Harry Samit
Encyclopedia
Harry Samit is a Federal Bureau of Investigation
Special Agent
based out of the FBI Field Office in Minneapolis, Minnesota
. He is a former United States Navy
naval aviator, Naval Intelligence
Officer, and an FAA-certified private pilot
.
He is most noted for arresting Zacarias Moussaoui
on August 16, 2001.
Samit became aware of Moussaoui because of Clancy Prevost, a certified flight instructor at the Pan-Am International Flight Academy in Eagan, Minnesota
. Moussaoui had enrolled for training in a 747-400 flight simulator
at the school on August 13 but his behavior during instruction alarmed Prevost, who did not believe that Moussaoui was just a wealthy individual interested in flying jumbo jets. At Prevost's urging, the flight school contacted the Minneapolis FBI Field Office, and Samit was one of the special agents assigned to investigate Moussaoui.
Moussaoui was arrested by Samit for a visa
violation on August 16 but, because the arrest was effected outside the Residence Inn where Moussaoui had been staying, Samit had no legal right to search the hotel room and its contents without Moussaoui's consent. Moussaoui denied consent, so Samit could only search Moussaoui and his car. Samit found a small knife in Moussaoui's left pocket and another knife in the car.
As a certified private pilot himself, Samit was suspicious, suspecting that Moussaoui was plotting an act of international terrorism
against the United States
. He therefore sought permission to search Moussaoui's belongings which were known to include several bags and suitcases, and a laptop computer. The first application to obtain a criminal search warrant
was denied by FBI Headquarters on the ground of insufficient evidence. A second application to search was made under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, but this was also denied. The FBI did obtain a search warrant for the belongings, but only after the September 11th attacks. The Minneapolis Field Office had received a report from Moussaoui's home government of France
that linked him to Islamic terrorism, but the FBI Headquarters in Washington
did not believe that evidence was sufficient to present to the FISA court for a search warrant. On the question of using foreign government intelligence to validate a request for a domestic search warrant through the FISA court, it is unclear if the Field Office could have appealed administratively to the White House National Security Council. Had the belongings been opened before September 11, knives, flight manuals, and other clues would have been found. Whether these clues would have sparked a national emergency or simply been treated like the August 6 memo entitled Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US is subject to debate.
When FBI Headquarters denied both Samit's application for search powers, he initiated a process to notify the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) of his suspicions of possible aircraft hijacking
attempts, but FBI Headquarters censored the memo. Relying on personal contacts, Samit then met with a Minneapolis FAA official, but that official did not pursue Samit's leads.
"I am so desperate to get into his computer, I'll take anything," Samit wrote in an e-mail on September 10, 2001.
In March 2006, during Moussaoui's death sentence trial, Samit testified that he had spent the time between August 16 and September 11 trying to warn U.S. officials about the possibility of terrorist actions involving the hijacking of aircraft. Four such actions occurred in the United States on September 11, 2001. Samit testified under oath that "criminal negligence
, obstruction
and careerism" by superiors at FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC thwarted an opportunity to prevent the September 11th attacks.
Mohamad Elzahabi
was "branded an al-Qaeda
terrorist" and arrested by Samit on April 16, 2004.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
Special Agent
Special agent
Special agent is usually the title for a detective or investigator for a state, county, municipal, federal or tribal government. An agent is a worker for any federal agency, and a secret agent is one who works for an intelligence agency....
based out of the FBI Field Office in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. He is a former United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
naval aviator, Naval Intelligence
Office of Naval Intelligence
The Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland...
Officer, and an FAA-certified private pilot
Private Pilot
A private pilot is the holder of a Private Pilot License. They are able to fly to almost anywhere in the world, but are limited in the type of aircraft that they can fly...
.
He is most noted for arresting Zacarias Moussaoui
Zacarias Moussaoui
Zacarias Moussaoui is a French citizen who was convicted of conspiring to kill citizens of the US as part of the September 11 attacks...
on August 16, 2001.
Samit became aware of Moussaoui because of Clancy Prevost, a certified flight instructor at the Pan-Am International Flight Academy in Eagan, Minnesota
Eagan, Minnesota
Eagan is a city south of Saint Paul in Dakota County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River. Eagan and nearby suburbs form the southern portion of Minneapolis-St. Paul, the fifteenth largest...
. Moussaoui had enrolled for training in a 747-400 flight simulator
Flight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and various aspects of the flight environment. This includes the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of their controls and other aircraft systems, and how they react to the external...
at the school on August 13 but his behavior during instruction alarmed Prevost, who did not believe that Moussaoui was just a wealthy individual interested in flying jumbo jets. At Prevost's urging, the flight school contacted the Minneapolis FBI Field Office, and Samit was one of the special agents assigned to investigate Moussaoui.
Moussaoui was arrested by Samit for a visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
violation on August 16 but, because the arrest was effected outside the Residence Inn where Moussaoui had been staying, Samit had no legal right to search the hotel room and its contents without Moussaoui's consent. Moussaoui denied consent, so Samit could only search Moussaoui and his car. Samit found a small knife in Moussaoui's left pocket and another knife in the car.
As a certified private pilot himself, Samit was suspicious, suspecting that Moussaoui was plotting an act of international terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
against the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He therefore sought permission to search Moussaoui's belongings which were known to include several bags and suitcases, and a laptop computer. The first application to obtain a criminal search warrant
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....
was denied by FBI Headquarters on the ground of insufficient evidence. A second application to search was made under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, but this was also denied. The FBI did obtain a search warrant for the belongings, but only after the September 11th attacks. The Minneapolis Field Office had received a report from Moussaoui's home government of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
that linked him to Islamic terrorism, but the FBI Headquarters in Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
did not believe that evidence was sufficient to present to the FISA court for a search warrant. On the question of using foreign government intelligence to validate a request for a domestic search warrant through the FISA court, it is unclear if the Field Office could have appealed administratively to the White House National Security Council. Had the belongings been opened before September 11, knives, flight manuals, and other clues would have been found. Whether these clues would have sparked a national emergency or simply been treated like the August 6 memo entitled Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US is subject to debate.
When FBI Headquarters denied both Samit's application for search powers, he initiated a process to notify the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
(FAA) of his suspicions of possible aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
attempts, but FBI Headquarters censored the memo. Relying on personal contacts, Samit then met with a Minneapolis FAA official, but that official did not pursue Samit's leads.
"I am so desperate to get into his computer, I'll take anything," Samit wrote in an e-mail on September 10, 2001.
In March 2006, during Moussaoui's death sentence trial, Samit testified that he had spent the time between August 16 and September 11 trying to warn U.S. officials about the possibility of terrorist actions involving the hijacking of aircraft. Four such actions occurred in the United States on September 11, 2001. Samit testified under oath that "criminal negligence
Criminal negligence
In the criminal law, criminal negligence is one of the three general classes of mens rea element required to constitute a conventional as opposed to strict liability offense. It is defined as an act that is:-Concept:...
, obstruction
Obstruction of justice
The crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...
and careerism" by superiors at FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC thwarted an opportunity to prevent the September 11th attacks.
Mohamad Elzahabi
Mohamad Elzahabi
Mohamad Kamal Elzahabi is a Lebanese national who worked as a small arms instructor at an Afghan training camp in the 1990s. During the War on Terror, he was arrested based on his past associations,and was convicted of immigration fraud.-Entry to United States:Elzahabi entered the United States in...
was "branded an al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
terrorist" and arrested by Samit on April 16, 2004.