25 everybody thought. SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7547 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 Faced with those threats the government had to do 2 something. They needed someone on the inside of this terrorist 3 ring to stop what they had already promised was going to 4 happen. But you can't just click your heels and get from the 5 inside of a terrorist ring. You need someone who speaks their 6 language; not the language of Arabic, but the language of hate 7 that fuels them. It can be impossible to infiltrate such a 8 group. You can't just send a reporter or Tom Brokaw in there 9 and find out what is going on. 10 So the government responded in the best way it could, 11 and that is, it went back to Emad Salem, who was already known 12 and trusted by members of this organization. And Salem, after 13 much wrangling, decided to cooperate, and he decided to wear a 14 tape-recorder and he decided to be a witness. 15 Salem did not come cheap. You will learn that he 16 would be paid in excess of $1 million by the time his 17 cooperation with the government is complete. Some of you will 18 think that is a lot of money, and you will be right. Some of 19 you may think that he sold himself too cheap and that it would 20 take a lot more than that to do what he did. 21 And you will see his contract. You will see that some 22 of the money is to replace lost income because he was working 23 for the government. And some of it is just a flatout reward. 24 Forget the accounting. The bottom line is that it is a lot of 25 money. SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7548 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 But the tragic question after the World Trade Center 2 bombing was whether or not the government could afford not to 3 spend that money. That one incident alone cost half a billion 4 dollars and, more precious than that, six innocent lives. It 5 is still a lot of money that he was paid, though, and it is 6 important that you know that. 7 There are other things you need to know about Emad 8 Salem. You will hear about it from the government and you will 9 certainly hear about it from the defendants. Salem, for 10 example, never completely cut his ties with Egypt. You will 11 find out that, sometimes with the government's knowledge and 12 sometimes without, he stayed in touch with his old friends in 13 the Egyptian military. And he advised them about some of the 14 things that were going on in this investigation; things like 15 Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman's statement to him that he should 16 assassinate President Mubarak of Egypt. 17 You will also learn in this case that Salem 18 tape-recorded a lot of people; not just the defendants planning 19 their acts of terrorism, but he recorded the defendants, family 20 members, friends, his exwife, even the government agents who 21 were handling him over a home telephone recording system that 22 he had. He even recorded his calls to Paragon Cable when he 23 ordered pay-per-view movies. 24 More important in all these things is honesty. You 25 will learn that Salem has not always been truthful, especially SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7549 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 when talking about himself or his background. Although there 2 are other examples, the most significant occurred when he 3 appeared as a witness in a New York State trial. He took an 4 oath to tell the truth and he lied when he was asked questions 5 about his background. He told that jury that he was part of an 6 elite service unit back in Egypt and that he had been wounded 7 when President Sadat was assassinated in 1981. Those things 8 were not true, and they were stupid things to lie about. 9 The case he was testifying about was a car accident on 10 the West Side Highway. It wasn't about political assassination 11 in Egypt. But anytime someone lies under oath it is important. 12 It is important that you know that, and it is important that 13 you consider that. 14 What all this means is that you're going to hear a lot 15 of things about Salem that you are not going to like, and it is 16 important that you consider these things when you decide 17 whether or not you believe him. It is also important that the 18 defendants get a fair trial and that you be demanding when you 19 listen to his testimony. 20 The government invites you to do exactly that. Listen 21 to his testimony and see how it stacks up again the other 22 evidence in the case. That is, look for corroboration. Look 23 for other evidence independent of what he testifies about that 24 tells you whether or not he should be believed, because by the 25 end of this case you will learn, ladies and gentlemen, that SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7550 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 every important thing he has to say about this case is 2 corroborated, is backed up on an audio tape, a videotape and by 3 another piece of evidence. Let me give you some examples. 4 He will tell you that Omar Ahmad Ali Abdel Rahman 5 asked him to look for a plan to attack the American military, 6 and he will tell you that Sheikh Rahman presided over a little 7 minitrial in an effort to find out who the informant was. Can 8 that be true, can Sheikh Rahman be ordering an attack on the 9 American military? The answer is yes. You know that Salem can 10 be believed when he tells you that because it is on tape. 11 These tapes are mostly in Arabic, so rather than 12 hearing the tapes, you will be given a document in English so 13 you can see with your own eyes the work of Sheikh Abdel Rahman 14 telling Salem to look for a plan to attack the American 15 military. 16 Salem will testify that Nosair and El-Gabrowny were 17 planning in 1992 to blow up 12 buildings across New York City, 18 to break Nosair out of jail, and that Nosair instructed 19 El-Gabrowny to get stun guns as part of the plot. Is this 20 true? The answer is yes. When the agents first found 21 El-Gabrowny, they found five fake passports with pictures of 22 Nosair, his wife and the rest of his family, with fake names, 23 to be used to allow them to flee the country after the 24 breakout. They found the negative of the photograph of Nosair 25 in El-Gabrowny's house along with the stun guns. You will see SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7551 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 those passports, you will see those stun guns, you will see the 2 photographs. That is corroboration that tells you that Emad 3 Salem can be believed. 4 Another example. Salem will tell you that he and 5 Siddig Ali drove the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels to map out the 6 best place to place the bombs. Did that really happen? It 7 did, because you'll see a videotape of that chilling ride, 8 where they talk about where in the tunnel to put the car bomb 9 and what will happen when it explodes. You'll see this 10 terrorist's home video, the video Siddig Ali thought the world 11 would never see. You will think a lot of things when you see 12 that video, and one thing it will make you think is that Emad 13 Salem can be believed. 14 Another example. Salem will tell you Dr. Rashid 15 offered to get detonators. You will hear his own words on tape 16 stating, I haven't been successful yet, but I'm going to keep 17 on trying because it's my duty. The tape was made from 18 Rashid's telephone, and when the agents searched a building he 19 had rented, they found cannon fuses and military paraphernalia 20 and other evidence. And it is with those telephone calls and 21 that type of evidence that you will know that Salem can be 22 believed. 23 More examples of corroboration. Salem will tell you 24 about Fares Khallafalla and Tarig El-Hassan and Fadil and Amir 25 Abdelgani. He will tell you Fares Khallafalla bought the SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7552 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 timers, that Tarig Elhassan consulted the engineers, and that 2 Amir and Fadil Abdelgani got fuel oil and brought it to the 3 safe house. Is that true? You will know it's true because 4 you'll see a tape of Fares Khallafalla purchasing the timers. 5 You will see a tape and read the conversation of Tarig ElHassan 6 talking about the engineering and the weak sides and strong 7 sides of the bridges and tunnels. 8 There are photos of Fadil Abdelgani and Amir Abdelgani 9 purchasing the fuel oil. There's a videotape of them 10 delivering it to the safe house. There are videotapes inside 11 the safe house where these defendants and others were mixing 12 the bomb and holding the Uzi and talking about battle plans and 13 talking about jihad. That tells you that Emad Salem can be 14 believed. 