A judge has ruled that the revelation that the Pulse nightclub shooter’s father was an FBI informant for 11 years before the attack has little bearing on the trial of the gunman’s widow.

U.S. District Judge Paul Byron on Monday rejected a defence motion for a mistrial of Noor Salman, who is accused of helping her husband plan his June 2016 mass shooting at the gay nightclub in Orlando, where he killed 49 people.

Lawyers for Salman said that because prosecutors didn’t disclose that Mateen’s father, Seddique Mateen, was an FBI informant until halfway through the trial, her Fifth Amendment right to due process and Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial were denied.

“This trial is not about Seddique Mateen. It’s about Noor Salman,” the judge said.

Salman, now 31 and the mother of a small child, is being tried in federal court in Orlando. Her defence is scheduled to wrap up this week and lawyers will give closing arguments.

In court on Monday, an FBI agent testified that they considered trying to develop Omar Mateen as an informant, like his father, after investigating him in 2013 and finding he didn’t have ties to terrorism.

Salman’s lawyers say the government’s belated disclosure about Mateen’s father and his ties to the FBI has prevented them from exploring the possibilities that Seddique Mateen was more directly involved, and that Salman may have been framed to hide the government’s mistakes.

The government’s “violations in this case have placed Ms. Salman, the jury, and this Court in a dark wood where the search for truth has been thwarted,” they wrote, paraphrasing and citing 15th Century Italian poet Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy.

Her lawyers’ motion said U.S. Attorney Sara Sweeney sent them an email Saturday revealing some details of the FBI’s involvement with Seddique Mateen’s activities leading up to the Pulse attack.

“I have just received authorization to disclose the following information about Seddique Mateen,” her email said. “Seddique Mateen was a FBI confidential human source at various points in time between January 2005 and June 2016.”
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This email was sent after jurors heard Shahla Mateen, Omar’s mother, deny during cross-examination that her husband had any relationship with the FBI.

The email also revealed other details the prosecution didn’t tell jurors, including the discovery in the hours after the shooting that “receipts for money transfers to Turkey and Afghanistan” made in the days and weeks before the shooting were found at Seddique Mateen’s home, and that in 2012, an anonymous tipster had accused Seddique Mateen of “seeking to raise $50,000 – $100,000 via a donation drive to contribute towards an attack against the government of Pakistan.”

Defence attorneys said had they known about this information in advance of her trial, they would have investigated “whether Mateen’s father was involved in or had foreknowledge of the Pulse attack,” they wrote.

Prosecutors told the jury that Salman knew Omar Mateen was buying rounds of ammunition for his AR-15, helped him spend thousands of dollars before the attack and knew about his plan when he left their home in the hours before the shooting. They also say she lied in an attempt to mislead FBI agents and had knowledge of her husband’s sick fascination with violent jihadist videos and terrorism.

Defence attorneys describe Salman as a simple woman with a low IQ, who was abused by her husband. This latest evidence, they said, points instead to Mateen’s father as a potential accomplice.

A man who answered a Florida phone number for Seddique Mateen hung up after asking an AP reporter to identify himself. </s> ORLANDO, Fla. - The fate of Noor Salman, the widow of the Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, is now in the hands of a jury.

The 12-member jury, which consists of seven women and five men, received instructions, and deliberations began shortly before 1:45 p.m. Wednesday.

Judge Paul Byron allowed the jurors to deliberate until 5 p.m., but since no verdict was reached, deliberations will resume at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Salman is accused of helping her husband plan a mass shooting at Pulse Orlando nightclub in June 2016. Forty-nine people were killed and more than 50 injured in the attack.

Salman, 31, has pleaded not guilty to charges of aiding the support of a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death and obstruction of justice.

If Salman is found not guilty of aiding and abetting, jurors have the option to select attempted aiding and abetting.

