CNN reports:
Attorneys for Noor Salman called for a dismissal of charges or a mistrial, saying that new details from prosecutors reveal that Pulse gunman Omar Mateen’s father was an FBI informant who is currently under a criminal investigation.
According to a motion filed by the defense, Assistant US Attorney Sara Sweeney sent an email on Saturday to the defense — in the middle of Salman’s trial — that stated Seddique Mateen was a confidential FBI source from 2005 through June 2016.
The email also stated 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.
Seddique Mateen was a FBI confidential human source at various points in time between January 2005 and June 2016.
Salman is accused of obstruction of justice, as FBI agents say she lied to them in the hours after the Pulse nightclub attack, and charges of aiding and abetting Mateen’s allegiance to ISIS.
I have had some problems with the prosecution of this woman from the start. What Omar Mateen did is a heinous crime. However I believe the prosecution of this woman is a result of her use of spousal privilege exceptions. From reading the reports in the news and press statements from the Federal Prosecutor, they are not sure or can they directly connect her to direct knowledge of her husbands eventual actions or to ISIS. Given the circumstances in the case. The way thew government under the umbrella of “Home Land” Security exceptions. Bend to the point of breaking the Bill of Rights and Miranda.I might unintentionally lie in my own defense too! The government is saying in this prosecution that if you think your husband or wife is or isn’t a terrorist or may or may not commit a crime. You,the husband or wife have a responsibility to report it to Law Enforcement. The charge of Obstruction is further demonstration of punitive prosecution because the woman asserted her rights. She is also a woman so there is a cultural aspect that has also been the cause of her prosecution.