15 Another example, Salem will tell you that he met with 16 Mohammed Saleh, the man who owned the Yonkers gas station, and 17 that when they told him what they were planning on doing, he 18 sketched out on a piece of paper what the targets were. Salem 19 will tell you that he then ate the piece of paper to destroy 20 the evidence. Did that happen? The answer is yes. You know 21 that Salem can be believed when he tells you that because you 22 will see a translation of that conversation, and you will see 23 where Siddig Ali orders Salem to eat the piece of paper. 24 A final example, Victor Alvarez and Wahid Saleh. 25 Salem will tell you they agreed to get cars to carry the car SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7553 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 bomb. And he will tell you Alvarez supplied the machine gun to 2 be used by the Jihad Army to use for protection. Is that true? 3 Yes. You will read the translations of the considerations 4 where they agree to get the cars, and you will see the machine 5 gun and you will see in this courtroom. 6 There are many examples of how Emad Salem can be 7 corroborated. The bottom line is, while there are some things 8 that won't make a pretty picture, there's concrete 9 corroboration of every important thing that he tells you. And 10 you will know that these defendants were planning a day of 11 terror, the likes of which the world had never seen. In the 12 end you will have witnesses and tape-recordings and other 13 evidence that will tell you that these defendants are guilty of 14 the crimes they are charged with. 15 May I have just a moment, your Honor. 16 THE COURT: Yes. 17 MR. TIGAR: Your Honor, I must have made a wrong mark 18 on my copy. I think I'm to start again at 1612, line 5. 19 THE COURT: I believe that that's right. 20 MR. DEMBER: Yes, your Honor. 21 MR. TIGAR: All right. Thank you, your Honor. 22 I want to thank you for your patience. And before I 23 sit down I would like to make just one final point. I've told 24 you what this case is about. I would like to tell you what the 25 case is not about. It is not about the rightness or wrongness SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7554 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 of anyone's religious beliefs. It doesn't matter whether you 2 believe in Islam, Christianity, Judaism, other religions, no 3 one's religion. It's nobody's business, so long as they don't 4 murder anybody who believes differently than they do. 5 Another thing this case is not about, it is not about 6 the great political and social issues of the day. People will 7 try and tell you otherwise. It doesn't matter what anybody 8 thinks about the great issues of the day. And no matter what 9 anyone tells you, that is not what you are here to decide. 10 In the end, it is a simple case. As charged in the 11 indictment, these defendants were planating a war of urban 12 terrorism against the United States. And they sought to 13 slaughter men and women of this city as they drove to and from 14 New York and New Jersey, or as they sat in office buildings 15 with, almost literally, time bombs ticking in their garages. 16 Thank you. 17 Q. Ms. Stewart, that's a selection from Mr. Khuzami's opening? 18 A. As I remember it, yes, is it is. 19 Q. And you sat there in that courtroom, yes? 20 A. I did. 21 Q. Did that make an impression on you? 22 A. I think it's very impressionable. Of course it made an 23 impression. It was calculated to do so. 24 Q. And after Mr. Khuzami finished that opening, did you have a 25 job to do? SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7555 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 A. Yes. It was then my turn to speak to the jury. I 2 represented Sheikh Abdel Rahman. I was the lead counsel. I 3 was first called upon after Mr. Khuzami finished. 4 Q. Now, there were 12 defendants in that case that Judge 5 Mukasey sat, right? 6 A. That's right. One of them left fairly soon after the 7 opening address, so there were 11 that actually sat for the ten 8 months of trial. 9 Q. I'm not going to ask you to read 12 opening statements, 10 Ms. Stewart, but I would like to be clear that some -- did each 11 one of those 12 lawyers then deal with different parts of the 12 case? 13 A. Yes, and of course they had to also deal with the case as a 14 whole, since the government had an overarching conspiracy in 15 the case, plus individual charges against each of the 11 16 defendants. 17 Q. I wonder if you would do this for us, then. Would you 18 please read out for us the opening statement that you gave in 19 that case right after Mr. Khuzami gave his opening statement as 20 the first lawyer that was going to speak in that process. 21 A. I will. 22 Q. Thank you. 23 MR. TIGAR: And by the way, the jurors can probably 24 see Exhibit 2009. May I put one of these pages up, your Honor. 25 THE COURT: Yes. SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7556 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 MR. TIGAR: Thank you. 2 Q. You notice there are four pages of transcript on each one, 3 do you see that? 4 A. Yes, that's how this works. 5 Q. They give you this to save paper? 6 A. It's a Minuscript. I guess. I hope it's to save paper. 7 Q. So we don't have a copy to scroll, I'll just ask you to 8 read it out, please. 9 A. Good people of the jury, during the course of this trial, 10 usually at the opening of the day, you will hear Ms. Schwartz, 11 who isn't here right now, but whom you know, the Court deputy, 12 call this case into the record. You will hear her say, USA 13 versus Abdel Rahman. 14 Abdel Rahman translated to the English -- to English 15 means the servant of God. United States of America versus the 16 servant of God. And the evidence will show you that his case 17 is before you not because of anything he did. He is, after 18 all, elderly, blind, diabetic with a heart condition. The 19 evidence will show you that he is charged based solely on his 20 words, words uttered as part of his duties as a Muslim cleric; 21 words uttered as religious teachings; words protected under our 22 Constitution. And he faces an ultimate judgment, a judgment by 23 you on these terribly serious fearful charges. 24 But before then there will be evidence, evidence to 25 show that the -- that the government is attempting to place him SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7557 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 in a frame. Why? Why, would you ask, would they do such a 2 monstrous thing? Because he is an outspoken critic, and he has 3 devoted his religious life to advocating for the suffering of 4 people at home in Egypt. He has advocated by any means 5 necessary, and that is not acceptable to this government. 6 During this trial you will learn, who is this servant 7 of God, Dr. Abdel Rahman? Why does the US government want so 8 badly to convict him? And what is the nature of their 9 so-called case, or should I say their lack of a case, the lack 10 of a case that you will ultimately hear? 11 First, who is Omar Ahmad Ali Abdel Rahman? He was 12 born into poverty in the Nile Delta in Egypt. He was blinded 13 at the age of ten months, and as such, his boyhood as a blind 14 child was spent in the mosque, where he became a prodigy, 15 because by age 11 he had memorized the entire Koran, the holy 16 book of Muslims, a book they believe contains the actual words 17 of Allah, God. 18 This prodigy then went on to spend 25 years of his 19 life in the universities of Egypt, ultimately receiving a PhD, 20 a doctorate from Al Ahzar University in Cairo in Islamic 21 jurisprudence, systems of law under the Muslim faith. You will 22 learn that Al Ahzar is like Oxford University. It is older. 23 Indeed, it was in existence before the United States of America 24 was even discovered. It was in existence before there was such 25 things as European states. SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7558 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 The evidence will show you that Dr. Abdel Rahman, not 2 content with the security of a career as a university professor 3 guaranteed to him by earning this degree, began to preach in 4 Egypt. He was both an imam, that is, a leader of prayer; and a 5 Sheikh, an Islamic religious scholar. To serve the people in 6 his congregation, he preached about what he believed was the 7 complete failure of so-called Muslim leaders in the Middle East 8 to govern in accordance with God's law. He spoke out about 9 corruption, the failure to serve people's needs and the fact 10 that when so-called Muslim leaders are oppressors, did I do 11 that? That other Muslims who are true to their faith are 12 entitled, are indeed required to revolt up and destroy the 13 oppressor, the tyrant. 