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Witless for the Prosecution Alert: the FBI has issued a statement in the Mohamed and Megahed case saying that "there is the possibility that the publicly reported allegations involving the students may be proven to be false." Now of course the only reason why anyone thinks that they did have pipe bombs is because authorities said they did: "They admitted to having what they said were fireworks. Based on the officer's judgment at hand, based on what he had seen, we judged it to be other than fireworks," Berkeley County Sheriff Wayne DeWitt said.
Of course, Sheriff Wayne DeWitt ain't the FBI, but no one should have said anything if he wasn't sure, and the FBI should have challenged DeWitt's statement when he made it if it wasn't accurate. If these two young men didn't have pipe bombs or bomb-making material after all, the authorities have defamed Mohamed and Megahed. If they did, why this weaselly cautionary statement? The stakes are too high for this kind of bungling in terror cases.
"FBI's caution puzzles experts," by Abbie Vansickle for the St. Petersburg Times (thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist):
TAMPA - For days after the arrest of two University of South Florida students accused of having pipe bombs, the FBI remained silent.On Wednesday, the agency released a statement telling the public it's possible there's no merit to the accusations against Youssef Megahed, 21, and Ahmed A. Mohamed, 26. Both were arrested Aug. 4 in Goose Creek, S.C., on charges of possession of explosives.
"The FBI would like to remind everyone that this is an ongoing investigation and there is the possibility that the publicly reported allegations involving the students may be proven to be false," it read.
An FBI spokesman said the agency is still investigating, that it released the statement only because there's so much interest in the case, and it wants to be fair.
"We're just making a request for everybody to be very objective at this time, very neutral," said Special Agent Dave Couvertier.
But local legal experts say there's likely more to it.
"That is a highly unusual statement from the FBI," said Tampa lawyer John Fitzgibbons, a former federal prosecutor.
Other legal experts agreed, but no one knew what to make of it.
"Well, who knows what that means?" said Ed Page, a lawyer who has experience in Tampa and Washington, D.C. "Perhaps the initial assessment that the trunk contained pipe bombs was inaccurate. That's a weird statement, I've got to tell you, to be coming out of the FBI."
Fitzgibbons saw two scenarios. First, the FBI may not have a strong case against the students. Second, the Department of Justice may require a statement of that sort in its communication with the media.
Posted by Robert at August 18, 2007 8:40 AM
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The FBI also said not to worry about terror when two middle easter men got onto a school bus of kids. A few days later, they issue a statement about terrorists looking into bus driving children..but parent's don't worry.
Yeah right.
Posted by: Highrise![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at August 18, 2007 9:23 AM
Pipe bombs don't look like fireworks.
Fireworks don't look like pipebombs.
Either someone in the department is blind and stupid concerning the intial assessment, or this is a case of trying to turn the perps into potential informants by "releasing them without chage" back into the breeding grounds.
Posted by: profitsbeard at August 18, 2007 10:00 AM
It was the same thing some time ago here in Michigan when two middle-eastern youths were purchasing exceedingly large numbers of cell phones, stripping them down, and keeping only one small part that could be used in a bomb and had plans of the Mackinaw Bridge. The FBI informed us that it was a harmless money-making scheme, but very few locals believe that.
Posted by: IAmFree at August 18, 2007 10:01 AM
The FBI is losing all credibility with statements like this. Few are left that are unaware of the 'sensitivity training' given to FBI via un-indicted co-conspirators CAIR.
Posted by: justamomof4 at August 18, 2007 10:07 AM
The bomb squad destroyed what they said were pipe bombs for the police report. They destroyed the bombs for obvious safety reasons,but what kind of evidence did they include in their reports before destroying the pipe bombs? Photos,video,the recovery of any explosive residue materials,triggering mechanisms,fuses,what was purchased,Etc.Was the suspects vehicle detained for evidence gathering,where were these pipe bombs made? Certainly the local sheriffs department would have to be able to present enough evidence in their report to the FBI, and the local DA's office for prosecution as well as the reasons for the arrests.
Posted by: Mackie at August 18, 2007 10:17 AM
Now of course the only reason why anyone thinks that they did have pipe bombs is because authorities said they did: "They admitted to having what they said were fireworks
Technically, pipe bombs and fireworks are pyrotechnic devices. Obviously then, pipe bombs and fireworks can be easily confused even by the experts.
"We're just making a request for everybody to be very objective at this time, very neutral," said Special Agent Dave Couvertier.But local legal experts say there's likely more to it.
"That is a highly unusual statement from the FBI," said Tampa lawyer John Fitzgibbons, a former federal prosecutor.
Other legal experts agreed, but no one knew what to make of it.
"Well, who knows what that means?" said Ed Page, a lawyer who has experience in Tampa and Washington, D.C. "Perhaps the initial assessment that the trunk contained pipe bombs was inaccurate. That's a weird statement, I've got to tell you, to be coming out of the FBI."
Who is Special Agent Dave Couvertier's supervisior? Mohammad who?
Which mosque do they attend?
"Here in the United States our Muslim citizens are making many contributions in business, science and law, medicine and education, and in other fields. Muslim members of our Armed Forces and of my administration are serving their fellow Americans with distinction, upholding our nation's ideals of liberty and justice in a world at peace."
Remarks by the President on Eid Al-Fitr
The Islamic Center of Washington, D.C.
December 5, 2002http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/ramadan/islam.html
Just guess what crosses my mind George!
