Lawyer asks investigators not to question Hasan

Tuesday 10th November, 07:19 AM JST

KILLEEN, Texas —

A lawyer for the Army psychiatrist accused in a deadly shooting spree at Fort Hood said Monday he asked investigators not to question his client and expressed doubt that the suspect would be able to get a fair trial, given the widespread attention to the case.

Retired Col John P. Galligan said he was contacted Monday by Maj Nidal Malik Hasan’s family and was headed to an Army hospital in San Antonio to meet Hasan.

“Until I meet with him, it’s best to say we’re just going to protect all of his rights,” Galligan said.

Hasan, 39, is accused of opening fire on the Army post on Thursday, killing 13 people and wounding 29 before civilian police shot him in the torso. He was taken into custody and eventually moved to Brooke Army Medical Center, where he was in stable condition Monday and able to talk, hospital spokesman Dewey Mitchell said.

Galligan said he didn’t know if Hasan had been medically cleared to talk.

“There’s a lot of facts that still need to be developed, and the time for that will come in due course,” he said.

Authorities won’t say when charges would be filed or if Hasan would face military justice.

Galligan questioned whether Hasan could get a fair trial in either criminal or military court, given President Barack Obama’s planned visit to the base on Tuesday and public comments by the post commander, Lt Gen Robert Cone.

“You’ve got his commander in chief showing up tomorrow,” Galligan said. “That same kind of publicity naturally creates an issue as to whether you find a fair and impartial forum, whether that’s in the military or even if it were in a federal forum.”

Authorities say Hasan fired off more than 100 rounds at a soldier processing center. Fifteen victims remained hospitalized with gunshot wounds, and eight were in intensive care.

Authorities continue to refer to Hasan as the only suspect in the rampage, but they have said they have not determined a motive. A spokesman for Army investigators did not immediately respond to calls and e-mails seeking comment Monday.

A radical American imam living in Yemen who had contact with two 9/11 hijackers praised Hasan as a hero as a hero on his personal Web site Monday.

The posting on the Web site for Anwar al Awlaki, who was a spiritual leader at two mosques where three 9/11 hijackers worshipped, said American Muslims who condemned the Fort Hood attack are hypocrites who have committed treason against their religion.

Awlaki said the only way a Muslim can justify serving in the U.S. military is if he intends to “follow in the footsteps of men like Nidal.”

“Nidal Hassan (sic) is a hero,” Awlaki said. “He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people.”

Two U.S. intelligence officials told The Associated Press the Web site was Awlaki’s. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence collection. Awlaki did not immediately respond to an attempt to contact him through the Web site.

Hasan’s family attended the Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va, where Awlaki was preaching in 2001. Hasan’s mother’s funeral was held at the mosque on May 31, 2001, according to her obituary in the Roanoke Times newspaper, around the same time two 9/11 hijackers worshipped at the mosque and while Awlaki was preaching.

The Falls Church mosque is one of the largest on the East Coast, and thousands of worshippers attend prayers and services there every week.

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, outreach director at Dar al Hijrah, said he did not know whether Hasan ever attended the mosque but confirmed that the Hasan family participated in services there. Abdul-Malik said the Hasans were not leaders at the mosque and their attendance was normal.

Fort Hood officials said the country’s largest military installation was moving forward with the business of soldiering. The building where Hasan allegedly opened fire remains a crime scene, but a processing center is scheduled to reopen Thursday in a new, temporary location.

Command Sgt Maj Arthur L Coleman Jr said Monday that reopening the center is an important step in returning the Army post to normal. Cone said the post stepped up security, including suspending visits by the public, largely to reassure the population that the sprawling base is safe and won’t “become a battlefield.”

___

Associated Press writers Angela K. Brown, Allen Breed and Jeff Carlton at Fort Hood; Michelle Roberts in San Antonio; Pamela Hess, Eileen Sulivan and Devlin Barrett in Washington; Ben Nuckols in Baltimore; Matthew Barakat in McLean, Va.; and Ahmed al-Haj in San-a, Yamen, contributed to this report.

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Latest 15 of 68 Total Comments Show All

nandakandamanda at 01:51 AM JST - 11th November

Can they protect his right to life?
ballboy at 04:18 AM JST - 11th November

nandakandamanda

He put his "right to life" in serious jeopardy when he "allegedly" pulled the trigger and let out over 40 rounds of hot metal into a mass of humanity.
Suzu1 at 06:14 AM JST - 11th November

This incident is a reminder that elections have consequences. The Obama Justice Department halted an FBI investigation of Hasan. As Newsweek's Michael Isikoff noted:

Senior federal investigators confirmed Tuesday night that since last December, the FBI monitored from 10 to 20 “communications” between suspected Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan and an overseas terror suspect known for preaching violence and expressing sympathy for Al Qaeda.