14 This message was delivered in Egypt against Nasser, 15 against Sadat, against Mubarak. He termed them Pharaohs, the 16 Pharaohs, the unjust kings of Egypt. Self-appointed for life, 17 willing to give up Muslim land, he told his people of the greed 18 that lined the Swiss bank accounts while the children of Egypt 19 fed off the garbage in the dumps. You may imagine that this 20 led him into some difficulties, and these difficulties meant 21 for him prison, torture, trials. And although he has spent 22 years of his life in Egyptian jails and under house arrest, he 23 has never been convicted. 24 Then in 1990 he entered the United States with a valid 25 visa, came via Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan. Came to SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7559 4aqesat1 Stewart - direct 1 the United States not to study -- he already had a doctorate -- 2 and not to enrich himself, as you will see. He could have been 3 a professor at any university in the Middle East, a secure, 4 respected position. No. He left his family, he left his 5 children. He came here to escape persecution, to escape 6 tyranny, just like our European ancestors immigrated, and just 7 like the slaves escaped on the underground railroad. 8 He came to speak. He came to explain his cases. He 9 came to this country. He believed was in love with freedom, 10 whose people protect those who have escaped from tyrants. He 11 came here to be free of Egyptian intelligence, spying, 12 following, arresting. Yet he is before you now accused and 13 indicted. 14 The evidence will show that he entered peacefully, 15 that he never violated any laws, big or little. The evidence 16 will show that he believed that visa was a sacred contract 17 between him as a Muslim and the United States of America for 18 sanctuary. 19 (Continued on next page) 20 21 22 23 24 25 SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7560 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 A. "And he spoke in the mosques and he led the prayers. He 2 taught the children. He resolved disputes, thousands of 3 disputes between Muslims, and he studied Islam and he taught 4 Muslims. He taught women's groups. He taught African 5 Americans. Most importantly, Dr. Abdel Rahman, the evidence 6 will show, continued saying and doing what has been said and 7 done by Muslim religious leaders for 1400 years. Does he wish 8 to return his people to the golden age to umma when Muslim 9 people lived as one under God's law? He does. 10 You will see through the long days and many months of 11 this trial a wholly man from another religion, perhaps very 12 different from what you know, from another world, indeed 13 perhaps from another century. But a person of absolute faith 14 and absolute rectitude. You are going to hear many videotapes. 15 You are going to hear many audiotapes such as the one that 16 beeps all the time of his preaching, of him answering questions 17 and of Emad Salem trying to lead him down a primrose path. 18 Some things he say will actually strike a responsive 19 cord in some of you, I am sure, when he lectures about Muslim 20 obligations to the poor, to the homeless. It is not that 21 different from cast your bread upon the waters. And when he 22 speaks of defending Muslims from losing life, land, homes, 23 family, it is not so different from, Blessed are those who 24 thirst after righteousness, or my rod and my staff, they 25 comfort me. But his faith does not believe and he does not SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7561 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 preach render onto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is 2 God's. He believes there is a unit and he preaches that. And 3 he believes that one must be engaged in Jihad to be a Muslim, a 4 devout, a proper Muslim. Not a Jihad army. Jihad is an Arabic 5 word for struggle, the struggle internally to look at oneself. 6 It is not what the so-called scholars, the imams of the U.S. 7 Attorneys tell you. It is simply the Muslim duty to struggle 8 internally with self, and externally -- and if you are going to 9 write anything down in your notebooks, write this down -- 10 externally in defense of Islam. It has no element of the 11 aggressions Mr. Khuzami spoke of. Indeed, it is the noticeable 12 partner of another Islamic duty, to speak the truth. And this 13 is what the evidence will show placed the Sheikh here. He 14 spoke the truth and he is here to be judged by you. 15 The why of this case is also the how. How did he get 16 here? The evidence will show that Dr. Abdel Rahman, after 17 being here since 1990, preaching travel, talking, was the 18 subject of deportation in early 1993. Then in February 1993, 19 two weeks before the World Trade Center bomb, the government 20 put a wiretap on his phone and they listened to everything, 21 everything from February to June. You must understand that for 22 a blind man like Dr. Abdel Rahman the telephone is like his 23 window on the world. He talks on the phone 25 hours a day, 24 talking to people about their personal problems, advising them, 25 getting news from home, from Egypt, from family, friends, SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7562 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 political allies, from a son fighting in Afghanistan, making 2 arrangements, scheduling, calling the airlines. 3 And then the World Trade Center bombing takes place. 4 Is it on the wiretap? No. And he publicly denounces it, 5 publicly and often." 6 MR. TIGAR: There is an objection by Mr. McCarthy. 7 "THE COURT: Overruled. It is a statement of what the 8 evidence will show. Go ahead." 9 A. "And men were arrested for that and were tried, but he was 10 never charged. He continued to preach, and minister to his 11 people. 12 And then in June of '93, one night at midnight, the 13 FBI, while he slept, broke down his door, and even though they 14 found him alone, they handcuffed him and searched his apartment 15 in Jersey City for hours. And they seized and kept nothing but 16 audiotapes, videotapes, personal papers, his books, and you 17 will see from the photographs exactly how he was living. 18 And Dr. Abdel Rahman still continued his daily life, 19 his religious duties. He was not under arrest at that point. 20 He didn't go to Newark Airport and get on a plane and leave. 21 He kept on speaking the truth. 22 And then in July 1993, at a mosque in Brooklyn, after 23 Friday prayers, he was taken into custody. Not on this case, 24 no. Still on the deportation matter. And he was in jail and 25 powerful people, U.S. senators who wanted him in jail were told SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7563 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 by January, Janet Reno, the Attorney General of the United 2 States, the boss of these young men, that there was not enough 3 evidence to charge him. Yet, two months later there is nothing 4 new developing, he is charged. He is indicted and not merely 5 charged. He is charged the leader, the head man, the person 6 responsible for everything. 7 Why? He has no disagreement with the American people. 8 His struggle is away from the U.S., with the leader of his 9 country, Mubarek, 18 years in power. Even FDR only had four 10 terms and then we rewrote the Constitution. But you see it is 11 easier for Mubarek because you see when he runs for office, he 12 is the only candidate and he gets two billion a year in U.S. 13 taxpayer money, more than any other country except Israel. And 14 instead of democracy and freedom, he keeps the money and gives 15 his people poverty. And to support this dictator in Egypt, the 16 U.S. did him a favor. They put Dr. Abdel Rahman in this case. 17 The strongest opposition: Jail. Did he disagree with U.S. 18 policy? He did. Did he conspire seditiously or otherwise? He 19 did not. 20 And they hadn't finished yet. They waited until May 21 of this past year, 1994, after he had been in jail for a year. 22 They went to the home of a paralegal working on the case where 23 he had stored his belongings after the search in Jersey City 24 and after he finally is incarcerated. And they went to the 25 home of this paralegal in Toms River, New Jersey and once again SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7564 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 searched through those same belongings. And this time they 2 made no bones about it. They said what they were looking for. 3 If I can find it in here. They said they were looking for 4 audiotapes, videotapes, writings and documents, transcripts, 5 announcements, newspapers, magazines, press releases, books, 6 news bulletins, letters, cards, passports, diaries, ledgers, 7 journals, receipts, checks, sermons, commentary, teachings of, 8 interpretations by Omar Ahmad Ali Abdel Rahman and others. 