AS NEW JERSEY Gov. Chris Christie continues his ascent in the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, a terrorism case from his past as a federal prosecutor may be coming back to haunt him. Dritan, Eljvir, and Shain Duka, three brothers convicted in 2008 of a sensational plot to attack the Fort Dix military base, are appealing their life sentences on the grounds of ineffective counsel at trial, seeking to have their convictions thrown out.
In an appeals hearing yesterday at the Mitchell H. Cohen courthouse in Camden, New Jersey, each of the Duka brothers testified separately that during their original trial their lawyers had prevented them from testifying, thus violating their constitutional right to due process. The trial lawyers contested those claims, saying that while they had advised the brothers against testifying, they had not prevented them from doing so. The appeal is seeking to obtain a writ of habeas corpus that would set aside their convictions and grant them a new trial.
The Fort Dix case has long been viewed by legal and human rights organizations as a potentially misguided or malicious prosecution. A detailed investigation published last year by The Intercept suggested that the plot against the military base had actually been fomented by highly paid government informants. Mahmoud Omar, one of the informants, told The Intercept that he believed the Dukas were innocent, describing them as “good people.”
Christie was the United States attorney for New Jersey at the time of the investigation, and has long trumpeted the dismantling of the “Fort Dix Five” plot as one of the signature achievements of his public service career. In the face of increasing scrutiny, however, Christie, in an interview with Fox News last week, defended the prosecution, claiming the investigation was not a “sting” and that the government began surveilling the brothers and other suspects after they started to formulate plans for an attack. These claims by Christie starkly contradict the chronology of events in the case, which point to no such plot existing when the government began surveilling the brothers and several of their acquaintances.
A raft of recent polling data has shown Christie rising in the GOP nomination race, making gains on frontrunners Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz. A consistent theme in his campaign has been the touting of his national security credentials, including his dismantling of the plot against Fort Dix. In the most recent Republican debate, he brought up the case by name, describing it as a signature moment in a career spent fighting homegrown terrorism.
But as a closer examination of the Fort Dix case shows, the plot that Christie has long bragged about is deeply troubling and raises the possibility that he built his political career in part on entrapping and sending to prison a group of innocent young men. The next hearing in their appeal is scheduled for early February.
Top photo: U.S. Attorney Chris Christie speaks with the media outside Camden Federal Courthouse after the arrest of the Fort Dix Five, May 8, 2007, in Camden, New Jersey.
a presidential candidate that’s lied through his teeth oh geez big surprise there. Doesn’t he have another scandal that’s been following him too?
I feel like they were misusing the lawyer in the first place. A defense attorney has one and only one job: to negotiate as good a deal with the prosecution as he can. Some of these prosecutors have a 98% conviction rate — so why would you believe a word any defense lawyer says about how to get acquitted? If you’re going to sacrifice the rest of your life to have a day in court, something far more punishable than murder, then at the very least you should go pro se, demand a chance to tell your side of the story volubly and repeatedly, so you can have the moral satisfaction of knowing that the jury knows you’re innocent before they come back and send you to jail for the rest of your life so they don’t miss any more hours at work.
Too bad that they weren’t gunned down like the dirty mangy rabid murderous Muslim terrorist thugs that they are.
Oh well. There’s always next time.
Dad takes his kid to New York in 2025. He points to the place where the twin towers were located and explains that they were destroyed by Muslims. His son asks, “What’s a Muslim.”
Mr. Hussain
“…….Dritan, Eljvir, and Shain Duka, three brothers convicted in 2008 of a sensational plot to attack the Fort Dix military base, are appealing their life sentences on the grounds of ineffective counsel at trial, seeking to have their convictions thrown out……”
Sting operations are perfectly legitimate. Law enforcement cannot act even knowing that someone is radicalized and potentially dangerous as in the case of the recent Paris slaughter. According to Ryan Gallagher:
“…….At least three of the men involved in planning and carrying out the French attacks were known to European authorities and at least four were listed in a U.S. terrorism watchlist database……”
Sting operations potentially head off terrorist attacks. Yes, even hapless Muslims can be quite dangerous. If the Duka brothers get off on a technicality, that makes them no less guilty or potentially dangerous. According to Wikipedia:
“……..According to news reports, five of the men arrested intended to attack the Fort Dix military base and kill as many servicemen as they could.[2] The sixth man arrested, Abdullahu, was charged with aiding and abetting the possession of firearms by the Duka brothers.[14] In a conversation that was recorded by the informant, Shnewer told the FBI informant “My intent is to hit a heavy concentration of soldiers […] You hit four, five or six Humvees and light the whole place [up][12]……..The men tried unsuccessfully to purchase weapons from an FBI informant, including AK-47s, M16s, semi-automatic Sig Sauer 9 mm handguns, Smith & Wesson 9 mm, C-4 plastic explosive,[not in citation given] and nitroglycerin.[not in citation given] The informant stated that the weapons were to come from an underground military dealer from Baltimore, Maryland……..One of the men in the Fort Dix plot was recorded on a surveillance tape commenting on a lecture by Anwar al-Awlaki, a prominent Muslim cleric of American and Yemeni citizenship, who went into hiding in Yemen after becoming radicalized in prison there during 2006-2007…………On that tape, Shain Duka exclaimed “You gotta hear this lecture … it’s the truth, no holds barred, straight how it is!” [26]…..”