During deliberations, jurors asked to examine a statement Salman made to FBI agents in the hours after her husband carried out the attack. The judge printed out copies of it to be given to the panel. The statement suggests Salman knew of an attack and did nothing to stop it.

Read: Salman's attorneys ask judge to dismiss charges

 

 Before Salman's trial, her attorneys had sought to prevent the statement from being presented as evidence. They have argued at trial that it was coerced.

 

 The jurors also asked a question about an index of evidence and the wording on one of the charges Salman faces.

During their closing arguments Wednesday, prosecutors revealed new information that Mateen wanted to target Disney Springs, and that Salman knew.

Prosecutors said Mateen had a baby stroller and a doll inside his van. They said Mateen planned to hide an AR-15 rifle inside the stroller when he got to Disney Springs, but got spooked by police and chose Pulse as his target instead.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Sweeney told the jury that Salman "knowingly engaged in misleading conduct" when she spoke with the FBI in the hours after the attack, the Associated Press said.

But the defense called the planned attack on Disney Springs a "new theory."

"It was all about scouting the Pulse (nightclub) and casing the Pulse (nightclub)," she said. "And then, all of a sudden, for the first time, in the closing arguments, no, that's not their emphasis anymore. Now, it's Disney."

“This will be really telling what the evidence really was since I wasn't able to come to every day of the trial,” said Christine Leinonen, whose son died in the 2016 attack. "Now, I will be able to see exactly what each side thinks they did prove."

She said she believes that Salman knew of Mateen's plans.

"I believe that she full well knew that the jihad was imminent, and she helped him," Leinonen said.



 Defense attorneys for Salman told the jury that she had no idea what her husband had planned that night in June 2016.

 

 They said that she couldn't have known about the attack because Mateen didn't even know he was going to attack the Pulse nightclub.

Prosecutors said Salman knew Mateen was buying ammunition and that she helped him spend money before the attack and knew about his plan when he left home the night he killed 49 people.

Defense attorneys describe Salman as a simple woman with a low IQ who was abused by her husband, and who didn't know of his plans because he concealed much of his life from her. </s> (CNN) Noor Salman was far from an innocent bystander ahead of her husband Omar Mateen's mass shooting in 2016 at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, prosecutors said Wednesday in closing arguments of her federal trial.

"This case is about what she knew and what she did," Assistant US Attorney Sara Sweeney said. "The defendant didn't pull the trigger that night, but she did serve as a green light for her husband."

Defense attorneys countered that Salman was a simple-minded victim and argued the prosecution had shifted its story several times in closing "because they haven't proven their case."

Salman's fate is now in the hands of the jury, which began deliberations in the afternoon.

Salman, 31, is charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and obstruction of justice for allegedly misleading law enforcement agents in their investigation of the massacre. </s> ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - Jurors in the trial of the woman whose husband killed dozens at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub in 2016 ended their second day of deliberations on Thursday with no decision about whether she helped him plan the rampage and then misled authorities.

Noor Salman, 31, the widow of gunman Omar Mateen, could face up to life in prison if convicted of federal charges that she did nothing to stop her husband from killing 49 people at the Pulse nightclub.

Salman, the only person charged in connection with the attack, is accused of obstruction of justice and aiding Mateen in providing support to the Islamic State militant group. Mateen, who had claimed allegiance to an Islamic State leader, died in an exchange of gunfire with police at the nightclub.

Jurors will resume deliberations on Friday morning in U.S. District Court in Orlando. Since getting the case on Wednesday, they have weighed the evidence for nearly 11 hours.

On Thursday, they asked the trial judge to provide an example of an act of aiding and abetting. U.S. District Judge Paul Byron declined.

In response to another question, Byron said in order for Salman’s actions to be considered “willful,” it had to be proven that she provided support for and participated in something she wished would succeed.

Defense lawyers have accused FBI agents of adding words that they say Salman never used to her statements, made during questioning, that she helped Mateen scout targets.