9 Were they looking for detonators? Were they looking for plans? 10 They were not. They knew what they wanted. They wanted words 11 and words is what you will hear. 12 Is he a fundamentalist or is he a moderate, a middle 13 of the road? People who accuse him know only a smattering of 14 Islam. They do not know the heart or the brain. And the 15 evidence will show this, Jihad as a duty, he explained over and 16 over again, on those videotapes you will hear, as a duty, and 17 he told his listeners, go to Bosnia, go to Afghanistan, go to 18 Palestine, go to the Philippines, out of here, defend holy 19 land, Muslim land. He never said, go to the World Trade 20 Center, go to the Holland Tunnel. This is why he is before 21 you, labeled as a terrorist, because he urged people to act in 22 their own defense. He is a leader, a leader of thousands, 23 revered, respected, a man you will see does not change his mind 24 are every five minutes nor five miles away. 25 You must ask yourselves, is this the man, the evil SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7565 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 criminal godfather the government has portrayed for you? Or is 2 he the shepherd of a flock, a large flock who he protects and 3 guides according to religious precepts. And most important, 4 and maybe it is the crux of this case, could he be held 5 responsible in a court of law for what others who may have 6 attended his mosque, his lectures are alleged to be doing? 7 He is charged with seditious conspiracy, with 8 conspiring to murder Mubarek, with the conspiracy to bomb the 9 bridges, tunnels, the U.N. and other places and solicitation. 10 How do they think they can prove this? They are going 11 to use the tapes. Mr. Khuzami told you that. Public and open 12 most of them are, seized from his home and the home of his 13 paralegal and other people. They are going to use the tapes 14 made secretly by the informant. Listen very carefully to 15 these. Mr. Khuzami has given you a preview, but you have to 16 hear the tone of voice in the very few times on thousands and 17 thousands of tapes. 18 And you have to consider Emad Salem. Never forget 19 that Emad Salem was working with Egyptian intelligence. And he 20 spied on the FBI while he was working for them. Who was using 21 who? Million dollars. Dirty money deals and throw something 22 into the Sheikh's house, he says to one of the handlers. 23 I could talk about Emad Salem for the whole time the 24 judge has given me, but I am sure my cocounsel will take care 25 of that as well. But remember, the evidence will show that SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7566 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 this prosecution is rotten at its core, because it is the 2 center furiously wheeling and dealing, or at least two 3 informant, Emad Salem and also a Mr. Haggag. These are not the 4 poor sad sacks desperate to get out of a terrible situation. 5 These are complex, vicious liars whose loyalties are divided, 6 confused, compromised, compromised by long-time grudges and by 7 Egypt, for with both of them the iron fist of that oppressive 8 regime, that Pharaoh criticized by Amnesty International will 9 show up again through these two. Most importantly, the moves 10 that they made to ensnare the Sheikh, the lies they told to 11 protect themselves. 12 If you want to see leadership, leadership as the 13 government mentioned, keep your eye on Emad Salem. And if you 14 want to see hatred, watch Haggag. 15 But these charges are terribly serious, as I said to 16 you earlier, seditious conspiracy. Dr. Abdel Rahman came here 17 to preach, to have a pulpit, to speak freely and practice his 18 religion without ending up in jail, and, guess what, he ended 19 up in jail. He needed this place of safety, calm. The judges 20 will tell you that in a conspiracy actions speak louder than 21 words sometimes, and the evidence here will show actions are 22 different from any words, and the Sheikh never took any actions 23 and the Sheikh never spoke any words that directed the actions 24 or approved the actions of others against the United States. 25 What motivation could he have possibly have had? SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7567 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 Next week President Clinton, who has been known to 2 change his mind, might say that Egypt has gone too far and 3 declared them to be public enemy number one. The policy 4 changes. The executive of the United States changes. What 5 then of sedition? He is also charged with conspiracy to murder 6 President Mubarek. The evidence will show that he has been 7 calling for the death of Mubarek and a popular revolution 8 uprising in Egypt for the last 18 years. Nothing new here. 9 And in history, you must know people have always called for the 10 death of the enemy, the unjust, the oppressive ruler, the 11 tyrant, kill Hitler, kill the Ayatollah, kill Saddam Hussein. 12 We even yell kill the umpire. Do we mean it? 13 He is also charged with soliciting criminal acts. It 14 isn't solicitation when evidence shows that it's speech, only 15 speech. The only solicitations you will hear in this case are 16 those of Emad Salem as he goes about his dirty business. 17 He is also charged, Dr. Abdel Rahman, with a criminal 18 agreement, conspiracy to bomb. Here the evidence will not 19 show, because there is no evidence. It just isn't so. There 20 is no common understanding. There is no knowing joining. 21 There is not even mere association unless preaching before 22 hundreds of people, some of whom may contain a defendant or two 23 is association. Not even knowledge without participation, 24 nothing, nada, no matter how hard they try. We, Mr. Clark, 25 Mr. Jabara, and myself, we defend an innocent man wrongfully SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7568 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 accused, and the evidence will prove it. 2 All of this brings me, and I am happy to tell you and 3 I am sure you are happy, near the end of my opening statement. 4 But I earnestly beg of you, I plead of you, don't make up your 5 mind until you have heard it all. Suspend judgment. Start off 6 with a clean slate. You were handed these notebooks. They 7 were empty, clean, unwritten upon. You, too, should begin this 8 way, open to hear it all, weigh it all, decide it all, because 9 the reality is that this is not really an opening statement. 10 You have all been opened to for almost two years, every time 11 you read a news report or turned on the TV with Dr. Abdel 12 Rahman's picture in the red turban of his university, with 13 those dark glasses. 14 Some of you have had prior jury service and you know 15 that when you walk into the courtroom you know nothing. You 16 learn it all in the courtroom. They may not be so for you in 17 this case, but I ask you, to the extent you can possibly do it, 18 to wipe your mind free. Do that for all of these defendants. 19 You swore you would. 20 And while I'm on it, please also remember that the 21 defense, because the government has the burden of proof, always 22 goes last. The government opens first, they put on their case 23 first, they will examine their witnesses, and then we get to 24 cross-examine. Suspend judgment -- and I realize that we are 25 asking you to do that not just for a day sometimes or a week or SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7569 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 a month, but it may be for a whole season before you get to 2 hear the defense case. But you must do it, you must, or it is 3 not fair, and you swore to be fair. 4 Ultimately, this is what is at stake here, on trial, 5 people different from you and yet the same. Expressions of 6 religion and personal belief different from you, maybe 7 distasteful to you, but you have been selected by all of us to 8 well and truly try this case. 9 We will directly speak again many, many months from 10 now. Keep an open mind, listen fairly, suspend judgment. Only 11 then can you do justice, and that is all we ask. Because then 12 you will find Dr. Abdel Rahman, the servant of God, not guilty. 13 Thank you." 14 Q. Ms. Stewart, when you were reading that opening statement, 15 your voice demeanor, manner were different than what it is as 16 we are talking to each other. Why? 17 MR. DEMBER: Objection, your Honor. 18 THE COURT: Overruled. 19 A. I was, once again, assuming the role of a lawyer. I was 20 remembering and acting again as the lawyer and that's my 21 demeanor when I'm a lawyer. 