Long’s role was to authenticate the text messages sent from Khalid Mobassar’s cell phone. To get there, he would have to explain the ins and outs of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Patriot Act, as well as the reasons that the Department of Justice had been tapping Khalid Mobassar’s phone. Since Agent Long had a law school education, Taj Deegan turned his testimony into a tutorial on the legal basis for national-security wiretaps.
“So long as the primary purpose of the eavesdropping is to obtain foreign intelligence information, the special court will allow the wiretaps to take place,” Long explained. He discussed the government’s concern that mosques like the Islamic Learning Center were sending funds to Hezbollah to help in the rebuilding of Beirut following the 2006 war. “Hezbollah is a known terrorist organization with a history of attacking innocent civilians and American soldiers. It is one of the two or three most dangerous terrorist organizations in the world,” he testified.
He talked about the specific authorizations that were obtained under FISA and the Patriot Act to record phone conversations and intercept text messages and e-mails sent and received by leaders of the Islamic Learning Center.
“Did those leaders include Mr. Khalid Mobassar and Mr. Fatih Mahdi?” Deegan asked.
“Yes, ma’am, those men were included.”
Shannon stood and addressed the court. “At this time we would renew our earlier objection to the admissibility of any information obtained under the Patriot Act on the grounds that the act is unconstitutional as applied to our client. The Patriot Act does not require probable cause-”
“I know the argument,” Judge Rosenthal said, cutting her off and motioning her back to her seat. “And I’m overruling the objection for the reasons previously stated in my opinion.”
“After the murders of Ja’dah Mahdi and Martin Burns, did the local authorities request access to the phone records and e-mails of the imams at the Islamic Learning Center as well as Mr. Mahdi?” Taj Deegan asked.
“That’s correct. They did.”
“And were you part of the team that searched those records?”
“Yes, ma’am. I supervised that team.”
“Did you find any text messages, e-mails, or phone conversations related to the murders of Ja’dah Mahdi and Martin Burns?”
Long testified about running searches through the digitized programs that recorded conversations and text messages. He explained the various search terms and parameters the authorities used to unearth the messages related to the murder investigation.
Once the technicalities had been covered, Taj Deegan made a Hollywood production of introducing the text messages into evidence and having them read to the jury. She had reproduced them on poster-board blowups that she placed on easels so the jury could read along. After she milked the testimony for all it was worth, she asked the witness whether he personally ran searches on text messages, e-mails, and phone conversations by Fatih Mahdi.
“Yes, ma’am, I did.”
“And did those searches reveal any text messages, e-mails, or phone conversations that would in any way implicate Mr. Mahdi in the murder of his wife or Martin Burns?”
This time, Special Agent Long hesitated for a second or two so that he could have the jury’s undivided attention.
“No, ma’am, they did not.”
“Your witness,” Deegan said.
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Shannon Reese bounced up even before Deegan had settled into her chair. “Just to be clear, what you’ve shown us are text messages and not phone calls; is that correct?” Shannon asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“So you don’t technically know who sent them; you just know that they came from Khalid Mobassar’s phone?”
“That’s also correct, ma’am.”
“Have you run the phone for fingerprints?”
“No, ma’am. The phone turned up missing.”
Shannon raised her eyebrows, and Special Agent Long apparently thought he ought to elaborate. “We have photographs showing the phone in the possession of Mr. Mobassar on dates before and after the text messages in question. We also have recorded phone conversations from Mr. Mobassar both before and after the text messages, some from the very day the text messages were sent. The phone did not turn up missing until several weeks later.”
Shannon gave the officer a quizzical look. “I’m sorry. Did I ask you when the phone turned up missing?”
Special Agent Long gave her a glittering smile, dimples in full display, and Alex thought the guy could have had a career in Hollywood. “No, ma’am. But I thought it might be helpful information to the jury.”
A few of the jurors smiled along with the witness, but Shannon didn’t seem amused. “Maybe you could let the lawyers be the judge of that and just answer the questions.”
“Objection!”
“Sustained.”
Shannon walked back to her counsel table and picked up a document. She asked if she could approach the witness. Once granted permission, she handed a copy of the document to Taj Deegan and the original to Special Agent Long. She turned so that she was facing more toward the jury than the witness.
“Can you tell me what that document is?”
Long looked confused. “It appears to be a copy of the Wikipedia page about the Patriot Act.”
Deegan stood, her tone indicating confusion. “Objection, Your Honor. There’s no relevance to a Wikipedia page on the Patriot Act. Even if there was, there’s been no foundation laid as to its accuracy.”
Judge Rosenthal leaned forward on his elbows and looked down at Shannon. “Are you serious? You want to introduce a Wikipedia page as an exhibit?”
“Does that mean that the objection is sustained?” Shannon asked innocently.
“Absolutely.”
Shannon bit her lip and acted like she was thinking for a moment. “Then let me ask it this way-are the provisions of the Patriot Act a secret?”
Long looked more confused than before. “Of course not. They’re part of the United States code.”
“And anybody who can read the U.S. code-or even Wikipedia for that matter-would know that the federal government can tap the phones and intercept e-mails and text messages of people who have even loose connections with suspected terrorist organizations. Is that right?”
“Objection; calls for speculation.”
“Sustained.”
Who cares? Alex thought. Point made.
“Let’s talk about the cell phone that received the text messages,” Shannon said. “That phone was registered under a fictitious name. Is that correct?”
Long didn’t seem like the epitome of confidence anymore. “That was my testimony.”
“Is it difficult to register a cell phone under a fictitious name?”
Again Taj Deegan objected, and Rosenthal sustained the objection.
“Well, it’s safe to say that at least somebody associated with the killings of Ja’dah Mahdi and Martin Burns knew how to register a cell phone to a fictitious name; is that correct?” Shannon asked.
Taj Deegan was on her feet again but apparently could think of no reasonable objection. She sat down.
“Yeah. I think that’s clear.”
“Can you think of any reason why my client, knowing that his mosque was providing funds to humanitarian organizations helping to rebuild Beirut, and knowing that his phone was probably tapped under the Patriot Act-”
“Objection!” Taj Deegan yelled, cutting Shannon off midsentence.
“Sustained,” Rosenthal said quickly.
Shannon stood there for a moment, as if she couldn’t figure out what to do next. “May I have a minute?” she asked the judge.
“One minute.”
She walked to her counsel table and huddled up with Alex. “Do you think the jury got the gist of what I was implying?” she whispered.