Salman also could not have known he would attack Pulse, a gay nightspot, on June 12, 2016, the lawyers said. The government said during its closing argument that Mateen originally planned to target the Disney Springs entertainment and shopping complex when he left home that night.

“Even Omar didn’t know he was going to attack the Pulse nightclub,” defense attorney Charles Swift said. “If he doesn’t know, she can’t know.”

Salman’s family was hopeful the jurors’ questions suggested they were carefully weighing the evidence, her spokeswoman Susan Clary said.

“The jury has been asking questions, that shows that they want to know more about the law,” she told reporters outside the courthouse. “More questions is better than no questions.”

But prosecutors argued that Salman had helped her husband check out potential sites and sought to mislead investigators about what she knew.

They said she first told investigators that Mateen had acted without her knowledge but later admitted knowing he had left home with a gun and had watched jihadist videos online. </s> Noor Salman, the widow of Pulse nightclub gunman Omar Mateen, was found not guilty Friday in the only trial to stem from the deadly June 2016 shooting rampage.

Salman, 31, was accused of helping her husband plan his terror assault on the Orlando, Florida, nightclub and of falsely denying her role afterward.

The government equated Mateen's actions with supporting terrorism, because he repeatedly pledged allegiance to ISIS before and during the attack that left 49 people dead and 53 injured. For that reason, Salman was charged with aiding him in providing material support to a terror group.

She was also charged with obstruction of justice, accused of misleading police and FBI agents by making contradictory statements about whether she knew what he was planning.

But after a two-week trial, a federal court jury acquitted her on both counts. Outside the courthouse, relatives and friends said they were elated.

"The family really wants to first say that we're very sorry for the family members and friends of the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting and also the survivors of that horrible attack," said Susan Clary, a spokesman for Salman's family.

"Noor can go home now to her son, Zack, resume her life and try to pick up the pieces."

Salman has been in jail since she was arrested in January 2017. "I don't know how she's going to make up for the last two years," said her uncle Al Salman.

Fritz Scheller, one of her defense lawyers, praised victims of the shooting who attended the trial.

"They came searching for the truth," he said. "Throughout the trial they showed a sense of dignity and compassion and understanding. Even after the verdict, we embraced. I just think they're extraordinary people and they've been through a lot."

During deliberations, jurors asked the judge to define "encouragement" and "support" for another's crime. In response, Judge Paul Byron said to find that she aided and abetted her husband, the jury would have to conclude "that she participated in it as something that she wished to bring about, and that she sought by her actions to make it succeed."

The verdict suggest jurors did not reach that conclusion.

Prosecutors said she knew her husband was heavily armed when he left the house in a rented van the night of the shooting and, as she later told the FBI, "that he was going to do something bad."

But her lawyers said that statement was made under duress by a physically abused woman who had a low IQ and was easily intimidated. She was tired after a long interrogation by the FBI and signed a confession because she feared she would lose custody of her young son, the defense said. </s> BREAKING: Noor Salman, the widow of the Pulse nightclub gunman, on Friday was found not guilty of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and not guilty of obstruction of justice.

Federal jurors in Orlando weighed the charges in connection with her husband's 2016 killing spree.

A verdict has been reached in the trial of Noor Salman, the widow of the Pulse nightclub gunman, who is accused of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and obstruction of justice related to the 2016 Orlando massacre.

Salman, 31, was arrested in January 2017, months after her husband, Omar Mateen, killed 49 people and injured more than 50 others when he opened fire the prior June at Pulse nightclub. Mateen was killed by police who responded to the attack.

Prosecutors said Salman aided Mateen ahead of his killing spree, then lied to the FBI in an attempt to thwart the investigation.

"This case is about what she knew and what she did," Assistant US Attorney Sara Sweeney said. "The defendant didn't pull the trigger that night, but she did serve as a green light for her husband."

Salman's attorneys argued that their client was not an accomplice but a simple-minded victim of her husband's infidelity and lies.