22 Q. In that opening statement that you read you said some 23 favorable things about Sheikh Abdel Rahman. When you talk to a 24 jury, do you express your personal belief in the innocence or 25 guilt of your client? SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7570 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 A. No. That is off limits, absolutely, to a lawyer. We are 2 only permitted to express and argue of the evidence, the 3 evidence that is before them. The personal opinion does not 4 count for anything. 5 Q. I'd like to look at some of the exhibits that the 6 government has offered here that were offered at the trial of 7 Sheikh Abdel Rahman. You mentioned that there was -- in your 8 opening that there was a search in Toms River, New Jersey? 9 A. Yes. That was a search that was conducted long after the 10 arrest of the Sheikh at the home of paralegal Nabil Elmasry. 11 He has been mentioned in this trial in connection with the 12 watch. 13 MR. TIGAR: Your Honor, may I place on the Elmo for 14 the jury Government Exhibit in evidence 202T? 15 THE COURT: Yes. 16 Q. Ms. Stewart, this government exhibit sticker that my finger 17 is at, is that an exhibit sticker from the trial of Sheikh 18 Abdel Rahman and the other defendants? 19 A. It is. 20 Q. And this number over here that I'm pointing to, that's an 21 exhibit number from this trial? 22 A. It is. 23 Q. On the top here it says Elmasry search, audio translation. 24 What does that mean to you as you look back at that? 25 A. This is one of the speeches or sermons seized at Elmasry's SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7571 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 home in Toms River and this is the translation. It was an 2 audiotape apparently. 3 Q. Now, in this speech Sheikh Rahman -- Sheikh Abdel Rahman 4 talks about violence. And I want to put that up here because 5 the jurors have seen it. And it says: What kind of name is 6 this? Why are we afraid of it? Why do we fear the word 7 terrorist and so on? And the language that the jurors heard in 8 this case and the language that the jurors heard read in the 9 case that you did back in 1995. 10 As the Sheikh's lawyer and faced with this evidence, 11 what did that make you think? 12 A. Well, it clearly was not the most helpful of evidence to 13 have the client branding himself and proud of being called a 14 terrorist. But this was a fiery preacher. This is someone who 15 spoke bombastically. The whole sermon, the length of the 16 sermon, he is spewing. This was his speaking style. This is 17 very reminiscent of our own fundamentalist preachers which we 18 can hear pretty much on Sunday television. It was a style. It 19 was not meant to be taken literally, I don't believe, and that 20 is what I argued to the jury. 21 Q. In your opening statement you discussed -- you mentioned 22 Bosnia and Egypt and struggles in the Middle East. How did you 23 see your client's relationship to those struggles. 24 A. One prong of our defendant was that the Sheikh had never 25 urged that any Jihad be performed in the United States or SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7572 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 against the United States. His urge to Jihad were in the 2 fields of Muslim countries. This was something I learned after 3 I got into the case but that Jihad was performed as a defensive 4 action by Muslims to defend their lands, homes, property. It 5 was not an aggressive action. 6 Q. When you talked to the jury about these sermons, were you 7 expressing your -- a personal belief about whether violence was 8 justified in Bosnia or Egypt or anyplace else? 9 A. No. This was purely argument when I spoke to the jury. 10 This is arguing what seemed to me to be pretty clear, that this 11 was bombastic, that this was a lot of rhetoric in these 12 sermons. 13 MR. TIGAR: Your Honor, this is a transition point. 14 We have had a lot of reading. May we take a break now? 15 THE COURT: Sure. 16 Ladies and gentlemen, we will take a mid-morning 17 break. Please, please remember my continuing instructions. 18 Please don't talk about the case. Always remember to keep an 19 open mind. 20 I'll see you soon. 21 All rise, please. Please follow Mr. Fletcher to the 22 jury room. 23 (Jury not present) 24 THE COURT: See you shortly. 25 (Recess) SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7573 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 THE COURT: It occurred to me that we were going more 2 than an hour. And if you want to break every hour, I'm happy 3 to do it more regularly, or just wait for any convenient time. 4 MR. TIGAR: Your Honor, I'll watch the clock and make 5 a suggestion when we would like to. The reason I did it was 6 that after that reading I sensed that a couple of the jurors 7 were thinking, my goodness, we have done a lot of this now. 8 THE COURT: That's fine. 9 MR. TIGAR: I appreciate the Court's indulgence. 10 THE COURT: No problem. 11 It is now about 11:00. We go until about 12:45. So I 12 take it you would like a break some time before 12:45. 13 MR. TIGAR: Yes, your Honor, I certainly would. And 14 Ms. Stewart and I both would. 15 THE COURT: That's fine. I'll find the time. 16 MR. TIGAR: Shall Ms. Stewart resume the stand and we 17 can get started again? 18 THE COURT: Yes. 19 MR. TIGAR: And may I stand behind the lecturn? 20 THE COURT: Yes. 21 Let's bring in the jury. 22 (Jury present) 23 THE COURT: Ms. Stewart is on the stand. 24 Mr. Fletcher. 25 THE DEPUTY CLERK: Ms. Stewart, you are reminded you SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7574 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 are still under oath. 2 THE WITNESS: Yes. 3 THE COURT: Mr. Tigar, you may proceed. 4 MR. TIGAR: Thank you, your Honor. 5 BY MR. TIGAR: 6 Q. Ms. Stewart, we have been talking about that trial way back 7 in 1995. Was there a lot of media coverage of that trial? 8 A. There was an extraordinary amount of media coverage of that 9 trial, yes. 10 Q. And as counsel for Sheikh Abdel Rahman, did you communicate 11 with the representatives of the media? 12 A. I did. 13 Q. Are there rules, lawyer ethical rules about what you can 14 and cannot, should and should not do when you're communicating 15 with the media? 16 A. Yes, there are, particularly when a trial is impending or 17 being carried on. Those same rules of ethics and as 18 interpreted by certain cases also decree that you can't say 19 things that will influence a potential jury or a jury that is 20 sitting, that you cannot cross that line. And you can mete the 21 prosecutor's statements and indeed prosecutors regularly hold 22 press conferences. 23 So it is a balancing act and it is, once again, one of 24 the difficult things you do as a lawyer, is to make sure you're 25 not going over the line. One thing in our trial was that Judge SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7575 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 Mukasey kept a pretty close watch on who was saying what to the 2 press. 3 Q. Now, as a representative of your client, were you concerned 4 about his image in the media? 5 A. Yes. Lately, of late, it actually has become even more in 6 this particular circuit that a media spokesman or a publicist, 7 as they are now called, is entitled to the privilege. And that 8 means that they are under the umbrella of the lawyer. And when 9 they do publicity or speak to the media or generally speak out 10 at all, it is considered part of the lawyer's work. That is 11 why it is covered by the privilege. 12 And so as such, I also in '95 and in other cases that 13 I have covered or covered that I've handled been the lawyer 14 for, I have also done media. And I think I may have said 15 yesterday -- I certainly learned at the foot of the master who 16 did more media than probably any other lawyer before us and 17 that is William Kuntsler. 18 Q. Let me ask you about that. You say at some point in your 19 career you began to be involved in cases that had media 20 attention, is that right? 21 A. That's correct. 22 Q. Now, did you -- and were there certain lawyers that you 23 would try to emulate in their approach to the media and certain 24 lawyers that you would not try to emulate? 25 MR. DEMBER: Objection, your Honor, relevance. SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7576 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 THE COURT: Overruled. 2 A. I can't really say emulate. I felt it was very important 3 to be your own voice. I've always felt that as a lawyer. And 4 so while I learned a great deal about dealing with the press -- 5 in other words, understanding their role in this whole process. 6 They have a definite role in keeping the public informed. And 7 because our clients are so often locked away and unable to 8 respond to press, I did do a lot of press, and I learned from 9 the people around me. I wouldn't say I emulated one or the 10 other. 