Protests Across Country of FBI Raids of Palestinian and Colombian Activists

Today, citizens across the country are joining together to protest the ongoing FBI raids and subpoenas of Palestinian and Colombian solidarity activists.  Nine of the 23 targeted thus far have been called to testify today in front of a grand jury in Chicago, IL. 

Dating back to September, peace activists nation-wide have been subjected to home raids and FBI questioning as part of an ongoing investigation.  Though no charges have been made, those called to testify Tuesday are being questioned for possibly providing material support to groups identified by the US government as terrorist organizations. In Summer 2010, to the objection of numerous humanitarian groups, the Supreme Court ruled that such support could include providing information on how to conduct peaceful protests and advocating against violence. 

Patrick Fitzgerald, US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, is heading the FBI probe that many argue is in direct violation of citizens’ right to assembly. 

Fitzgerald, known as a “terrorist hunter” by some, has marketed his career around taking down the bad guy.  This is, after all, the same man who put I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby behind bars and led the case against former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.  Taking a closer look at his past, however, reveals some indications that Fitzgerald may not always be out to protect the public. 

Nominated by George W. Bush to take on the role of US Attorney of Illinois not long after the 9/11 attacks, Fitzgerald began developing a reputation early on in his career for trying foreign terrorists.  As an Assistant US Attorney in New York City, Fitzgerald served as the prosecutor against the twelve charged in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Fitzgerald became the National Security Coordinator for the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 1996, where he served as one of the prosecutors investigating Osama bin Laden. 

These feats, however, were met with great criticism by some, including journalist Peter Lance, who in his book, Triple Cross, contends that Fitzgerald ignored information that may have suggested a possible Al Qaeda presence in New York prior to September 11, 2001.  Lance’s accusation was met with fierce response by Fitzgerald, who threatened publisher HarperCollins with a lawsuit following the book’s release, saying in one letter, "To put it plain and simple, if in fact you publish the book this month and it defames me or casts me in a false light, HarperCollins will be sued." 

This was not Fitzgerald’s first stab at censoring journalists.  During the Valerie Plame investigation that ultimately led to Libby’s imprisonment, Fitzgerald was the prosecutor responsible for New York Times reporter Judith Miller’s sentence of several months in prison for contempt as a result of her refusal to testify before a grand jury and reveal sources in the CIA leak. 

But perhaps the most remarkable of Fitzgerald’s cases was that against Abdelhaleem Ashqar.  Ashqar, along with fellow Palestinian-American Mohammad Salah, was charged with racketeering conspiracy related to Hamas. The case was certainly a high-profile one for Fitzgerald to take on and possibly one way to clear his name following Lance’s release of Triple Cross the year before.  In a surprising turn of events, the star witness for the prosecution was none other than Judith Miller, fresh from her prison release and seemingly ready to hand over whatever information (or speculation) Fitzgerald wanted from her (she also ended up testifying for Fitzgerald in the Scooter Libby case).   Miller’s appearance served primarily to discount Salah’s accusation of being tortured while interrogated by Israeli officials several years prior, to which she was present for.  The trial was not entirely a success for Fitzgerald, as the charges against the two were eventually dropped.  In spite of be acquitted, however, Abdelhaleem Ashqar – like Miller – was charged with contempt for refusing to provide names of Palestinians involved in liberation efforts.  Unlike Miller’s 85-day sentence, Ashqar is currently serving 135-months for refusing to testify in front of a grand jury, one of the longest sentences for contempt ever given.