Wednesday, May 26, 2004
It's all screwed up...all screwed up (AC/DC)
This week US District Court Judge Robert Jones freed Oregon resident Brandon Mayfield from "material witness" status with the US Justice Department. See the Friday, May 21 post at Voice of a Veteran for the piece from the Oregonian newspaper.
Mayfield was detained as a material witness by the FBI. He was held in jail for two weeks without being charged with a crime.
Spanish authorities had sent the FBI a set of fingerprints that they'd lifted from a bag near the site of the Madrid train bombing. The bag was found in a van parked near the site. Mayfield's name was one of six came up as a possible match to the fingerprints. The FBI never actually had the original fingerprint from the site. They had a copy of the print.
The day after the fingerprint was submitted to the FBI, the Spanish authorities linked the fingerprint to an Algerian man. Despite the Spanish authorities insistance that Mayfield was not the man whose fingerprint they found, Mayfield continued to be held.
According to the affadavit filed against Mayfield by prosecutors, Mayfield handled the child custody case involving one of the defendants in the Portland Seven federal jihad case. A phone call was made two years ago on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks between Mayfield's residence and an Ashland man who runs an Islamic charity. That man, Pete Seda, now is on a federal terror watch list. Mayfield's law firm was listed in a business directory run by a Portland man who was a business associate of Wadih El-Hage, Osama bin Laden's personal secretary. El-Hage was convicted in the 1998 bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa. Mayfield was observed driving to the Bilal mosque in Beaverton "on several different occasions." This appears to be the real impetus for holding Mayfield.
So essentially Mayfield was held by the FBI because they didn't use the original fingerprint to do the indentification...and because he's a Muslim who's name was on paperwork for child custody case for some bad guys...and his name was in a business directory who had a business association with another bad guy.
Mayfield was also subjected to the USA Patriot Act. His home was searched without permission and his phone was wiretapped without the regular warrants.
|
Mayfield was detained as a material witness by the FBI. He was held in jail for two weeks without being charged with a crime.
Spanish authorities had sent the FBI a set of fingerprints that they'd lifted from a bag near the site of the Madrid train bombing. The bag was found in a van parked near the site. Mayfield's name was one of six came up as a possible match to the fingerprints. The FBI never actually had the original fingerprint from the site. They had a copy of the print.
The day after the fingerprint was submitted to the FBI, the Spanish authorities linked the fingerprint to an Algerian man. Despite the Spanish authorities insistance that Mayfield was not the man whose fingerprint they found, Mayfield continued to be held.
According to the affadavit filed against Mayfield by prosecutors, Mayfield handled the child custody case involving one of the defendants in the Portland Seven federal jihad case. A phone call was made two years ago on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks between Mayfield's residence and an Ashland man who runs an Islamic charity. That man, Pete Seda, now is on a federal terror watch list. Mayfield's law firm was listed in a business directory run by a Portland man who was a business associate of Wadih El-Hage, Osama bin Laden's personal secretary. El-Hage was convicted in the 1998 bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa. Mayfield was observed driving to the Bilal mosque in Beaverton "on several different occasions." This appears to be the real impetus for holding Mayfield.
So essentially Mayfield was held by the FBI because they didn't use the original fingerprint to do the indentification...and because he's a Muslim who's name was on paperwork for child custody case for some bad guys...and his name was in a business directory who had a business association with another bad guy.
Mayfield was also subjected to the USA Patriot Act. His home was searched without permission and his phone was wiretapped without the regular warrants.
Return to Main