But although an FBI-led task force undertook an “assessment” of the Army psychiatrist as a result of those contacts, **counter-terror officials concluded earlier this year **that Hasan’s communications with the terror suspect were “protected” by “free speech” and did not warrant opening up a criminal investigation of him, the investigators said.

http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/declassified/archive/2009/11/09/fbi-counter-terror-officials-were-never-told-about-hasan-s-gun-purchase.aspx

Geez, what changed between December 2008 and early 2009?
JoeBigs at 07:38 AM JST - 11th November
Sarge at 09:48 PM JST - 10th November When I think of all the taxpayer money already spent on Hasan and all the taxpayer money that is going to be spent on him, I get very irritated.

I know I know after 8 years of not using that little called Due Process from that paper (yes the Constitution) that the right hates. We the people have to go through the steps and see if the people can find him guilty.

Hell if the last administration was still in office they would have just shipped him off to Gitmo. But by doing that we lose our rights that we hold so dear.

So let's take him to court, find him guilty of treason and hang him.

To help the r and far right here, below is an explanation of Due Process. I hope your heads do not spin off, but it is in our Constitution.

Generally, due process guarantees the following:
```
* Right to a fair and public trial conducted in a competent manner
* Right to be present at the trial
* Right to an impartial jury
* Right to be heard in one's own defense
* Laws must be written so that a reasonable person can understand    
  what is criminal behavior
* Taxes may only be taken for public purposes
* Property may be taken by the government only for public purposes
* Owners of taken property must be fairly compensated 
```
The real question is who will prosecute Military (UCMJ article 118) or Federal? I think they will run with Federal.
numbskull at 07:39 AM JST - 11th November

Suzu1, your post reads like "he was investigated but he wasn't investigated." Pretty silly. They investigated him and determined he was not a terrorist threat. They were correct. Had they investigated further, what did you expect them to find? The words "I will shoot my fellow soldiers in November 2009" tatooed in red ink on his buttocks??
skipthesong at 08:11 AM JST - 11th November

num: you should read suzu1's link. It does leave one with a question mark. And what he is trying to convey is far from silly.
numbskull at 08:39 AM JST - 11th November

skipthesong, sorry, the blog failed to impress. An upgraded investigation would have revealed nothing. Its not like the FBI does not have similar cases to investigate, they do. In fact, they have far more important cases to investigate, some that may actually involve what they are looking for: terrorist activity. Frankly, any nut with a gun could open fire anywhere in the U.S. And they do. And there usually isn't any advance warning even if you gave the shooter a full rectal examination prior and doing so would be a collosal waste of time. This little flaw does not mean much even with your 20/20 hindsight goggles on.

And in case you don't know, gun purchases are a right of citizens in the U.S. for some reason.
cptmendoza at 09:04 AM JST - 11th November

There is a gamble looming on the horizon here, one that has to some degree already been decided. What will this lunatic say in court in his defence? We might all be very lucky and he might just be a total raving madman and that is not going to be seen as a propaganda victory to the extremists, on the other hand he might just use his day(s) in court to put across an argument that could lead to more such shootings.

Had the police woman not been already injured she might have got off a better shot and avoided this, but then as some have said this would have left the conspiracy nuts free to ramble on. Perhaps the best direction for the US to take is to prove that this man is simply insane, no, that would not sit well with those that want blood for blood, but it could protect the US from accusations that it failed to give this man a fair trial.

There is also the point that nobody here seems too keen to look at, what if he is a totally insane freak and his connection to Islam is merely coincidental? No, he isn’t going to get to walk away from this, but an insanity plea will help him avoid a death sentence. And then how long before the doctors say he well enough to be freed?

One difficulty here is that his being a Muslim is clouding the issue, and I am sure that his lawyers are going to reason just that, if he were an insane Christian it would be acceptable, however being an insane Muslim might not be as acceptable, and is that justice?

Whatever way you look at this it is a can of worms for the US government and the military.

One final point that some will not wish to think about and certainly not want to admit to, how many of the 13 dead died from “friendly fire”. I genuinely hope none, but I am sure his lawyers are already looking at that too.

