Opinion ID: 1352691
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Intent to Obstruct Justice

Text: The district court found that Salim's false statements were provided in an attempt to obstruct justice. Obstruction Order at 7. This finding was not clear error. First, as noted above, we credit the district court's characterization of Salim's statements as evasive and contradictory. Second, the district court found, in its earlier order following the Fatico hearing, that Salim's attack was motivated, in part, by a desire to retaliate against Magistrate Judge Eaton's recent adverse recommendation regarding Salim's efforts to obtain substitute counsel. Salim I, 287 F.Supp.2d at 304. If this finding is correct, Salim's failure to mention this desire when asked to describe his motive strongly suggests that his false testimony was made with the specific intent to obstruct justice. Salim argues that the district court's finding as to his retaliatory motive was erroneous because he did not receive notice of Judge Sand's latest denial of his motion until nine days after he attacked Pepe. However, the district court's finding was that the attack also was calculated to retaliate against judicial recommendations and orders denying Defendant's applications for substitute counsel. Id. (emphasis added). This finding plainly refers to Judge Sand's previous denials and Magistrate Judge Eaton's adverse recommendation, and not just to Judge Sand's October 31 denial. Because Salim knew of the former orders and recommendation, his alleged ignorance as to the latter order does not render the finding of retaliatory motive clearly erroneous. As a result, there was no clear error in the district court's resultant conclusion that Salim testified with an intent to obstruct justice. The fact that the district court applied a theory of the terrorism enhancement different from the one urged by the government does not alter our calculus. As suggested above, supra Part I.A, the issue at the Fatico hearing was whether the enhancement covered Salim's conduct, not whether the government's theory that Salim was attempting to take hostages to escape the MCC was correct. Accordingly, the district court's finding, in support of the obstruction of justice enhancement, that Salim willfully made false statements was not clearly erroneous.