JW Obtains FBI Records Detailing Banking Activity and Purchases Linking
Anwar al-Aulaqi and 9/11 Hijackers
March 28, 2013 | No Comments
(Washington, DC) - Judicial Watch announced today that it received documents
on March 4, 2013 from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that raise
new questions about close ties between Anwar al Aulaqi, the U.S.-born
terrorist assassinated by a U.S. drone in Yemen on September 30, 2011, and
Nawaf al Hami and Khalid al Mihdhar, two of the five hijackers who attacked
the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. In the documents, the FBI describes al
Aulaqi as "The Spiritual Leader of the Hijackers."
Judicial Watch received the documents in response to a June, 2012, Judicial
Watch Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the FBI the U.S. Department
of State (DOS) (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State and Federal
Bureau of Investigations (No. 1:12-cv-00893). They are part of Judicial
Watch's ongoing investigation of al Qaeda in the United States, including
its past and current operations and support network.
Materials received by Judicial Watch reveal the following information as
worthy of investigation in its probe of ties between al Aulaqi and the 9/11
hijackers:
An FBI report dated 9/20/2011 notes that al -Aulaqi had made purchases
at a Texaco in La Mesa, California, "several times a month" over the
preceding two years. Reportedly this is the station where hijacker Nawaf al
Hazmi worked, as did probable 9/11 co-conspirator Mohdar Abdullah (whose
close association with and material assistance to Hami and Mihdhar is
well-documented in the 9/11 Commission's report).
An undated FBI report indicates an individual received a check for
$281.50 from al Aulaqi and wrote a check for $175 to al Hazmi on July 7,
2001. There is no additional information about the transactions. The FBI
apparently found the transaction to be of investigative interest because,
depending on the identity of the intermediary party, it could indicate
direct assistance from al Aulaqi to al Hazmi.
On 9/13/2001, FBI agents took possession of and searched the vehicle al
Aulaqi rented in San Diego on 9/8/2001 (which he kept for one day and drove
only 37 miles). While there is no report regarding the results of the
search, the action highlights the Bureau's interest in al Aulaqi and
suspicions about his trip to San Diego, home to both al Hazmi and al Mihdhar
leading up to the attacks.
An FBI report dated 10/24/2001 indicates that the Bureau became aware
three days after the 9/11 attacks (9/14/2001) that al Aulaqi had rented a
Mailboxes Etc. mail drop in Falls Church, VA. The mail box was the subject
of a federal grand jury subpoena.
"The more we learn about Anwar al Aulaqi, the greater the number of
questions about not just his activities before and after 9/11, but also of
the al Qaeda operational and support network potentially still active in the
United States," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "It is now even
more concerning that al Aulaqi was invited to the Pentagon after 9/11 and
then let go by the FBI despite warrants for his arrest."
An earlier release of FBI documents obtained by a Judicial Watch FOIA and
reported by Fox News suggest that the FBI was aware on September 27, 2001,
that al Aulaqi had purchased airplane tickets for three of the 9/11
terrorist hijackers, including mastermind Mohammed Atta. Subsequent to the
FBI's discovery, al-Aulaqi was detained and released by authorities at least
twice and had been invited to dine at the Pentagon.
In 2010, President Obama reportedly authorized the assassination of al
Aulaqi, the first American citizen added to the government's "capture or
kill" list, describing the radical Muslim Cleric as "chief of external
operations for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)." The Office of
Legal Counsel in the Justice Department has reportedly determined that
targeting and killing of U.S. citizens overseas was legal under domestic and
international law.
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