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1

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

EASTERN DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) Docket No. 03 CR 978

)

Plaintiff, )

)

vs. )

)

MUHAMMAD HAMID KHALIL SALAH AND )

ABDELHALEEM HASAN ABDELRAZIQ ASHQAR, ) Chicago, Illinois

) November 15, 2006

Defendants. ) 4:35 o'clock p.m.

E X C E R P T

TRANSCRIPT OF TRIAL PROCEEDINGS

BEFORE THE HONORABLE AMY J. ST. EVE, AND A JURY

APPEARANCES:

For the Plaintiff: HON. PATRICK J. FITZGERALD

United States Attorney

BY: MR. JOSEPH M. FERGUSON

MR. REID J. SCHAR

MS. CARRIE E. HAMILTON

219 S. Dearborn St., Suite 500

Chicago, Illinois 60604

For Deft. Salah: PEOPLE'S LAW OFFICES

BY: MR. MICHAEL EDWARD DEUTSCH

MS. ERICA THOMPSON

MR. BENJAMIN ELSON

1180 North Milwaukee Avenue

Chicago, Illinois 60622

LAW OFFICE OF ROBERT BLOOM

BY: MR. ROBERT JAY BLOOM

3355 Richmond Boulevard

Oakland, California 94611

For Deft. Ashqar: MR. KEITH ALLAN SPIELFOGEL

20 North Clark Street, Suite 1200

Chicago, Illinois 60602

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APPEARANCES (Cont'd):

For Deft. Ashqar (Cont'd): MR. WILLIAM MOFFITT

11582 Greenwich Point Road

Reston, Virginia 20194

DEPAUL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW

BY: MS. ANDREA D. LYON

25 E. Jackson Blvd., Suite 1050

Chicago, Illinois 60604

Also Present: S/A BRADLEY BENAVIDES, FBI

S/A JILL PETORELLI, FBI

Court Reporter: KATHLEEN M. FENNELL, CSR, RMR, FCRR

Official Court Reporter

219 S. Dearborn St., Suite 2144A

Chicago, Illinois 60604

(312) 435-5569

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

PROCEEDINGS RECORDED BY

MECHANICAL STENOGRAPHY

TRANSCRIPT PRODUCED BY COMPUTER

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(Proceedings heard in open court; jury present:)

* * * * * *

MS. HAMILTON: Your Honor, the government now calls

Robert Miranda.

THE COURT: Okay. Please come forward, sir. Raise

your right hand, sir.

(Witness sworn.)

THE COURT: You may be seated.

MR. SPIELFOGEL: Your Honor, can we have a very brief

side bar?

THE COURT: Sure.

(Proceedings heard at side bar:)

MR. SPIELFOGEL: Your Honor, Ms. Hamilton came over

to me earlier and told me she had a memorandum or something on

this witness, is that correct?

MS. HAMILTON: This is a report written by this

witness that --

MR. SPIELFOGEL: That -- I'm sorry.

MS. HAMILTON: -- arguably relates to one of the

defendants in this case, so I produced it as potential Jencks.

THE COURT: Okay.

MR. SPIELFOGEL: This is about Muhammad Salah's

use -- did you give me the right -- is this report you wanted

to give me?

MS. HAMILTON: Is this the report? Yes.

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THE COURT: Did you give it to Mr. Deutsch as well?

MS. HAMILTON: I did.

MR. DEUTSCH: Are you going to elicit that from him

or you just gave it --

MS. HAMILTON: No. It's the only report he's written

in any way relevant to these two defendants.

THE COURT: Is he an agent?

MS. HAMILTON: He's a special agent with the FBI.

THE COURT: He looks like one, but I don't -- I've

never heard the name.

MR. SPIELFOGEL: Okay. I just thought maybe she gave

me the wrong memorandum.

(Proceedings heard in open court:)

THE COURT: You may proceed.

MS. HAMILTON: Thank you, your Honor.

ROBERT MIRANDA, GOVERNMENT'S WITNESS, DULY SWORN,

DIRECT EXAMINATION

BY MS. HAMILTON:

Q. Good afternoon.

A. Hello.

Q. Could you please state and spell your name for the jury.

A. It's Robert Miranda. R-O-B-E-R-T, last name is spelled

M-I-R-A-N-D-A.

Q. What do you do for a living?

A. I'm a Special Agent with the FBI.

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Q. How long have you been a Special Agent with the FBI?

A. A little over nine years.

Q. What is your current assignment?

A. I'm assigned to the Counter-Terrorism 1 Squad, which is

part of the North Texas Joint Terrorism Task Force based in

Dallas.

