linked - Investigating the Terror

Recommendations

Info

not meet the test of Daubert v. Merrell Dow, 113 S. Ct. 2786 (1993), because Williams did not use the scientific method, which involves the testing of hypotheses. Although evidentiary questions are beyond the scope of this Report, we note that the discussion of expert testimony in Daubert was limited to scientific . . . knowledge and not technical, or other specialized knowledge. 113 S. Ct. at 2795 & n.8. Much of Williams' testimony could be viewed as based on technical or other specialized knowledge within the meaning of Daubert. III. Pre-Trial Issues Several controversies occurred, and were resolved to Whitehurst's satisfaction, before the trials in the World Trade Center case. A. Specimen Q23 Immediately after the Trade Center bombing, the chemists in the FBI Laboratory specializing in explosives residue analysis (MAU chemists Whitehurst and Burmeister), went to New York City to conduct examinations at the blast scene. That left no chemists specializing in explosives residue analysis at the laboratory in Washington. When specimens were sent back to the laboratory for examination, the examinations were conducted by chemists in the CTU, Unit Chief Roger Martz and Lynn Lasswell. Specimen Q23 was a tire fragment recovered from the crime scene. Lasswell analyzed it with solid probe mass spectrometry and concluded that urea nitrate was detected on the specimen. Martz as unit chief approved Lasswell's conclusion, which was incorporated in an official report and distributed April 12, 1993. This conclusion would have been extremely helpful to the prosecution because it would have tended to establish that urea nitrate was used in the Trade Center bomb. Whitehurst and Burmeister disagreed with Lasswell's conclusion on the ground that the instrumental results only really showed the presence of urea and nitric acid, which could have originated from substances other than urea nitrate--e.g., urine, fertilizer, car exhausts, or ice melter. Whitehurst's and Burmeister's objections, however, were overruled.
Whitehurst and Burmeister then prepared a blind test for Martz by submitting to him specimens they claimed were from the Trade Center evidence. In reality, Whitehurst and Burmeister prepared one sample from Whitehurst's urine and another by mixing ammonium nitrate fertilizer and urea. According to Burmeister, the results were close enough that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference from running a sample of urea nitrate. (Martz insists he never rendered an opinion that these samples were urea nitrate, but said only that the instrument detected urea and nitric acid.) With the blind test results, Whitehurst and Burmeister went to Assistant Section Chief Robillard, who scolded them for making the blind test. Eventually, Corby directed Whitehurst to make a review of Lasswell's results and to write a new dictation. Whitehurst made the review and wrote the dictation. Whitehurst's dictation was incorporated into a new official report amending the April 12, 1993, report. The new report is dated July 1, 1993. At the Salameh trial, Burmeister testified in accordance with Whitehurst's dictation. Martz told the OIG in 1996 that he no longer agrees with Lasswell's original dictation because the results could have been produced by urea and nitrates rather than urea nitrate. Ultimately, the FBI Laboratory correctly resolved the controversy concerning Q23, although the resolution procedure ( blind tests, etc.) was flawed. Moreover, the chemist who examined Q23 should have been trained in the explosives residue protocol. B. Specimen Q65 The Barringer Ion Mobility Spectrometer (IMS) tests for the presence of particular molecules. When a sample is introduced, a graph is produced with peaks. Certain substances have distinctive graphs or peaks. If a distinctive peak is produced, an inference can be drawn that a particular substance is present. The manufacturer programs the memory of the instrument to identify common explosives such as nitroglycerine. The user of the instrument can also program the memory to identify certain peaks.
Page 2 and 3:
Contents Introduction by Tom Secker
Page 4 and 5:
Introduction The bombing of the Wor
Page 6 and 7:
information available at the time o
Page 8 and 9:
The prosecution claimed that urea n
Page 10 and 11:
a deliberately provoked act of terr
Page 12 and 13:
