[iwar] [fc:Lack.of.E-Mail.Trail.Irks.Moussaoui.Judge]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2002-08-29 07:24:49
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From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net>
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Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2002 07:24:49 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [iwar] [fc:Lack.of.E-Mail.Trail.Irks.Moussaoui.Judge]
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Lack of E-Mail Trail Irks Moussaoui Judge
FBI Ordered to Hand Over Internet File

By Tom Jackman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 29, 2002; Page A14

The judge presiding over the case of alleged Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias
Moussaoui ordered the FBI yesterday to explain why there are no records of
Moussaoui's Internet activities before his arrest, expressing near disbelief
that investigators have not recovered Moussaoui's e-mail trail.

In sealed motions filed this month, Moussaoui, acting as his own attorney,
demanded copies of e-mail he sent from various locations before his arrest.
He was arrested in August 2001 on immigration charges after arousing
suspicion while taking flight lessons in Minnesota. He was in jail Sept. 11,
but he has been charged as a conspirator in the terrorist hijackings.

Moussaoui asked that the government hand over the file on his e-mail address
at Hotmail.com, a widely used free service owned by Microsoft. Prosecutors
responded the next day that they had sought Moussaoui's Hotmail records for
the address "xdesertman" but were told that Hotmail did not have any
records.

In another sealed motion, Moussaoui expressed doubt that the government had
no data for him to examine. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Leonie M.
Brinkema joined in that skepticism.

"Given the intense law enforcement attention focused on Mr. Moussaoui after
September 11, 2001," Brinkema wrote, "we do not understand why an immediate
and thorough investigation into the defendant's e-mail and computer
activities did not lead investigators to the <a href="mailto:xdesertman@hotmail.com?Subject=Re:%20(ai)%20Lack%20of%20E-Mail%20Trail%20Irks%20Moussaoui%20Judge;%20FBI%20Ordered%20to%20Hand	Over%20Internet%20File%2526In-Reply-To=%2526lt;B99396C8.3C9BE%25rfo
rno@infowarrior.org">xdesertman@hotmail.com</a> 
account,
if it existed."

The judge went further. In addition to granting Moussaoui's request for a
forensic computer expert to seek the information independently, Brinkema
ordered prosecutors to supply an affidavit from the FBI "explaining how and
when, if at all, the FBI examined the contents of the defendant's
computers," as well as other computers Moussaoui is seeking.

"The affidavit must indicate why investigators were unable to retrieve any
information from MSN Hotmail and/or any other computers or accounts
searched," Brinkema said, "and must make clear whether any efforts were made
to obtain forensic expert services of any other government agencies such as
the CIA or NSA to assist in retrieving the information."

Spokesmen for the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office in Alexandria declined
to comment on the order yesterday.

Moussaoui's laptop computer has been the focus of national controversy. When
Moussaoui was arrested, FBI agents in Minnesota sought a search warrant to
examine the laptop, but officials in Washington denied the request. When the
FBI received intelligence information from France, where Moussaoui lived,
they again sought permission for a warrant, and again were rebuffed,
according to Special Agent Colleen Rowley of the Minneapolis field office.

The government said in court papers that agents tried to access Moussaoui's
e-mail accounts but could not. A certificate filed by a Hotmail official
said the company had no records of Moussaoui's <a href="mailto:xdesertman@hotmail.com?Subject=Re:%20(ai)%20Lack%20of%20E-Mail%20Trail%20Irks%20Moussaoui%20Judge;%20FBI%20Ordered%20to%20Hand	Over%20Internet%20File%2526In-Reply-To=%2526lt;B99396C8.3C9BE%25r
forno@infowarrior.org">xdesertman@hotmail.com</a>
account. Hotmail's system is set up to delete all information in an account
that has been dormant for 30 days, and the user name is put up for reuse
after 90 days of inactivity. The certificate does not say if investigators
asked for the information within 30 or 90 days of the last time Moussaoui
used the account.

Moussaoui also apparently sought e-mail he sent from a Kinko's store in
Eagan, Minn., from an acquaintance's computer, and from the University of
Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. Moussaoui took flight lessons in Norman before
moving to Minnesota.

In a separate move, Brinkema also ordered the federal marshal's service, the
courts and the Alexandria jail to arrange for Moussaoui to have access to a
secure Web site with a private network connection so that he may view the
evidence and indexes compiled by standby lawyers assigned to the case.

The order came in response to Moussaoui's complaints that the evidence
provided by prosecutors is vast and unmanageable. The judge ordered that
Moussaoui not have access to the computer until Brinkema is assured in
writing that it is not connected to the Internet and does not provide
Moussaoui access to anyone else.

© 2002 The Washington Post Company

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