Q. How long has that been your assignment?

A. For all nine years with the FBI.

Q. Prior to joining the FBI, what did you do for a living?

A. I was a special agent and an officer with the Air Force

Office of Special Investigations, United States Air Force.

Q. How long were you with the United States Air Force?

A. A little over 15 years counting school, ten -- close to

eleven as an agent.

Q. And Agent Miranda, just ask you to keep your voice up to

make sure everyone in the courtroom can hear you.

A. Sure.

Q. Thank you.

In the course of your work as a special agent in

Dallas, have you been involved in an investigation related to

the current case here on trial in Chicago?

A. I have.

Q. Through the course of your work in that investigation, are

you aware that there was a search of Defendant Ashqar's

residence done?

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A. I am.

Q. And have you reviewed some of the documents or

translations of documents found in the residence of Defendant

Ashqar?

A. Yes, I have.

Q. Are you also aware that there was a court-ordered wiretap

on Defendant Ashqar's telephone line and fax line in

Mississippi?

A. Yes, I'm aware of that.

Q. And have you reviewed translations of some of those calls?

A. Yes.

Q. Are you aware that the court approval for the wiretaps was

extended to cover a particular meeting that occurred in

Philadelphia in the fall of 1993?

A. Yes, I'm aware of that.

Q. Have you reviewed the recordings of the meeting in

Philadelphia?

A. Yes, I have.

Q. What kind of recordings have you reviewed?

A. There's been video tape, and the video tape also included

audio.

Q. What language is spoken on the audio on the video tape you

reviewed?

A. Arabic.

Q. Do you speak Arabic?

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Miranda - direct by Hamilton

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A. No.

Q. Have you reviewed English translations of audio recordings

of the meeting?

A. Yes, I have.

Q. When did that meeting take place?

A. October 1 through 3, 1993.

Q. Where did that meeting take place?

A. It took place at a hotel, Courtyard Hotel in Philadelphia.

Q. Is the meeting generally referred to by a particular name

by the FBI?

A. Yes. Generally we refer to it as the Philadelphia meeting

or the Philadelphia conference.

MS. HAMILTON: Your Honor, may I approach?

THE COURT: You may.

BY MS. HAMILTON:

Q. Agent Miranda, I'm going to show you what's in evidence as

Philadelphia conference transcripts and ask you to take a look

at this.

A. All right.

Q. Do you recognize that binder?

A. I do.

Q. Generally what's contained in that binder?

A. It's the transcript of the audio coverage from the

Philadelphia conference.

Q. Have you reviewed those transcripts in detail?

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A. I have.

MR. MOFFITT: Your Honor, I object. He doesn't speak

Arabic. He can't review the transcript. He can only review a

translation.

MS. HAMILTON: To the extent I'm referring to it as a

transcript, I'm happy to call it a translation.

THE COURT: Clarify that.

MR. MOFFITT: But that's what it is.

THE COURT: Clarify that with the witness.

BY MS. HAMILTON:

Q. Just to be clear, what is contained in the binder?

A. This is the English language translation of the audio

captured from the Philadelphia conference.

Q. And have you reviewed those English translations in

detail?

A. I have.

Q. In addition to recording the meetings that occurred, did

the FBI also receive court approval to record telephone

conversations made from some of the hotel rooms?

A. Yes, that's correct.

Q. Have you reviewed the translations of the telephone calls

intercepted at the hotel where the meeting took place?

A. Yes.

Q. And are those translations also included in the binders?

A. They are.

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Miranda - direct by Hamilton

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Q. Did you and other agents take any steps in order to

determine who was actually present at the Philadelphia

conference?

A. Yes, several steps.

Q. In attempting to identify who was at the meeting, did you

use any documents recovered from Defendant Ashqar's residence?

A. Yes, a couple of documents.

MS. HAMILTON: May I approach again, your Honor?

THE COURT: You may.

BY MS. HAMILTON:

Q. Agent Miranda, I've given you a binder that's already in

evidence as Government Exhibit Ashqar Search Group

Translations, and I'd ask you to flip to tab 24.

MR. SPIELFOGEL: Is that the search, the phone?

MR. DEUTSCH: The search.

THE COURT: Search Group Translations is what she

said.

MR. SPIELFOGEL: Sorry.

BY MS. HAMILTON:

Q. Directing your attention to the second and third pages

behind that tab ASH 484 and 485.

A. Yes, ma'am.

Q. Are these two documents that you used in attempt to try

and identify participants at the meeting?

A. That's correct.

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Miranda - direct by Hamilton

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MS. HAMILTON: Your Honor, could I ask that the

jurors turn to tab 24 of that binder?

THE COURT: Yes. Please grab the Search Documents

Binders. Ms. Hamilton, is it the Search Documents Binder?

MS. HAMILTON: It is.

