9/11 PRE-TRIAL HEARINGS UPDATE: DAY 5 / NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA
November 12, 2024
Greetings from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, day 5 (3) in the final week of the 53rd session of the OMC pre-trial hearings on the 9/11 case.
Today’s open session began at 9:00 AM. Present in courtroom of Air Force Col. Judge Matthew N. McCall. Attending members of the prosecution team include lead attorney Clayton Trivett, Nicole Tate, Travis Howard and team analysts. In the RHR were Col. Joshua S. Bearden, Jeffrey Groharing, administrative members of the prosecution team and the prosecutions key witness, Dr. Michael Welner. Present defense members in the courtroom included Gary Sowards, lead counsel for KSM/MOH (Mohammad), Mr. Matthew Engle, lead counsel for WBA (bin ‘Attash), Mr. Walter Ruiz, lead counsel for MAH (Hawsawi), as well as other attorneys and administrative team members. In the RHR were Mr. James G. Connell, lead counsel for AAA (Ali/Baluchi). No accused were in the courtroom. KSM viewed live feed of the proceedings from the adjacent holding facility.
Housekeeping items include: Judge McCall mentions KSM/MOH is present in the holding facility talking with counsel. Proceedings can be translated to Arabic if requested. 1. The recommended conduct order requested to amend the trial conduct order, re: Guard Force members uniforms, and communication issues with the LSS. Administrivia between Guard Force and Military conduct orders, causing headaches moving KSM from the adjacent facility to the courtroom. 3. Judge McCall announced that we anticipate another late night of hearings today. 4. The judge asked the parties if they could extra dates to the hearing schedule to go forward with entry of the pleas, for weeks of January 4, and 11th, 2024. 4. Mr. Engle requested to enter the plea for bin Attash, due to an international obligation. Mr. Connell he can attend for the as long as the proceedings involve entry of pleas only, due to other obligations, asking to be excused from the other proceedings. The judge said he will put out an amended schedule order, with a result by end of today’s session.
Dr. Welner continued his expert witness testimony with question from the prosecution, Jeffrey Groharing at 9:30 AM. Addressed today were documents from Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, Camp Seven interviews conducted by the FBI with Dr. WK5-I.
Dr. Welner stated that initially, interrogators viewed Ali (AAA) as resistant and difficult regarding what he was disclosing through the CIA phases of interrogation. He continued to relate to the U.S. as “The Enemy.” The CIA had a mindset of no knowing what they didn’t know, fearing further attacks of large scale. They wanted to thwart these attacks. A document cites statements made by KSM, WAH, MAH, AAA, and RBS on in take include the following statements: “Killing you, fighting you, terrorizing you in large scale attacks are a great, legitimate duty in our organization. You are the last nation that has the right to kill civilians. We will attack you the way you’ve attacked us. We do not possess your military might. If our act of Jihad caused fear or terror then praise be to Allah, Our religion is a religion of fear to the enemy of God. We are terrorists to the bone! We asked to be near to God, when you fight and terrorize us, here is news; you will be greatly defeated in Afghanistan and Iraq and your fall will be just as blessed as the 9/11 day.”
Recordings of interviews were made during interview sessions and conversations between detainees through undisclosed prison premises, with hidden listening devices. A recording between Ali and an interviewer occurred as follows: “I said it like it happened. There are a lot of questions needing answers. The biggest answer is we take responsibility for 9/11. No one believes it in the whole world! They say the Sheikh works for the CIA, inside America!” ALI is angry over conspiracy theory rumors spread throughout the media that 9/11 was an inside job. They are proud of their efforts, it is their grand righteous act and they want all of the credit for it. “Most give facts without any shadow of a doubt. This was not a new idea. We’ve been working on it since August!” Ali claimed he was “depatterned/deradicalized” during EITs in the CIA RDI program. Dr. Welner states that this reflects an arc of the motivation and justification for 9/11 and how maintaining his decision for the world to appreciate the spectacle is directed at the Washington Post, the New York Times, and all the big newspapers. Ali and his brothers practiced “ideological homicide” with great celebration because the public was seeing it repeatedly in major news publications. Their confessions were not coercive. They came in intending to confess. Their perception of proof is most important to influence their confessions.
Another DIMS transcript describes a $5,000 transfer associated with Ali’s phone number and signature, an ID card to the Wall St. Exchange Center, an executive transfer, and Employment ID card with Modern Electronics Center with a passport number, and a record of a wire transfer to Waleed al Shehri (Saudi hijacker, Flight 175). Another transcript describes a wire transfer to Marwan al-Shehhi (Emirati hijacker, Flight 175) from Ali with the same addresses and transfer made in Ali’s true name (Ali Abdu Aziz Ali). There is a multiplicity of documents with powerful evidence of Ali’s, et. al. activities cementing proof. The captives confess because they wish to defend themselves.
