Sami al-Arian Not Guilty On Several Counts

A Tampa jury has concluded today that a former professor at the University of South Florida, Sami al-Arian, is not guilty in eight of seventeen charges against him. Mr. al-Arian was among seven others indicted during 2003 in an array of some 50-terrorism related charges. Then Attorney General John Ashcroft hailed the indictment as an important step in the disruption of foreign terrorist operations within American jurisdiction.^[1] With over six months in trial, producing in excess of 80 witnesses, coupled with a frenzy of prosecutorial fanfare, the government attempted to identify a material link between Mr. al-Arian and Palestinian terrorist groups (namely the Palestinian Islamic Jihad) and various terrorist activities abroad. Today’s acquittal on eight of among the most central counts against Mr. al-Arian serves to seriously undercut the strength of the government’s claim.

But the al-Arian case is significant beyond the scope of those immediately involved. This case was viewed by the government to be an important test case on the benefits provided by the USA PATRIOT Act (Patriot Act) in investigating terrorism-related cases. Indeed, the context of Mr. Ashcroft’s comments pointing to the importance of the prosecution was chiefly concerned with the application of newly acquired investigatory instruments through that act.^[2] In Mr. al-Arian’s case, information used against him was derived both from the intelligence realm as well as through a traditional criminal investigation, a pooling of information which prior to passage of the Patriot Act was considered impermissible.

Charges within the indictment included:

Conspiracy to Commit Racketeering (18 USC §1962(d))^[3]
Conspiracy to Murder and Maim People Abroad (18 USC §956(a)(1))
Conspiracy to Make and Receive Contributions of Funds, Goods, or Services for a
Foreign Terrorist Organization (18 USC §371)
Mail Fraud (18 USC §1341)
(Used as a predicate under the RICO Act, 18 USC §1952(a))
Attempt to Procure Citizenship/Naturalization Unlawfully (18 USC §1452(b))
False Statement on Immigration Application (18 USC §1546(a))
Obstruction of Justice (18 USC §1505)

Mr. al-Arian’s case is not over, but the broader significance in checking the government’s claim to power utilizing the vast expansion of Executive authority granted by the Patriot Act, has made its mark.

[1] Attorney General John Ashcroft, The Terrorist Threat: Working Together to Protect America, Prepared Remarks, Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, March 4, 2003. Found here.
[2] Id.
[3] This statute is part of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, initially constructed to combat the mafia. For more on RICO see the McNabb On RICO article here.