"She doesn't go to the mosque, she searches for Hello Kitty on her website," defense attorney Charles Swift said in his closing argument. "We're supposed to believe she had long conversations with Omar Mateen about jihads?"

Salman did not testify during the trial. If she is convicted on the terror charge, she could face life in prison.

'I wish I had been more truthful'

During 10 days of testimony, jurors watched surveillance video showing Mateen buying weapons prior to the shooting and also opening fire inside the nightclub.

Security cameras also recorded Mateen going with Salman on a shopping spree for clothing, toys and jewelry at several stores in central Florida at least a week before the shooting.

After Salman's arrest, she said in a statement to the FBI that she knew in advance that her husband was going to do something violent.

"I wish I had done the right thing, but my fear held me back. I wish I had been more truthful," she wrote in the statement, which was shown in court.

FBI special agent Ricardo Enriquez testified that Salman said in several statements to the FBI that Mateen watched jihadi beheading videos, purchased a rifle and ammunition and went to a gun range to practice.

Defense attorneys cast Salman as a mother and a victim of Mateen's abuse and infidelity, as well as of the FBI's coercive investigators.

"Omar Mateen is a monster. Noor Salman is a mother, not a monster. Her only sin is she married a monster," defense attorney Linda Moreno told jurors.

Since the defense launched its case Monday, Mateen's family and friends described her as a peaceful person and a good mother. They said Salman is not capable of being "calculating," "deceptive" or "able to connect the dots."

"Nothing harmful would come out of her," a friend of Salman's who was identified only as Ms. Ahmed told jurors, according to CNN affiliate WKGM.

Bruce Frumkin, a forensic clinical psychologist, testified Tuesday, saying lack of sleep, mental issues, low IQ scores and lengthy interrogations contribute to false confessions.

Salman was interviewed by authorities for 11 hours and her IQ score is 84, which makes her "below average in intelligence," Frumkin said.

Defense attorneys filed a motion for dismissal last weekend after prosecutors informed them that the shooter's father was an FBI informant who is under criminal investigation.

The revelation threatened to upend the case against Salman, but the judge denied the motion, saying it was not relevant to the case against her.

Seddique Mateen was a confidential FBI source at various points in time between January 2005 and June 2016, a motion filed by the defense states, citing an email from Sweeney.

The email also states that Seddique Mateen is being investigated for money transfers to Turkey and Afghanistan after documents were found in his home on June 12, 2016, the day of the Pulse attack. The dates of the money transfers were between March 16, 2016, and June 5, 2016, according to the email.

Defense attorneys argued that if they had known about Seddique Mateen's FBI status, they may have argued other theories during the trial, including that the Mateens, rather than Salman, conspired to support ISIS, according to the motion.

Seddique Mateen had been on the prosecution's witness list but was not called to testify in the trial. </s> ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - The widow of the Pulse nightclub gunman walked free on Friday after a jury cleared her of charges related to the 2016 massacre that killed 49 people in Orlando, Florida.

Noor Salman, 31, could have faced up to life in prison had she been convicted of federal charges of obstruction of justice and aiding her husband, Omar Mateen, in providing support to the Islamic State militant group.

Instead, the U.S. District Court jury acquitted Salman after roughly 12 hours of deliberation that began on Wednesday. Hours later, she walked out of Orange County jail, her head bowed as she held hands with defense lawyer Fritz Scheller.

“We knew from day one she was innocent,” Salman’s aunt, Susan Adieh, told reporters just after the verdict.Salman was home with the couple’s then 3-year-old son at the time of the massacre on June 12, 2016. Mateen died in an exchange of gunfire with police at Pulse, a gay nightspot.

The acquittal was an emotional blow for the survivors and families of those killed. The attack stunned and dismayed lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and Latinos who frequented Pulse.

At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. It has since been surpassed by the Las Vegas attack in which a shooter opened fire on an outdoor concert from his hotel room last year, killing 58 people.