THE COURT: Okay. Tab 24 of your Search Documents

Binder, please.

BY MS. HAMILTON:

Q. Agent Miranda, what in particular about these two pages

was useful to you in determining who was present at the

Philadelphia conference?

MR. DEUTSCH: Tell us exactly what page, 484?

MS. HAMILTON: 484 and 485.

MR. DEUTSCH: Thank you.

BY THE WITNESS:

A. Clearly the names were most important to me. Matching

them up as well with references to sessions, which are the way

that the Philadelphia conference is discussed in terms of

sessions being -- covering topics.

BY MS. HAMILTON:

Q. And directing your attention to ASH 485, what in

particular on this page was useful in helping you determine

that this had anything to do with the Philadelphia conference?

A. Well, first off, the dates match the Philadelphia

conference time. The general description at the top about it

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Miranda - direct by Hamilton

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being a symposium on the future of Islamic work in North

America for Palestine is generally how the Philadelphia

conference is described, as well as some of the general goals

under paragraphs 1 and 2.

And, finally, some of the names on the bottom as well

correspond with people at the Philadelphia conference.

Q. Agent Miranda, I now direct your attention to the document

behind tab 6 in that same binder.

MS. HAMILTON: And for the record, it's ASH 185 and

186.

THE COURT: Okay. Please turn to tab 6.

THE WITNESS: I'm there, ma'am.

BY MS. HAMILTON:

Q. Was this another document that you and other agents used

to try to determine who was present at the Philadelphia

conference?

A. Yes, it was.

Q. And what about this document was important to you?

A. The document, if you look at the top, it's described as

the -- here it says Section Palestine/America, and in the

opening remarks of the Philadelphia conference by the

individual who appeared to be in charge of the Philadelphia

conference, Omar Ahmad, he makes a reference that the meeting

there at Philadelphia was a Palestine committee meeting.

So clearly if you want to try to find out who's at

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Miranda - direct by Hamilton

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the Palestine committee meeting, you would look at the

Palestine committee list.

Q. And were any of the individuals listed on ASH -- these two

pages, ASH 185 or 186, later identified as being present at

the Philadelphia conference?

A. Yes.

Q. Who?

A. Omar Ahmad is one individual who is listed actually as No.

25, Omar Yahya. Ghassan El-A'she, No. 8, was present. Chukri

Abu Baker or Baker, which is No. 18 on this list was also

present.

I think that's it -- oh, no, actually, if you look at

No. 29, Ayman Sharawi.

Q. As part of your effort to further identify who was at the

Philadelphia conference, did you review translations of

certain phone calls intercepted on Defendant Ashqar's phone

line planning the Philadelphia conference?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. And what in particular -- what in particular about the

calls did you use to identify who attended?

A. In the call, in particular that I'm thinking of, the

9-14-93 call involving Omar Ahmad, Chukri Abu Baker and

Abdelhaleem Ashqar, they discussed who they should invite to

the Philadelphia conference. In one section in particular,

they discuss inviting the Executive Committees from the four

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different organizations, those organizations being the Holy

Land Foundation, the Islamic Association for Palestine, the Al

Aqsa Education Fund, and the United Association for Studies

and Research, and I also looked at corresponding incorporation

records for those organizations.

MS. HAMILTON: Your Honor, may I approach again?

THE COURT: You may.

BY MS. HAMILTON:

Q. Agent Miranda, I just handed you what's been marked

Government Exhibit Al Aqsa Amended Articles of Incorporation,

Government Exhibit UASR Incorporation Documents 1, Government

Exhibit UASR Incorporation Documents 2, IAP Incorporation

Documents 1. IAP Incorporation Documents 2. IAP

Incorporation Documents 3. IAP 1990 Article of Incorporation.

IAP Assumed Name Record. AMEL State of Texas Nonprofit Corp

Act Report and HLF Application For Certification.

Generally, what are those records?

A. Generally, these are incorporation records from different

states for the organizations that I just described.

MS. HAMILTON: Your Honor, I move for the admission

of each one of those documents. They're certified public

records.

THE COURT: Any objection?

MR. SPIELFOGEL: No objection.

THE COURT: Mr. Deutsch?

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MR. DEUTSCH: No objection.

THE COURT: So admitted.

(Said exhibits received in evidence.)

BY MS. HAMILTON:

Q. Directing your attention to Al Aqsa -- Government Exhibit

Al Aqsa Amended Articles of Incorporation, what, if anything,

about this document was important to you in trying to

determine who was at the Philadelphia conference?

A. I looked at the names in the incorporation.

Q. And what names appear in the incorporation?

A. Abdelhaleem Ashqar and Ahmad Sarsur.

Q. Now focusing on Government Exhibit UASR Incorporation

Documents 1 and 2. Generally, what are these two documents?