Fitzgibbons saw two scenarios. First, the FBI may not have a strong case against the students. Second, the Department of Justice may require a statement of that sort in its communication with the media.
Given George's amourous and idllyic sentiments about islam, I can imagine a third scenario.
at August 18, 2007 10:27 AM
Hmmmmmmmm...just thinking back in time to the reactions of federal authorities in the early 1990's and how they dealt with people who they believed to posses illegal weapons. I seem to recall quite a few people getting killed by various means.
What a big difference in the reactions from the feds these days! I agree, the sensitivity training must be paying off!!
Posted by: livefreeordie! at August 18, 2007 10:31 AM
The other thing to keep in mind is depending on the local authority, there can be friction between them and the FBI. Leading to some statements like this as well.
Posted by: Highrise at August 18, 2007 10:31 AM
Whose side is the FBI on anyway? Maybe they should keep quiet until all the evidence is revealed at trial. The FBI most of all should know to keep their trap shut prior to hearings.
Posted by: countywolf at August 18, 2007 11:29 AM
profitsbeard said
or this is a case of trying to turn the perps into potential informants by "releasing them without chage" back into the breeding grounds
Oh geez, tell me our law enforcement are not going to catch a jihadist, get them to promise to tell on other jihadists, and then let them go. But of course, you're right.
Will we ever learn what really happened here? Will we ever learn what exactly the officers found in their trunk? Whether the explosives-sniffing dog targeted their car, whether field tests proved positive for explosives? A firecracker and a pipe bomb may both be pyrotechnic devices, but no-one could mistake one for the other. I get nervous when "the authorities" and the media fail to let accurate and full information be disclosed to the public when it comes to jihad and jihadists.
Posted by: special_guest at August 18, 2007 12:41 PM
Gosh, doesn't every red-blooded American carry fireworks around in the trunk of their car?
Posted by: tanstaafl at August 18, 2007 1:16 PM
Another possibility is that the FBI just wants to thwart an expected attempt by their lawyers (and CAIR) to claim these Muslims cannot get a fair trial with all the “rush to judgments” made in the media. I suspect the case is strong enough against them: the experts called didn’t use robots at the scene to help explode a bunch of fireworks.
Posted by: FM at August 18, 2007 1:21 PM
What is the problem, either its a pipe bomb or not, how difficult would that be to determine?
the FBI are fast becoming irrivelant.
at August 18, 2007 2:34 PM
Could it be the royal's riyals just kicked in?
Posted by: freedomschool at August 18, 2007 3:30 PM
“Flying Imans... Vacationing Bro’s” ??
Maybe it is one in the same??
Why speeding?
Why so close to a military base?
Why stuff that looks like pipe bombs?
If they were fireworks, No Chinese writing?
Stuff that looks so close too; but not bombs.
Cair’s ”white boy” ” Profiling” remark, and so fast to jump on this one.
Makes me wonder..??
A new “Bait and switch Jihad” ?
at August 18, 2007 6:48 PM
I smell tampering by thought police...
When was the last time any of us heard of a policeman who couldn't tell the difference between fireworks and a pipe bomb?
If this is true, then the cops are as incompetant as 9-year-olds. NO WAY, not falling for such a notion.
Someone's trying to shut this up...it's got PC thought police written all over it, and the FBI is infested as hell with them.
The only thing up for debate is: "why?"
at August 18, 2007 7:21 PM
Hey if the F.B.I can't figure it out then show us the evidence and we will figure it out.Then they can start thier new jobs cleaning mosque toilets.
Posted by: Dar al-harb at August 18, 2007 8:24 PM
Director Skinner, I think it's time to reopen the X-Files.
Posted by: Abscedere at August 18, 2007 8:54 PM
Dar al-harb...I agree with you. Not only how hard it is to figure it out, but how long? They should know by now just what was in the trunk. They should have known right away. You want to start them cleaning in a small mosque or a large one?
Posted by: duh_swami at August 18, 2007 9:28 PM
Remember the Oklahoma University Bomber, Joel Henry Hinrichs III? Hinrichs blew himself up yards from Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Saturday night while tens of thousands of fans watched an OU-Kansas State football game.
The FBI later denied Hinrichs was tied to terrorism. As far as I can recall, information regarding the matter, search warrants and their results were sealed.
Since 10/2005, the investigation has gone dark. The news media dropped the issue and there has not been no further information released.
Maybe we cannot handle the truth?
Posted by: Bosun at August 19, 2007 4:21 PM
...and remember, they were smiling when arrested...
Posted by: exsgtbrown at August 20, 2007 6:20 AM
Any local police officer would: 1.) arrest driver and passenge, transport them in separate vehicles and not allow them to communicate with each other. 2.) seal off the area to preserve evidence and prevent injury until the special unit (bomb squad) arrives. The explosives guys would evaluate the situation, photograph and videotape evidence, and determine if evidence was stable enough to be transported. If evidence was too dangerous to move, it would be destroyed at the site, and the destruction would be videotaped and photographed. There would be no waffling about what they were dealing with. Ideally evidence would be examined to determined how the device was manufactured, what it contained, etc. One question would be who manufactured it. Another would be where were the components obtained. This smells like something that you would have to scrape off the bottom of your shoe.
Posted by: MP at August 20, 2007 11:00 AM
this clearly looks like "Flying Imams : Part Deaux" in the ligal jihad starring the FBI as the useful idiot with a supporting cast consisting of the MSM, directed and produced by CAIR...coming to your TV's this fall!
Posted by: viahj at August 20, 2007 12:38 PM
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