“We’re very sorry for the family members and friends of the 49 victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting, and also the survivors of that horrible attack,” said Susan Clary, Noor’s family spokeswoman.

A group of victims’ relatives and friends, accompanied by Pulse owner Barbara Poma, left the courthouse without responding to reporters’ questions.

“Those of us directly affected by this tragedy must find peace in our hearts and remember that he was the one who pulled the trigger that night,” Poma said in a statement.

A group of survivors, friends and family planned to meet at the Pulse nightclub about 2 miles (3 km) from the courthouse.

“She may not be guilty, but she isn’t innocent either,” said Luis Morales, a Pulse regular who was not there during the attack. “She knew what he was doing.”

When U.S. District Judge Paul Byron announced the verdict, Salman broke down in tears and hugged her defense lawyers, according to reporters inside the courtroom. Her relatives gasped while families of the victims sat silently, showing little emotion.

Mateen, 29, opened fire shortly after 2 a.m. during Latin night, shooting patrons on the dance floor and spraying bullets at others hiding in bathroom stalls. He then held hostages during a standoff with police, claiming allegiance to a leader of Islamic State before he was shot dead.

Prosecutors said Salman cased possible attack sites with her husband and did nothing to stop his plans. They claimed she initially told investigators her husband acted without her knowledge but later said she knew he was watching Islamic State videos, had purchased an assault rifle, and examined three possible attack locations.

However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation did not record the interrogation and the defense said she was coerced into making statements.

The jury appeared to believe the defense portrayal of Salman as a battered spouse kept in the dark, said David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor and now a partner at Coral Gables, Florida-based Hinshaw & Culbertson.

“The lack of a videotaped confession had to have had an impact on the jury’s acceptance of her confession. ... It is clear they believed it was coerced,” Weinstein said in a statement. </s> Nightclub gunman's widow sobs as jury finds her not guilty

The widow of the gunman who slaughtered 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was acquitted Friday of helping to plot the attack and lying to the FBI afterward — a rare and stinging defeat for the U.S. government in a terrorism case.

Noor Salman, 31, sobbed upon hearing the jury's verdict of not guilty of obstruction and providing material support to a terrorist organization, charges that could have brought a life sentence. Her family gasped each time the words "not guilty" were pronounced.

On the other side of the Orlando courtroom, the families of the victims of the June 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting sat stone-faced and silent.

Within hours, Salman was released from jail after 14 months and got into a waiting car without answering questions.

"Noor is so grateful. Her belief in the process was shown. She wants to get back to her son," her attorney Linda Moreno said. Family spokeswoman Susan Clary said Salman's family "always thought that Noor was the first victim" of her husband, Omar Mateen.

The verdict reverberated through Orlando and legal circles beyond.

"The government rarely, rarely loses these kinds of cases. It's got every single factor on its side," said David Oscar Markus, a Miami attorney who routinely tries federal cases. "It's a pretty impressive win for the defense and a devastating loss for the government."

Mateen, the American-born son of Afghan immigrants, was killed by police after opening fire in the name of the Islamic State group.

Relying heavily on an alleged confession from Salman, federal prosecutors charged that she and Mateen had scouted out potential targets together — including Disney World's shopping and entertainment complex — and that she gave him the "green light to commit terrorism."

But the defense portrayed her as an easily manipulated woman with a low IQ and argued that she signed a false confession because she was tired after a long interrogation and feared losing her young son.

In a blow to the government's case, the FBI itself found that receipts and cellphone signals showed the couple were nowhere near the Pulse on the day Salman said they were.

Also, prosecutors introduced no online posts, texts or any other evidence that Salman supported ISIS, and were hard-pressed to counter the defense's portrayal of her as a simple, sweet mother who loves her 5-year-old son, romance novels and the cartoon character Hello Kitty.

