How FBI Botched Zazi Arrest, but Blamed NYPD
The arrest of Najibullah Zazi on September 19, 2009, came more than a week after news broke about his involvement in a suicide bomber plot targeting New York City subways — one of the most advanced terror threats to the U.S. since the 9/11 attacks. But within days, finger pointing between law enforcement agencies working on the case exploded throughout popular media. Most of the accusations came from anonymous FBI officials, who accused the NYPD of botching the case and forcing the bureau to prematurely reel in the terror suspect.
According to the anonymous FBI sources talking to the New York Times and Time (and repeated more recently by the Denver Post), the NYPD botched the case by talking to a Queens-area imam and showing him pictures of the terror suspects that included a photo of Zazi. The FBI then caught the imam phoning Zazi’s father and then Zazi himself to let them know of the terror investigation, which forced the FBI’s hand.
But testimony by Zazi himself in the trial of his accomplice Adis Medunjanin challenges and contradicts the accusations by the anonymous FBI officials. The testimony also raises serious questions about how the FBI conducted the investigation and possibly endangered lives in New York City.
Mitchell Silber, head of the NYPD’s intelligence analysis, noted the contrast between the recent testimony and the version given by the anonymous FBI sources in his editorial published late last Friday in the Wall Street Journal.
On September 9, 2009, Zazi set off in a rental car for New York from Aurora, Colorado, where he had used easily obtained chemicals to make the explosive TATP. The TATP was stored in a white jar wrapped in plastic and placed in Zazi’s suitcase beneath his clothes. The suitcase was located in the trunk of Zazi’s rental car.
FBI agents watched Zazi leave, and began tailing him. The FBI contacted the Colorado State Patrol and asked for assistance in stopping Zazi to ascertain where he was going. He was subsequently stopped for speeding by State Patrol Sgt. Gerald Lamb. Zazi told Lamb that he was going back to New York to run his coffee window in Queens. This stop was the first indication to Zazi that something was amiss.
According to court testimony, the FBI had difficulty keeping up with the suspect since he was driving fast and rarely stopped. A team from the FBI Denver office had to fly ahead to St. Louis to set up for the ongoing tail team. Zazi was later ticketed for speeding in Kentucky.
As Zazi entered New York City on September 10, he was stopped in a prearranged “random” drug checkpoint on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge by the Port Authority of NY and NJ. This occurred at the request of the FBI.
NPR counterterrorism reporter Dina Temple-Raston falsely attributed the stop to the NYPD in an interview segment titled “Facts and Fiction About Alleged Zazi Plot.” Her sources allegedly said the drug search was a “cowboy maneuver” by the NYPD. In fact, the search was done by the Port Authority, not the NYPD. It also took place on the New Jersey side of the bridge, where the NYPD has no jurisdiction. The search was conducted with the full knowledge and authorization of the FBI.
Just goes to show what smooth operators Holder and his minions are. BTW, if you are accosted by the FBI or any other investigative service, the first words out of you mouth should be, “I want a lawyer.”
FBI = Fumbling, Bumbling, Incompetents. The FBI has proven time and again that it is not up to the task; it just can’t play in the big leagues. (The FBI is great against small time crooks, just not big time crooks.) The next president should abolish it and replace it with a modern up-to-date domestic counter intelligence agency. The criminal investigation part should be pealed off and given to a new agency that deals only with crime. Of course, we would hope the two parts would talk to each other and to the CIA (another agency in dire need of revamping).
The real problem at the FBI is it is over managed and underlead.
Cops I know, all hate the FIB. They are arrogant, unhelpful, and then try to steal thge credit for local PD’s work. In this case, they have also proven themselves incompetent. Keystone Feds.
I did not see the part where the imam was arrested for being a co-conspirator or obstructing justice.
“Some criticism of this whole episode could be directed at the NYPD for trusting imam Afzali”
Ya think?
And this guy aint in jail too?
WTF?
the only “outreach” we have with Muslims is their “reach” into how our systems work….so they can then “reach out” and warn the co-conspirators
The FBI has been on the wrong side before. e.g. Waco, Ruby Ridge, etc. 9/11 might never have happened if the FBI had been on the ball and investigated the hints they got from the flight schools.
This is sad on two counts. First, it’s sad to see how poorly the FBI can tail a guy without him noticing it. Not very professional. Second, the FBI need to play nice with local authorities. The animosity between local authorities (in this case the New York Police Department) and the FBI goes back decades. I’ve known a lot of NYPD officers and they don’t have very many nice things to say about the FBI. This really has to stop, because one day the lack of trust and communication between these two law enforcement agencies is going to cause somebody to screw up, and that could result in the deaths of hundreds, maybe even thousands, of innocent people. We lost 3,000 Americans on 9/11 because the FBI and the CIA could not share information and work together. Let’s NOT lose another 3,000 people just because the FBI and a local police authority, like the NYPD, can’t act like adults and work together.
We’ve spent several trillion dollars, and sacrificed nearly 6,000 precious American patriots since 9/11, yet it’s pretty clear that if it weren’t for blind dumb luck, the feckless meaures by our DHS would prevent about zero terrorist attacks. At least it’s been a good laugh for the world’s Muslims – they must marvel at the power of Allah who makes us frisk little boys and old ladies so as not to activate their bottomless hatred fury.
This is more proof that the letters “FBI” stand for “Fumbling Bunch of Idiots.” Whose brilliant idea was it to give them arrest authroity?
Look the FBI should probably be scrapped and the people put up for bid. I suspect that most would not find employment with any successor organization.
The FBI never shares, then blames others for failure. I say again, tear down the building and sow the land with salt, lest the FBI spirit rise again calling for our death.
When is the last time the FBI actually solved a big case with any sort of honest skill and good investigative work? When is the last time they were involved in a shooting that wasn’t a complete soup sandwich?
Why is the Hoover building still named after that black mailing, domestic spying, mafia run perverted dictator?
What an embarrassment that agency is.
I know from very good hearsay that the FBI is competent and relentless. I would not underestimate it. The problem is Art is Long and Life is Short. Police work is tedious and difficult. Locals can be incompetent and corrupt. So far the FBI has not been corrupt (though it could be if Holder gets his hands on it)..