11 Q. Now, as you got into this case in late 1994, how would you 12 summarize or express the media view of your client? 13 A. I believe that he had been demonized by the press, that 14 that ever present picture that they presented of him in the red 15 turban with the dark glasses and the World Trade Center 16 pictured behind him was really an indelible almost part of most 17 people's memory in this city. 18 MR. DEMBER: Objection, your Honor, as to what's in 19 people's memory. 20 THE COURT: Sustained. 21 A. Shall I go on? 22 Q. No. Please. The objection is sustained. 23 Did you try to address this press coverage in the voir 24 dire of the jury? 25 A. We certainly did. We had individual voir dire by the judge SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7577 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 of what people had read and what effect it had upon them, and 2 it became part of the general decision-making process for those 3 people who had read things but were permitted or felt that they 4 could still serve and be fair. 5 Q. Now, did you think -- did you read a lot -- in preparing to 6 do the case, did you read newspaper articles and other media 7 coverage that had occurred? 8 A. Yes, very much so. I read a lot of newspapers. I'm also 9 aware that newspapers don't always get it right. But there are 10 sometimes -- there are kernels of truth and there are things 11 that give us an insight as to what questions what people are 12 asking. They give us as lawyers some way of taking the pulse 13 of the community and what's out there. So, yes, I've always 14 been, I guess like a lot of New Yorkers, a big newspaper 15 reader. 16 Q. Did you also have access in preparing for the trial to 17 Arabic media? 18 A. Not so much. I did have access to it, but at this time 19 Sheikh Omar was confined at MCC here in New York. He was 20 permitted to do interviews with the Arabic media himself. 21 There was no restraint upon that. They just had to get 22 permission from the institution and arrange a time to come in 23 and interview him. So he conducted his own interviews by and 24 large with the Arabic media. I basically dealt with the 25 American media and particularly that media which was not SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7578 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 permitted to take their cameras into the jail, the television, 2 et cetera. 3 Q. Do you speak Arabic? 4 A. No. 5 Q. Do you read Arabic? 6 A. I do not read Arabic. I know three or four words. I 7 think, as anyone who is associated with a language, you pick up 8 a word here or a word there. But, no, I don't speak it and I 9 don't read it. 10 Q. How did you get in touch with the Arabic language materials 11 that were going to be a part of your case? 12 A. Well, we had apparently those we have mentioned, three of 13 them here. There were additional paralegals. We also were 14 part of the general defense effort to translate Arabic 15 materials and Arabic conversations. We utilized a translation 16 service, and they provided us with transcripts of various 17 material. 18 We had an additional problem because of the Sheikh's 19 blindness. And that would be, we would get the materials and 20 then they would have to be reread to him because, of course, he 21 couldn't read the materials. They would have to be read to him 22 first in Arabic and then after we got the translation, I would 23 have questions I would want to ask him. So we had to do this 24 double kind of attention to just about every document in the 25 case. SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7579 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 Q. Let me take a few minutes and ask about the situation. You 2 described the jail situation at MCC. Now, who had the right at 3 that time, 1994, '95, to go into that jail and visit your 4 client? 5 A. At that time it was his attorneys of record, which was 6 myself, Ramsey Clark, Abdeen Jabara, Larry Schilling had the 7 right to go in and visit him. He also had a number of 8 paralegals, Mr. Sattar, Nasser Ahmed. 9 Q. Mr. Sattar? 10 A. Yes. 11 Q. And you will look at some of those time sheets. Nassar 12 Ahmed? 13 A. Yes. 14 Q. That was the same Nasser Ahmed that was later involved in 15 the immigration case? 16 A. Yes. 17 Q. Who else? 18 A. Mr. Elmasry, his home being searched down in Toms River. 19 He was also a paralegal. We had investigators that worked on 20 the case. They worked on the case in conjunction with the 21 other defendants. But they also had leave to go and speak to 22 the Sheikh. 23 Q. When you say had leave, how would a paralegal or 24 investigator get the opportunity to go into the jail? Did 25 somebody have to sign an order? Did they have to be on a list? SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7580 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 How did that work? 2 A. As I said, when I came into the case I inherited the 3 paralegals. I believe they were appointed by the Court. There 4 is not a large group of Arabic-speaking paralegals who are 5 available to work on cases such as this. So basically it was 6 people who had volunteered to do the work, keeping their day 7 jobs. They were approved by Judge Mukasey. They were given 8 the seal of approval. I don't know if they had to make out an 9 application to be approved by MCC as well, or whether the 10 application -- just the judge's approval and appointment was 11 enough. I know sometimes you do have to get the jail to also 12 approve people. 13 But they were all appointed by Judge Mukasey. They 14 were all paid by the Criminal Justice Act under which indigents 15 are permitted to have certain services, including a lawyer. So 16 that was how they got to the jail. And they basically could 17 show up at the MCC. Eventually, it became on a 24-hour-a-day 18 basis because we had such problems with the time constraints 19 when we were on trial that originally we had to be out of the 20 jail by 8 p.m. But we got permission and then the jail 21 eventually did it for all the inmates to be able to come in 22 after 8 p.m. and stay until midnight if need be. 23 Q. You mentioned yesterday that your client had health 24 problems. How were those health problems dealt with when he 25 was at the MCC? SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7581 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 MR. DEMBER: Objection, your Honor, relevance. 2 THE COURT: Overruled. 3 A. At MCC he was held separately. In other words, he had a 4 double room, so as to speak, which was mainly filled with 5 materials from the case. He was seen twice a day, I believe, 6 by a doctor's assistant, a physician's assistant, a PA, who 7 would inject his insulin. 8 He also was seen by people who would come to check up 9 on his feet basically, as I recall it. I'm not a doctor 10 myself, but he was cared for by the staff at MCC. He did have 11 a number of episodes while at MCC when he was removed and taken 12 to medical facilities such -- I know he went to Westchester 13 County medical facility at one time because they thought he was 14 having difficulties, and we were -- the trial was adjourned for 15 a couple of days, and we went forward after that. 16 He was basically seen by MCC and was referred to other 17 people. 18 He also -- we got permission from Judge Mukasey to 19 allow a private doctor to come and see him, to examine him, who 20 spoke Arabic, who could assure him in his own language of 21 exactly what his condition was by conferring with the medical 22 staff at MCC and then speaking to him. That was Dr. Aziz, who 23 was also mentioned in the tapes, once in a while. 24 Q. Now I'd like to talk a little bit more about some of these 25 people that worked on the case. Can we begin with Mr. Sattar. SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7582 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 He was a paralegal, you said? 2 A. Yes. 3 MR. TIGAR: Your Honor, may I show Ms. Stewart and the 4 jury Government Exhibit 2072 in evidence? 5 THE COURT: Yes. 6 Q. This is a document and this is the form in which it was 7 received. That's Government 2072. You could barely make that 8 out. This is a time sheet? 9 A. It is. 10 Q. And it has -- this is the time -- I see here August '95 to 11 January '96. Is that what seems right there? 12 A. It is. 13 Q. Can you see the first page? 14 A. Yes. 15 Q. For instance, we have entries down -- date entries down 16 this column here where my finger is and then we have hours, 17 correct? 18 A. Yes. 19 Q. The place and what was done? 20 A. Yes. 21 Q. Now, look at, for example, 8/3/95, two and a half, MCC, 22 meeting with Sheikh? 