A. Those are incorporation documents from the State of

Illinois -- Illinois for UASR.

Q. And what, if anything, about these documents was helpful

to you in trying to identify who was at the Philadelphia

conference?

A. Again, I was looking at the incorporators.

Q. And with respect to the first one, Document 1, UASR

Incorporation Document 1, who is listed?

A. You have Elbarasse, Muhammad Elbarasse, Fadel, the name is

a little difficult to read, I think it's Lamen, Muhammad

Adlouni, Mousa Abu Marzook and Nabeel Sadoon.

Q. Focusing now on Government Exhibit UASR Incorporation

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Documents 2, the very last page, are the same individuals

listed or are there different individuals?

A. Actually, they're different individuals, ma'am.

Q. And who is listed on this document --

A. It's a little difficult to read. The first --

Q. -- that you can read.

A. I can read Yousef Salah, Khalil Shout maybe, Yousef M.

Salah again, Muhammad Nemir and --

MR. MOFFITT: Your Honor, I object. Unless she's

saying that these are people who were at the meeting, he's

just reading.

MR. SPIELFOGEL: My further objection would be, your

Honor, he can't read any of this.

MS. HAMILTON: The documents are in evidence. I'm

asking the witness to publish these.

MR. DEUTSCH: These are people who incorporated

public organizations. Why should their names be just read out

in a courtroom here if it's not relevant.

MR. MOFFITT: That's --

THE COURT: Is it a relevance objection, is that what

you're saying?

MR. MOFFITT: It is a relevance objection to the

extent that the question had to do with people who were at the

conference. There's no evidence that the people that he's now

identifying were at the conference.

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THE COURT: I don't think that was the question,

but --

MS. HAMILTON: Your Honor, these are certified public

records that the agent already testified he looked at in

attempt to determine who was at the meeting, and I'm happy to

clarify in each one if any of the individuals listed were

actually present at the meeting if that's the issue.

THE COURT: I think that is Mr. Moffitt's issue.

MR. MOFFITT: That's it.

THE COURT: So go ahead.

BY MS. HAMILTON:

Q. All right. Going back, let's start first with the Al Aqsa

Education Fund.

A. Yes, ma'am.

Q. Of the individuals listed, was the FBI able to identify

either of them as being present at the meeting?

A. Yes. Abdelhaleem Ashqar was present at the meeting.

Q. Now, with respect to UASR Incorporation Document 1, of the

individuals listed, was the FBI able to identify whether any

of these individuals were at the Philadelphia conference?

A. No, we were not able to do that.

Q. Looking next at UASR Incorporation Documents 2, of the

individuals listed, were any of these -- was the FBI able to

determine whether any of these individuals were at the

meeting?

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A. We were not able to determine that.

Q. Focusing next on IAP Incorporation Documents, and there

are a number of them relevant to the IAP, is that correct?

A. That's correct, ma'am.

Q. With respect to the incorporation documents for the IAP,

were these helpful at all to you or other agents in

determining who was at the Philadelphia conference?

A. Yes. Yes, ma'am, in the sense that on one of the

incorporation documents, it did list Ghassan el-A'she who was

identified as being at the Philadelphia conference.

Q. And specifically are you referring to IAP Incorporation

Document 2?

A. Yes, I am, ma'am.

Q. And also IAP Assumed Name Record?

A. Yes, ma'am. On the Assumed Name Record, it listed Omar

Ahmad as president, and he was also present at the

Philadelphia conference.

Q. Going on to Government Exhibit AMEL State of Texas

Nonprofit Corp. Act Report.

A. Yes, ma'am, I have it.

Q. Was this a document that you or other agents used to try

and identify participants at the Philadelphia conference?

A. Yes, ma'am, I used it.

Q. And what, if anything, about this document was helpful?

A. Again, ma'am, the incorporators, in this case Omar Ahmad.

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MR. MOFFITT: Can you spell that?

BY MS. HAMILTON:

Q. Agent, can you spell that name?

A. Sure. The first name is spelled O-M-A-R. The last name

is spelled A-H-M-A-D.

Q. And was the FBI later able to identify that that

individual was present at the Philadelphia conference?

A. Yes, we were.

THE COURT: Ms. Hamilton, let's end there for the

evening.

We are done for the evening. We will pick up

tomorrow morning. Please meet on the second floor at 9:15.

Have a good evening. Do not discuss the case or watch any

media coverage.

(Jury exits courtroom.)

* * * * *

(End of excerpt.)

CERTIFICATE

I certify that the foregoing is a correct transcript from

the record of proceedings in the above-entitled matter.

Kathleen M. Fennell Date

Official Court Reporter

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