Maybe giving the conspiracy nuts their dead killer would have been best.
Suzu1 at 12:56 PM JST - 11th November

Numbskull - You appear to miss the fact that the investigation had already shown that Hasan posed a threat due to his comments and contact with Al Qaeda. Further investigation, including surveillance, would have disclosed his purchase of the notorious Belgium-made FN Five-Seven handgun and his mysterious meeting with an unidentified man at his apartment the day before the shootings - the first time he had ever had anyone over. It would have also disclosed what is now being reported - that Hasan had additional contacts with other terror suspects under investigation. The FBI investigation was not stopped because there was no evidence of terror links. It was stopped due to political correctness. The Obama Justice Department officials who felt that contact with Al Qaeda fell under "free speech" need to be identified and drummed out of government service.
numbskull at 03:05 PM JST - 11th November

Suzu1, you are playing a 20/20 hindsight game of mix and match. The investigation was stopped because it had run its course. It might have continued if his gun purchase was relayed to the proper authorities. But the rules that prevented that pre-date the Obama administration.

Yet, you try to tie this to the Obama admin. right at the beginning of your earlier post! Its not even clear exactly when the investigation stopped. All that blog says is "earlier this year". Yet you don't hesitate to blame the Obama admin! You are trying, way too hard, to make a case.

It was stopped due to political correctness.

Bullcrap! Neither first amendment rights nor second amendment rights are "political correctness". His right to privacy, fouth amendment rights were already well violated. WTF more do you want?

The failure here was not the FBI. The failure here was the military who had every reason to think this guy a total nutjob and did nothing about him. PC might have been the failing of the military, but not of the FBI and its not a failing of the Bill of Rights!
SuperLib at 03:08 PM JST - 11th November

I want the guy to live to hear what he has to say. Maybe lives can be saved in the future...
Suzu1 at 03:26 PM JST - 11th November

How can an investigation have "run its course" when it disclosed that the subject was in contact with a known Al Qaeda facilitator. Good grief! That is exactly when increased surveillance and monitoring should have been put into place. There didn't have to be a criminal probe opened - this all could have been conducted under the intelligence gathering activity the FBI conducts everyday on potential extremists.
Hasan was most certainly the beneficiary of political correctness - for example the reluctance cited by officers in making a complaint about him due to fear of being seen as discriminatory against a Muslim. Also the way in which the medical department tolerated his refusal to be in a group photo because there were women in it as well.
Of course the decision was made under the Obama Administration. If it had occured in that narrow window between Jan 1 and Jan 20, the mass media would be all over the Bush Administration.
numbskull at 06:42 PM JST - 11th November

How can an investigation have "run its course" when it disclosed that the subject was in contact with a known Al Qaeda facilitator. Good grief!

Good grief indeed! They determined he was not a terrorist threat and by the facts we know even after the event, it still looks like that is correct. It looks like he was a lone whacko in a shooting spree, not a cog in the wheels of al-Quaida planned machinations.

Hasan was most certainly the beneficiary of political correctness - for example the reluctance cited by officers in making a complaint about him due to fear of being seen as discriminatory against a Muslim.

You are playing mix and match. Before you said the PC was from the FBI. Now its the officers. And it was not PC. It was PC gone mad. Nobody said not to report a nut or keep him around because he is Muslim!

If it had occured in that narrow window between Jan 1 and Jan 20, the mass media would be all over the Bush Administration.

Is that your excuse? Because somebody else would have been retarded about this? If a majority of Republicans are thinking like you, they won't be taking back the WH in 2012!
hworta269 at 08:16 PM JST - 11th November

Point is that the investigation was halted by the PC police, he went to a koran seminar and said nonbelievers should be beheaded in front of his peers and once again the pc police stepped in and did nothing then he confronted his commander about his radical beliefs, received a flunking officer rating and was allowed to continue to practice after trying to involve his patients in his radical beliefs. There were all kinds of red flags that were ignored all around this guy. He could have told people he was going to do this exact thing and it might actually come out in the investigation that he in fact did so and no one said anything out of fear of being labeled by the PC police. This guy went on a shooting spree praising allah what more do you need? In his court case he will gleefully admit what he did and why because those guys are proud of doing these kinds of things. He should be treated as a service member who killed on behalf of the enemy during a war because thats exactly what he did.
elbudamexicano at 03:15 PM JST - 14th November

What a mess!