23 A. Yes. 24 Q. Did you have to be present every time that someone was 25 meeting with the Sheikh? SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7583 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 A. No. They were empowered to enter by themselves and be 2 admitted to the ninth floor, where he was held. 3 Q. And would that be true of every lawyer, investigator, and 4 paralegal? 5 A. All of us who were registered with the Sheikh, yes. 6 Q. Could go without any other person being there from the 7 staff? 8 A. Without any other person being there. 9 Q. Over here, if I can change, turning to the second page, 10 here is 10/1/95, seven hours. And I'm reading this entry, 11 meeting with lawyers and Sheikh. 12 What was significant about October the 1st, '95? 13 A. Well, that was the day that the verdict was rendered in the 14 courtroom upstairs. And we were permitted a last visit with 15 the Sheikh at the MCC before he left to go to Springfield 16 Missouri, to a medical facility there. Mr. Sattar was present 17 at that meeting. It was held actually in the clinic at MCC. 18 Mr. Clark was present, I was present. I am not sure if 19 Mr. Yousry was there or not, but those are the people I 20 remember being present. 21 Q. Now, turning back to the first page here, just as an 22 example, on August 6, '95, Mr. Sattar is reported working at 23 home and it says, preparing summation. Tell the jury, how did 24 Mr. Sattar help you, if he did? Did he help you in working on 25 things you were going to do in court? SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7584 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 A. Yes. We were -- at that point we had finished the 2 presentation of the defense case. The codefendants were 3 presenting their cases. We were going to be summing up first 4 in the case and so all of the paralegals were put to work going 5 through transcripts, finding parts that I asked specifically to 6 be found. They also reviewed tapes and discussed them with the 7 Sheikh. 8 Q. When you say reviewed tapes, how many tapes did you have in 9 that case? 10 A. I am not sure how many went into evidence, but I can only 11 say between the defense and the prosecution there were hundreds 12 of tapes involved in the case, and a great deal of them went 13 into evidence. So each one of them had to be reviewed, a 14 decision had to be made whether or not it was something we 15 wanted to deal with on summation. 16 Q. Now, in what language were these tapes? 17 A. By and large, they were in Arabic. 18 Q. When Mr. Salem, this Egyptian person that we have heard 19 about so much, when he met with your client and recorded the 20 sessions, what language were they speaking? 21 A. That was Arabic. 22 Q. So to use -- so you would use a translator? 23 A. They had to be translated. 24 Q. In looking, therefore, at Mr. Sattar's work, he did 25 translation, conferring, helping with exhibits? SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7585 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 MR. DEMBER: Objection as to the leading, your Honor. 2 THE COURT: Sustained. 3 Q. Did Mr. Sattar's role change later on after the case was 4 over? 5 A. Yes. He had always been more than just "a paralegal" in 6 the sense of the paperwork. He helped the Sheikh in the sense 7 of hearing if he had a medical difficulty of some kind. I 8 don't mean in the sense of being like a doctor. But I mean one 9 of the important things was that the Sheikh should be wearing 10 white socks, apparently. Diabetics have trouble with their 11 feet. 12 Because he was blind he couldn't always be aware that 13 the socks had problems. By problems, I mean, there was some 14 excretion that was on the socks or something. But the 15 paralegals did that kind of thing, too. They reminded him to 16 take care of himself and they reminded him and helped him take 17 care of him. It was always other than that. 18 After the case was over, as you mentioned, the Sheikh 19 was at Springfield. He had always been a person who was on the 20 telephone a great, great deal, and he remained on the telephone 21 a great, great deal while he was at Springfield. And because 22 of the language difficulties, he would often call the 23 paralegals, since none of the lawyers could maintain a 24 full-time Arabic translator at their place of business, and he 25 would communicate with them and they would in turn communicate SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7586 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 with myself or Mr. Clark or Mr. Jabara. 2 So he took on this role of being the conduit from the 3 Sheikh to the lawyers as well as other things. He also was a 4 spokesperson to some degree for the -- I would characterize it 5 as the concerns of the Sheikh. He would speak out. He would 6 be the point person that we would refer the press to for that 7 kind of information. 8 Q. Now, when your client was removed from the MCC and taken to 9 the medical prison there in Springfield, was he able to keep in 10 touch with his family? 11 A. Well, while he was at Springfield, yes, he had unlimited 12 use of the phone. I am not sure about how easy it was to place 13 a foreign call, but he was certainly permitted to. 14 Q. In this case there have been many recordings displayed to 15 the jury, translations of them where -- involving calls to 16 London, Iran, Afghanistan, and Sudan and so on. Were you aware 17 of any of those? 18 A. No, I cannot say that I was. 19 Q. Now, do you know -- we have also heard in this case that 20 there was a time when the government began to record 21 Mr. Sattar's telephone conversation. Were you aware that that 22 had begun? 23 A. No, I was not aware until after our arrest. 24 Q. During the discovery in this case, were you aware of when 25 that began? SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7587 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 A. I became aware that it had started in either early '95 or 2 mid 1995. 3 Q. And did it surprise you when you learned of that? 4 A. I'm still somewhat surprised because, of course, Mr. Sattar 5 was a paralegal in an ongoing case and that the government 6 should have been listening to conversations he was having. 7 MR. DEMBER: Objection, your Honor. 8 THE COURT: Sustained. 9 MR. DEMBER: Ask that the question and answer be 10 stricken from the record, your Honor. 11 THE COURT: All right. Stricken. 12 MR. PAUL: Your Honor, could the witness speak closer 13 to the microphone? 14 THE COURT: Yes. 15 THE WITNESS: I'm sorry. 16 Q. I'd like now to move on to another person who worked on the 17 case, Mohammed Yousry. When did you first meet Mohammed 18 Yousry? 19 A. The Sheikh was anxious to have better translations than he 20 thought he was getting from the paralegals. So he asked if we 21 could arrange to get another interpreter to enter the jail. 22 Q. When was this? 23 A. This was after the trial had commenced. I would say it was 24 in March or April of 1995. 25 Q. Did that turn out to be Mr. Yousry? SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7588 4AOMSAT2 Stewart - direct 1 A. It did. We called the translation service, and they said 2 they had a person that could help us out, and I believe he 3 came -- I met him in court, and we then went over to the MCC to 4 see the Sheikh. 5 Q. And was he hired? 6 A. He was hired, yes, indeed, he certainly was. The Sheikh -- 7 Mr. Yousry came from generally a more privileged background 8 than the other paralegals did. I'm going back in Egypt. He 9 was very well educated, was very well informed. And also 10 was -- had knowledge -- when I say that, I mean, he had an 11 understanding that helped me as well because he had a history, 12 historical perspective here. And the Sheikh enjoyed, liked 13 having these visits that he translated for. 14 (Continued on next page) 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7589 4aqesat3 Stewart - direct 1 BY MR. TIGAR: 2 Q. In addition to doing the translation work, did you become 3 aware that Mr. Yousry had another interest in Sheikh Abdel 4 Rahman? 5 A. That was later. I think that was actually after he was 6 probably shifted to Rochester, but I had known that Mr. Yousry 7 was working on his PhD on an aspect of Egyptian background and 8 movement -- I believe it was the student movements -- and that 9 he later was -- well, I don't mean to get ahead, but he was 10 working on a dissertation then for a PhD at NYU that involved 11 as its subject partially, at least, the Sheikh and his views on 12 things. 13 MR. TIGAR: Now, may I show the jury, your Honor, 14 2415-6 and 2415-6T? 15 THE COURT: Yes. In evidence? 16 MR. TIGAR: In evidence, yes, your Honor. 17 THE COURT: Yes. 18 BY MR. TIGAR: 19 Q. Ms. Stewart, I'd like to show you, moving ahead at the time 20 that your client was in Rochester, this is 2415-6 in evidence. 