Ironically, this Matrix also lists
Page 14 and 15:
INTELWIRE.com
Page 16 and 17:
INTELWIRE.com
Page 18 and 19:
INTELWIRE.com
Page 20 and 21:
INTELWIRE.com
Page 22 and 23:
INTELWIRE.com
Page 24 and 25:
INTELWIRE.com
Page 26 and 27:
INTELWIRE.com
Page 28 and 29:
INTELWIRE.com
Page 30 and 31:
INTELWIRE.com
Page 32 and 33:
9/11 Personal Privacy Current Class
Page 34 and 35:
MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: SUBJECT: REF:
Page 36 and 37:
MEMORANDUM TO: CA - Ms. Mary A. Rya
Page 38 and 39:
-2- 9/11 Closed by Statute JAccordi
Page 40 and 41:
With specific respect to sections 2
Page 42 and 43:
-7- year. Cairo also reported that
Page 44 and 45:
Series: Team 5 Files WITHDRAWAL NOT
Page 46 and 47:
WITHDRAWAL NOTICE RG: 148 Expositio
Page 48:
Series: Team 5 Files WITHDRAWAL NOT
Page 51 and 52:
j jev. F 11—1 5—83) ttflu&tIOfl
Page 53 and 54:
—LS—83) ntinuationofFD-302o1 AB
Page 55 and 56:
v 11—3—83) ontinuationofFD-302o
Page 57 and 58:
Blast Damage by Steven C. De Rosa T
Page 99 and 100:
SECTION C: WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMBI
Page 101 and 102: Williams testified that he had expe
Page 103 and 104: Personnel in the FBI Laboratory mad
Page 105 and 106: nitric acid and were noted undernea
Page 107 and 108: weights would have to be different
Page 109 and 110: If Dave was supervising, Dave was s
Page 111 and 112: the chemists specializing in the ex
Page 113 and 114: pounds of urea and 1694 pounds of n
Page 115 and 116: We have reached several conclusions
Page 117 and 118: where they had purchased urea or ni
Page 119 and 120: laboratory setting--would have been
Page 121 and 122: AGENT WILLIAMS: I don't recall. . .
Page 123 and 124: Williams claimed in his OIG intervi
Page 125 and 126: We conclude that Williams' VOD opin
Page 127 and 128: of explosive damage. By putting all
Page 129 and 130: That's my question, sir. AGENT WILL
Page 131 and 132: and one was C-4; and I had individu
Page 133 and 134: (iii) General Discussion Agent Thur
Page 135 and 136: velocity of detonation are just a t
Page 137 and 138: (2) Analysis MR. CAMPRIELLO: I didn
Page 139 and 140: completely shucked of the wrappers,
Page 141 and 142: explosive. [] Williams' use of the
Page 143 and 144: nitrate, the court was unable to pu
Page 145 and 146: AGENT WILLIAMS: Well, after looking
Page 147 and 148: (Italics added.) extracts of urine
Page 149 and 150: Although defense counsel's question
Page 151: the use of smokeless powder and lea
Page 155 and 156: and sol[i]d probe/triple quadrapole
Page 157 and 158: dictation. Whitehurst acknowledged
Page 159 and 160: -. Q 3..-1G42) FEDERAL BUREAU OF IN
Page 161 and 162: D—302a (Rev i:—15—13) ontiflu
Page 163 and 164: FD—302a (Rev. 11—15-43) Continu
Page 165 and 166: FD—302a (Rev. 11—15.43) Contmua
Page 167 and 168: D—302a (Rev 11—15—83) intiriu
Page 169 and 170: FD—302a Rev 11—15—13) Contrnu
Page 171 and 172: FD—302a (Rev. 11—15—83) Conti
Page 173 and 174: D—302a (Rev. 11—15.43) nt1nu1tI
Page 175 and 176: FD—302a (Rev. 11—15—3) Contln
Page 177 and 178: FD—302& (Rev II 1543) Cotiuatio o
Page 179 and 180: 'FD—302a (Rev. 11-.1S43) C Conimu
Page 181 and 182: . TRWO191 311 950210 Z:54 159H-TP-2
Page 183 and 184: TRW0191 511 950210 23:54 IWH-TP-216
Page 186 and 187: 14 that the targets included both m
Page 188 and 189: Gulf War. If so, and if, as U.S. of
Page 190 and 191: ureaucracies that there was "no evi
Page 192 and 193: Abdul Rahman Yasin--Musab's brother
Page 194 and 195: Musab lived in the same building as
Page 196 and 197: [12] Of Passports and Fingerprints
Page 198 and 199: Logic and circumstance also suggest
Page 200 and 201: acknowledged in July having had an
Page 202 and 203:
2. Indeed, there is good reason to
Page 204 and 205:
Cover of the passport that Ramzi Yo
Page 206 and 207:
Pages 3 and 4 of Ramzi Yousef’s p
Page 208 and 209:
Pages 7 and 8 of Ramzi Yousef’s p
Page 210 and 211:
Pages 10 and 11 of Ramzi Yousef’s
Page 213:
The classification markings are ori
Page 233 and 234:
S E C R E T // NOFORN // 20320915 J
Page 236 and 237:
S E C R E T // NOFORN // 20320915 T
Page 239 and 240:
S E C R E T // NOFORN // 20320915 (
Page 242 and 243:
S E C R E T // NOFORN // 20320915 o
Page 244 and 245:
S E C R E T // NOFORN // 20320915 P
Page 246 and 247:
S E C R E T // NOFORN // 20320915 (
Page 248 and 249:
S E C R E T // NOFORN // 20320915 A
show all

linked - Investigating the Terror

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?