Witness lied, too, says lawyer in terrorism case
October 10, 2007
BY JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The obstruction of justice trial for a former federal prosecutor got off to
a rocky start Wednesday when a Justice Department lawyer said one of the
government's lead witnesses had lied during testimony in a pretrial hearing
Tuesday.
Justice Department lawyer Daniel Schwager told U.S. District Judge Arthur
Tarnow that Samir Jarandogha, a Jordanian security agent assigned to the
embassy in Amman, Jordan, lied about his reasons for refusing to meet with
lawyers for former Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino and State
Department security agent Harry Raymond Smith.
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Convertino and Smith are being tried on obstruction of justice charges for
allegedly concealing photos of the area surrounding the Queen Alia Military
Hospital from defendants in a 2003 federal terrorism trial in Detroit. The
government says the photos would have undercut the reliability of a
targeting sketch the terror defendants allegedly made of the hospital.
Jarandogha testified at a court hearing Wednesday that he refused to meet
with lawyers for Convertino and Smith on advice of his lawyer. But Schwager,
who is prosecuting Convertino and Smith, said Jarodogha later came forward
after the hearing to say that he had not consulted with his lawyers. Lawyers
for Convertino and Smith had requested Tuesday's hearing on the grounds that
federal prosecutors had refused to let Jaradogha talk with them.
Jarandogha's conduct could affect his credibility as a witness.
Convertino's lawyer, William Sullivan of Washington, D.C., said he would use
the information to challenge Jaradogha during cross-examination, which could
come today.
During opening statements Wednesday, Schwager said Convertino withheld
evidence from the North African immigrants at the 2003 terror trial because
he was driven by ambition and aspired to run for Congress or become a judge.
Sullivan countered that Convertino was driven by a desire "to keep you
safe."
He said photos that Convertino allegedly withheld from the defendants - and
which Smith testified did not exist - were irrelevant because there was a
mountain of evidence against the four defendants.
Smith's lawyer, Thomas Cranmer, told the jury that a "key witness has done
exactly what they'e accusing" the defendants of doing, lying under oath. He
said "he confessed he lied, lied under oath." He called Smith a hero who
didn't know Convertino and had no reason to lie.
Three North African immigrants were convicted during the 2003 trial - two of
them on terrorism charges. It was the first trial to result from the federal
9/11 probe and the Bush administration hailed the convictions as a victory
in the war on terror.
But the charges later were dropped at the request of the U.S. Attorney's
Office, which said Convertino had withheld key evidence from the defendants.
Contact JOE SWICKARD at 313-222-8769 or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Key Convertino trial witness lied
Defense pounces on admission
October 11, 2007
BY JOE SWICKARD
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
The lead witness against a former assistant U.S. attorney and a former State
Department agent charged with hiding evidence in a 2003 terrorism trial
takes the stand this morning with an extra burden: He has admitted he lied
when he testified this week.
On Wednesday, Justice Department prosecutors revealed that the witness,
former Jordanian security agent Samir Jarandogha, wasn't truthful during a
pretrial hearing Tuesday.
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Defense attorneys pounced on the admission. Thomas Cranmer, codefendant Ray
Smith's lawyer, told jurors that the case against Richard Convertino and
Smith is suspect when the prosecutors "never discovered their star witness
is a liar."
"I hope you understand the enormity and gravity" of the situation, Cranmer
said in his opening statement in U.S. District Court in Detroit.
Without the jury present, Daniel Schwager, prosecuting the case for the
Justice Department, told U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow that Jarandogha
didn't tell the truth Tuesday about his refusal to meet with defense
lawyers.
Jarandogha -- who was the liaison between Jordanian authorities and U.S.
Embassy security agents -- testified that he decided not to meet the defense
team after calling his lawyer in Jordan. He testified that the lawyer said
such a meeting required a court order.
That call was not made, Schwager told the judge after his opening statement
and the opening statement of Convertino's lawyer, William Sullivan.
When court resumed, Cranmer wasted little time telling jurors that
Jarandogha was caught in "a bald-faced lie."
Schwager and Justice Department officials in Washington declined to comment.
Outside court, Sullivan said the development proved his characterization of
the case as an "irresponsible prosecution."
"They admit there was false testimony ... just one day before the trial
starts," he said.
Convertino and Smith are being tried on obstruction of justice charges for
allegedly concealing photos of the area surrounding the Queen Alia Military
Hospital from defendants in a 2003 federal terrorism trial of four north
Africans in Detroit. The government says the photos would have undercut the
reliability of a supposed targeting sketch found in a Detroit apartment raid
just days after 9/11.
Three men were convicted, but acting on a request from the U.S. Attorney's
Office, U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen overturned the verdicts.
Contact JOE SWICKARD at 313-222-8769.
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