21 And the jurors have seen it. It says Lynne Stewart at the top, 22 and then it says Lynne here. 23 And everything else on here is in some other language, 24 right? 25 A. Yes. SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7590 4aqesat3 Stewart - direct 1 Q. And you don't know what that -- it looks like Arabic? 2 A. Yes, it looks like Arabic. 3 Q. All right. Now I'm going to put up on here 2415-6T. And 4 this is in evidence. And this says -- here we've got Lynne 5 Stewart, and over here Lynne, Lynne, right? 6 A. Right. 7 Q. And then it says, a response to Al-Hayat. This could be 8 used in a doctorate dissertation, approved by Lynne Stewart. 9 Right? 10 A. Yes. 11 Q. Now, what is -- do you remember this conversation or this 12 meeting? 13 A. No, not really. I know I visited the Sheikh in March of 14 1999, but I do not have that kind of a memory anymore. 15 Q. As you look back at this summary or at this writing, this, 16 the evidence shows, is from Mr. Yousry -- what do you think 17 this is? 18 MR. DEMBER: Objection, your Honor. Calls for 19 speculation. Witness has said she doesn't know what it is. 20 THE COURT: All right. Sustained as to form. 21 Q. Looking at this exhibit, which is in evidence, does it 22 refresh your recollection about the subject of Mr. Yousry's 23 doctoral dissertation? 24 A. Yes. I recognize this as a page from Mr. Yousry's notebook 25 that he kept on all visits, that he was the recorder, so as to SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7591 4aqesat3 Stewart - direct 1 speak. And this is a page from that visit, and it was a 2 subject that he got my approval and then he spoke to the Sheikh 3 about. 4 Q. And do you remember back at that time what was the purpose 5 of your -- what was the reason that you approved of his asking 6 the Sheikh? 7 A. We understood that -- I understood that he was working on 8 his doctoral dissertation; that it had to do with the Sheikh's 9 views on matters past and present and future in Egypt, to some 10 degree. And he asked if he could ask these questions, which 11 had to do with the formation of a political party in Egypt. 12 We've heard of this since then. 13 It was -- Ramsey Clark actually made a press release 14 with regard to this sometime later that year, with regard to 15 the formation of political parties and the Sheikh's view. But 16 this was on a visit by us, and I approved it because it was 17 part of what he was doing. And this was part of his reason for 18 being able to help us in this way, in visiting the Sheikh and 19 giving us his services as translator. 20 Q. Now, the next person I'd like to talk about is the 21 paralegal, Nasser Ahmed. Did something happen to Mr. Ahmed 22 during the trial? 23 A. In the middle of the trial, apparently -- I mean, 24 approximately in May or June of 1995, Mr. Ahmed was arrested by 25 the immigration service for overstaying his visa. He was taken SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7592 4aqesat3 Stewart - direct 1 into custody. He was taken to the immigration jail. And we 2 were called, of course, to be apprised of this situation. 3 Q. Now, did his arrest have any affect on your approach to 4 your -- the case that you were trying to defend? 5 A. We understood from Mr. Ahmed, after he had been released on 6 bail, that he had been approached by FBI agents, who asked him 7 if he would like to cooperate with them. And these were the 8 case agents on the case on trial. He appropriately answered 9 them by saying, how can I cooperate? I'm a paralegal, 10 everything I know is privileged. 11 It alerted me to the fact that this was a case that 12 had overtones and undertones that we needed to be aware of; 13 that things were not necessarily going to be by the -- played 14 by the book. That would have been that -- you know, an 15 approach to a paralegal in a case on trial is unseemly, at 16 best, and that we needed to be very protective of the material 17 we were preparing and material that we were discussing and 18 material that we used at trial. 19 Q. Now, this was in mid'95. Did you become Mr. Ahmed's lawyer 20 then? 21 A. I don't think I appeared for him in that matter because I 22 was on trial every day in this courthouse. But I'm not sure 23 who represented him at that point. 24 Q. Did there come a time when you became his lawyer? 25 A. Yes. The following year in 1996 he was arrested as he SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7593 4aqesat3 Stewart - direct 1 entered the immigration at federal plaza for a regularly 2 scheduled appearance. He was unaccompanied by a lawyer at that 3 point and he was taken into custody. And when he asked why he 4 was being taken into custody, he was told, we cannot tell you, 5 it's a secret. 6 MR. TIGAR: Now, may I show the jury just briefly, 7 your Honor, Government Exhibit 2666 in evidence? 8 THE COURT: Yes. 9 Q. Now, this, the jury has seen and has had read. That's the 10 final decision in July 30, '99? 11 A. It is. 12 Q. And these -- is this list of the lawyers here, Mr. Bograd 13 from the ACLU, Professor Cole from Georgetown, Mr. Schilling 14 and Ms. Stewart, is that an accurate list of the lawyers? 15 A. Yes. You left out Mr. Jabara. He was also -- 16 Q. I'm sorry. 17 A. -- very active in this case. 18 Q. There he is, Mr. Jabara. 19 And was Ramsey Clark a lawyer on this? 20 A. He was not a lawyer because he appeared as a witness in 21 this case, so he was not a lawyer on the case. 22 Q. As a part of Nasser Ahmed's case, did you get an 23 opportunity to look more deeply into some of the issues about 24 Egypt that had come up in Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman's case? 25 A. Mr. Nasser Ahmed had made an application not only for the SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7594 4aqesat3 Stewart - direct 1 visa issue, but also for asylum in this country, meaning that 2 he would be granted refuge here. Part of the proof necessary 3 for the granting of asylum was to show that if he were returned 4 to Egypt, he would be either killed or tortured or both. 5 MR. DEMBER: Objection, your Honor. 6 THE COURT: Sustained at that point. 7 MR. DEMBER: I ask that the question and answer be 8 stricken, your Honor, and the jury be so instructed. 9 MR. TIGAR: I'm sorry. I didn't hear the objection, 10 your Honor. 11 THE COURT: No, well, there was an objection, which I 12 sustained at that point. So go ahead. 13 MR. TIGAR: Thank you, your Honor. 14 I'll --Ms. Stewart, let me approach this -- may I 15 show -- very briefly, may I show, your Honor, Government 16 Exhibit 2622? 17 THE COURT: Yes. 18 BY MR. TIGAR: 19 Q. I'm placing on the Elmo now what the government introduced 20 in evidence Exhibit 2622. That is -- it says material 21 declassified. Does that contain some of the evidence that was 22 presented by the government in that immigration case? 23 A. It does. We -- as you can see -- 24 Q. We need to go one at a time here because we've had an 25 objection. SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7595 4aqesat3 Stewart - direct 1 If we could just -- this is in evidence and the jurors 2 can see this? 3 A. Yes. 4 Q. So that's 2622. Now, I'm going to show you now some 5 newspaper articles that have been introduced in evidence that 6 were found in your office. 7 MR. TIGAR: May I show the jury 2611, your Honor. 8 THE COURT: Yes. 9 Q. Now, this is a newspaper article from the New York Times? 10 THE COURT: In evidence, right? 11 MR. TIGAR: Yes, in evidence. 12 Q. This is a newspaper article from the New York Times that 13 was taken from your office along with some others that I'm 14 going to show you. 15 Why did you have these newspaper articles? 16 A. They were in a box, as was described by Agent Stumf, and 17 there was a commingling of materials in that box. It was 18 Nasser Homosany, Nasser Ahmed Al-Homosany, plus the Sheikh, and 19 these articles were either supplied to me by the government in 20 connection with Nasser Ahmed's case or they were articles that 21 I myself may have taken out of the newspaper because I thought 22 they had a relationship to that case or, indeed, to what was 23 pending for the Sheikh. His appeal was underway at that point. 24 They had a relationship to both cases. 25 Q. Now, in terms of your own knowledge, intent and state of SOUTHERN DISTRICT REPORTERS, P.C. (212) 805-0300 7596 4aqesat3 Stewart - direct 1 mind, do you believe everything you read in the New York Times? 2 A. No. They make mistakes. The information isn't always 3 complete. I think we all read newspapers with a practiced eye. 4 MR. TIGAR: May I show Exhibit 2624 in evidence, your 5 Honor, government exhibit. 6 THE COURT: Yes. 7 Q. Placing up on the Elmo, this is another material that the 8 jurors have