A conversation (in Arabic) recorded on January 26, 2007, with Ali and detainee Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani through a wall outside of their holding cells, was played to the court. They conversed freely in a casual manner. Translations were cc’d on the screens shown in the courtroom and to the observers in the gallery, including family members. Ali recollects highly detailed information about a number of different and transactions. They discussed interviews with FBI agent James Fitzsimmons and Dr. WK5-I after their transfers to GTMO.
“There were a lot of things in the beginning in Africa…, says Ghailani. They are heard discussing the interviews of all of the brothers and the percentage of the completeness of their interviews. They also discussed their health, the weather, other prisoners and their resume of bombings. Ali spoke about a number of papers that identified him, including bank accounts in different places and passports. Ali said the government would be using these documents as evidence, repeating “these are disasters.” Ali compared himself to others who had more documentation about him which was more of a problem for him. The conversation lasted about twenty minutes. Dr. Michael Welner testified that his analysis of this interaction indicates “no evidence that the LHM (CIA) interviews triggered PTSD.” There are 289 pages of Stipulations of Fact in Ali’s case. Ahmed Ghailani is a Tanzanian conspirator of Al-Qaeda who confessed to involvement in the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He was held at GTMO from 2007 to January 2009, was transferred to the prison in downtown NYC and tried in civilian court in the SDNY. He confessed to the bombings and is living out his life sentence without parole at USP McCreary, KY.
Dr. Welner testified that during the tribunals, Ali displayed increased anxiety, for which he was treated with Celexa. Ali represented himself as a “business man” and said he had no meaningful relationships and attachments with the people he made money transfers to and was aware of the documents related to him. Reportedly, he carried himself with discipline, utilizing opportunities to sit and reflect upon the situation, to take different approaches to employ a strategy in face of the proceedings in the CSRT (Combatant Status Review Tribunal). Welner points out that Ali had the “audacity to say he was helping the U.S.,” embracing his role in the U.S. attacks. Dr. Welner continues to express hat what Ali said in the CSRT and D101 are dramatically different. “His unguarded statements gave explanations to why he did what he did and to his motivation to express himself by proudly manipulating the court and media. The overarching question is did he have a psychosis that impacted his ability to participate in interviews? “There is no evidence of conditioned fear or cognitive/brain impact symptoms from alleged head injury from CIA EIT’s that would compromise his participation in the LHMs,” attested Dr. Welner.
The court took a fifteen-minute break at 10:50 AM.
Upon returning from break, Dr. Welner was abruptly dismissed. Judge McCall said, “You may no longer be working for the government, but you may continue to consult with prosecution.”
Judge McCall addressed travel orders for counsel and staff, announcing that the weeks of January 6 and 13th will be set for entering the plea deals; for KSM in the first week and for al Hawsawi (MAH) and bin ‘Attash WBA in the second week, after which time he emphatically pronounced, “The rest of this week and next week is cancelled. Commission is in recess. See you in January!” Judge Matthew N. McCall quickly vacated the bench.
This news came as a shock to the families, NGO’s, and press in the Gallery, as well as the VWAP staff back in the trailer who were viewing hearings on CCTV. The family members were escorted to the VWAP trailer where we deliberated over pizza. We were expecting two more full days of witness cross-examination. What happened? Did the defense need more time to cross-examine Dr. Welner? Was Dr. Welner’s testimony so solid that the defense saw no benefit for cross-examination? Does someone have a personal emergency?
Dear victim family members, please consider attending even a single day at a CCTV site. You are not required to attend every day of a session. Your presence shows the counsel that these proceedings are important and the tireless work of prosecutors to bring our case(s) to justice are appreciated. The presence of family members is strongly encouraged at the Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and the CCTV (Closed-Circuit Television) sites states-side. Please contact the VWAP office at the Pentagon email address below to receive the next scheduled hearings for 2025.
Families of those who died on 9/11, First Responders (NYPD/FDNY/PAPD) and families of First Responders who have died or been diagnosed with post-9/11-related illnesses, or were injured on 9/11, are eligible to travel to GTMO to observe the pre-trail sessions. Please contact the VWAP office at: osd.pentagon.omc.list.vwap@mail.mil and they will send you the paperwork necessary for travel. Added benefits of attending sessions at GTMO include meeting for briefings and Q&A with prosecution and defense teams and meeting with media, at your discretion. Most importantly, whether you attend session in Cuba or at CCTV sites, is the privilege to convene and share in discussions with support staff other family members.
If you wish to attend the proceedings at either of the CCTV locations available, please email Danielle Reddan, Director of VWAP (Victim’s Witness Assistance Program): osd.pentagon.omc.list.vwap@mail.mil . The CCTV sites are considered an extension of the courtroom and are operational during all pen proceedings. The sites for most sessions are Fort Devens, MA; Fort Hamilton, NY; Joint Base McGuire/Dix/Lakehurst, NJ; Fort Meade, MD. It is strongly recommended that you RSVP to ensure a seamless security check at any site, even if you have visited previously. Please note that anyone requesting access onto the above-listed military installations must present a passport or ID card that is compliant with Homeland Security’s Real ID Act. In other words, driver’s license, non-driver’s ID, or passport.
© Deborah Garcia 2024, all rights reserved
