An official record of the first FBI interrogation of Jose Padilla following his 2002 arrest contains no reference to al Qaeda or a "dirty bomb" plot Padilla was allegedly spearheading.
Padilla was detained on May 8, 2002, at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, where he had been arrested upon entering the country.
The subsequent FBI interrogation is memorialized in an FD-302 record introduced as an exhibit during Padilla's ongoing trial in Florida. FD-302 is the FBI's routine form for recording the details of an interview by agents.
During three hours of interrogation, Padilla was asked about his personal history, family details and travel, but the record reflects no question or answer directly dealing with his alleged ties to al Qaeda.
Nevertheless, at the end of the session the alleged al Qaeda operative was detained on a material witness warrant related to a "conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction."
More than a month later, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Padilla had been detained as a suspected "dirty bomber."
Padilla "is an Al Qaeda operative and was exploring a plan to build and explode a radioactive 'dirty bomb,'" Ashcroft said.
According to Ashcroft, the arrest "disrupted an unfolding terrorist plot to attack the United States by exploding a radioactive 'dirty bomb.'"
"The safety of all Americans and the national security interests of the United States require that Abdullah Al Muhajir (Padilla's alias) be detained by the Defense Department as an enemy combatant," Ashcroft said. Padilla was subsequently detained for more than three years without being charged or allowed to meet with an attorney.
The FD-302 interrogation record does not seem to reflect Ashcroft's sense of urgency in any way. The 302 describes an almost leisurely discussion of Padilla's personal history and his interest in Islam. Padilla was even provided with dinner during a one-hour break after the first hour of interrogation.
However, it is important to note that details may have been omitted from the record when it was transcribed, or the form may have been edited after the fact.
Previous internal investigations by the FBI's Inspector General have found fault with the lack of standards for FD-302s, including a lack of clear guidelines as to the appropriateness of after-the-fact editing.
One page is also missing from the early part of the document as it was filed with the U.S. District Court in Florida. The missing section (page 4) is immediately preceded by and followed by a discussion of Padilla's family history; the missing page appears to be part of that narrative.
INTELWIRE has posted the document as it was filed. The interrogation record may be viewed by clicking here.
FBI agents present for the interview included Special Agents R.J. Holley and Todd T. Schmitt.
Padilla told the agents his most recent residences were in Cairo and Tanta, Egypt, but could not provide an address or phone number for either location. He told the FBI he had come to Chicago to visit his son, and subsequently planned to visit his mother in Florida.
J.M. Berger is a freelance reporter, researcher and producer with experience in print, television, radio and film. He also runs the terrorism Web site INTELWIRE.com (more...)
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
The arrest and publicity was all designed as an re-election tool and part of the overall campaign to scare the hell out of the American public. It had nothing to do with anti-terrorism.
We all "knew" that when it happened, just like the code red alerts.
These people are criminals and WILL STOP AT NOTHING.
Some day (probably long after it is too late) the American people will figure that out, with, or without the help of the mass media spoon-feeding them "the truth."
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Charlie L (2 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 747 comments [2 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Dec 3, 2006 at 1:41:51 PM
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