After the verdict, prosecutors said they were disappointed and took no questions.

The jurors said little as they left court.

"Noor Salman should never have been on trial," said Ahmed Bedier, a civil rights advocate and the president of United Voices of America. "Let this verdict serve as a message to law enforcement and prosecutors who railroad and persecute innocent people on little evidence, the people of this great nation will not allow it."

Some veteran attorneys said the government made a mistake in not recording the alleged confession. The jury was given only a written statement.

"The FBI needs to start recording their statements. It's a terrible practice. But it's the FBI's policy not to record," Markus said. "Even local police agencies now record statements and are required to do so. Jurors in today's age want to hear the recording, they want to see the evidence."

Miami defense attorney David Weinstein said: "As much as we don't want to admit it, this is the age of the cellphone. It's ingrained in the minds of jurors, if it's not recorded, it didn't happen."

Christine Leinonen, an attorney and former state trooper whose only son was killed in the nightclub massacre, told The Orlando Sentinel she was disappointed but not shocked by the verdict. She said Salman's alleged confession was "clearly coerced" and added: "Cops screw up their own cases."

Prosecutors had also accused Salman of falsely claiming that her husband didn't use the internet in their home, that he had deactivated his Facebook account years earlier, that he had one gun when he had three, and that he wasn't radicalized.

But the defense said that Salman, who was born in California to Palestinian parents, was abused and cheated on by her husband and that he concealed much of his life from her. Her attorneys argued there was no way she knew her husband would attack the nightclub because even he didn't know it until moments before.

According to prosecutors, Mateen intended to attack Disney World's shopping and entertainment complex by hiding a gun in a stroller but became spooked by police and chose a new target.

This story has been corrected to show that Bedier is with United Voices of America. </s> ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - A U.S. jury weighing the fate of a woman whose husband killed 49 people at a Florida nightclub in 2016 began deliberations on Wednesday after her defense attorney said federal agents coerced her into saying she played a role in the rampage.

Noor Salman, 31, could face life in prison if convicted of helping her husband Omar Mateen plan the attack on the Pulse nightclub and then failing to do anything to stop one of the worst mass shootings in modern U.S. history.

The jury in U.S. District Court broke for the night after starting deliberations on Wednesday afternoon. It will resume work at 9 a.m. EDT on Thursday, a court aide told reporters.

In closing arguments on Wednesday, defense lawyer Charles Swift said that FBI agents had planted Salman’s statements during initial questioning that she had helped Mateen case targets.

“That’s his words,” Swift said, referring to one of the first interrogators who transcribed what Salman said. “Those are not her words.”

Swift said FBI agents questioned Salman for more than 11 hours and her statement was filled with phrases Salman would never have used, such as “green light” and “long gun.”

He also said Salman could not have known that her husband would attack the Pulse, a gay nightspot.

“Even Omar didn’t know he was going to attack the Pulse nightclub,” Swift said. “If he doesn’t know, she can’t know.”

In her closing statement, prosecutor Sara Sweeney contended that Salman had helped her husband check out potential sites and later sought to mislead investigators about what she knew.

Sweeney said Salman first told investigators that Mateen had acted without her knowledge but later admitted knowing he had left home with a gun and had watched jihadist videos online.

The prosecutor also said Salman had aided Mateen by making up a cover story to his mother on the night of the shooting that he was going to dinner with a friend.

Salman faces charges of obstruction of justice and aiding Mateen in providing support to the Islamic State militant group. Mateen had claimed allegiance to a leader of the group. Police killed him in an exchange of gunfire at the nightclub.

On Monday, Judge Paul Byron rejected a defense motion to dismiss the charges against Salman or declare a mistrial because the prosecution had failed to disclose Mateen’s father had been an FBI informant before the attack.
The trial of Noor Salman, widow of Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, hears closing arguments. Jurors begin deliberations. During the trial it was revealed that Mateen's father was an FBI informant.