These are not guys you want running around in the streets.
Hey Craig, if you do not yet work for the Christie campaign, you really should apply! Great stuff!
End sarcasm.
America used to be better than this. To our shame, these “sting” operations using con artists to dupe weak-minded guys who still live at home with their parents, have nothing to do with law enforcement.
“……To our shame, these “sting” operations using con artists to dupe weak-minded guys who still live at home with their parents….”
Great – the “hapless” Muslim defense.
First, note what a ‘blockquote’ looks like. Why do you continue to be too ignorant or too fucking stupid to learn how to do that.
Next, they aren’t looking to “get off on a technicality.” They are looking to have their convictions overturned because they are innocent of the charges that they were convicted of. This has all been documented for the less dense to read and to understand.
Hello Kit (good to see you have retained your Christmas spirit)
“……Next, they aren’t looking to “get off on a technicality.” They are looking to have their convictions overturned because they are innocent of the charges that they were convicted of……”
People accused of a crime are guaranteed the right to testify on their behalf:
“……in United States v. Teague, 91 held that a defendant’s right to testify is fundamental and personal to the defendant himself, such that it may not be effectively waived by counsel against the defendant’s will, and that the defendant in Teague was prejudiced by the denial of this right to testify, thus requiring a new trial.92…..”
The chances are fairly good that the court appointed lawyer talked the defendants out of testifying – for their own good. So they are appealing the conviction on that premise (even though based on what their lawyer has said, that was probably the right decision). Presumably, they will get a new trial if they win the appeal.
None of that guarantees they are innocent of the charges. If I recall, your track record is not particularly good at predicting guilt and innocence. If the Duva Brothers are innocent, then I hope they get off. No one should go to jail if they are innocent. However, I would not be so quick to jump on the bandwagon because “Democracy Now” and the Intercept say so. I still recall Devereaux’s “conviction” of Officer Wilson.
no they are not claiming innocence, they are claiming ineffective counsel due to being prevented from testifying. The only problem is the facts contradict their claim. The lawyers advised them (correctly) not to testify. This appeal will go nowhere.
I know what the fuck they are claiming. “Ineffective council” is the reason for the appeal. They are claiming to be innocent. That’s what they are “claiming.”
“First, note what a ‘blockquote’ looks like. Why do you continue to be too ignorant or too fucking stupid to learn how to do that.”
Please enlighten those of us who don’t know. I can’t find how to do this documented anywhere. It doesn’t appear to be markdown, or email style blockquotes.
[blockquote]text[/blockquote]
Just like that, except use instead of [ and ]
Wow. I would never have thought they would have allowed actual html. Thanks!
oh cool, as long as we get people we think are probably at some point dangerous maybe, it’s not a big deal for rights to be violated. First they came for the Muslims and I said nothing.
For what it’s worth, here’s a summary of the case from Democracy Now. I have a feeling the source may poison the well for those who seem uninterested in looking further into the case and are inclined to trust the FBI’s good intentions. Regardless, here it is:
“[Social justice activists] also question the merits of the case, which involved two government informants who, over 18 months, befriended the Dukas and attempted, unsuccessfully, to involve the brothers in a plot to attack the Fort Dix Army base. Only by ensnaring another friend of the Dukas to agree to participate in an attack was the government able to make a case of conspiracy against the Duka brothers, though none of them agreed to participate in or knew anything about the scheme.”
I get the feeling those of you dismissing the merits of reviewing this case didn’t take the time to even review the basics of it. Or to be fair, you simply accepted a whiewashed and simplified version from the media. However, if this is even partly true, there seem to be more unresolved questions than the uncritical would think.
That’s reasonable. If they are innocent, then I support releasing the three brothers. The government would need to compensate them. Lets see how everything shakes out with the appeal.
Thanks.
So that is the first you’ve heard of what Darren wrote? I doubt it. But if so, how do you explain commenting in total ignorance of the facts about what you were commenting on? Never mind. I am fully aware that commenting fact free is you MO.
“……So that is the first you’ve heard of what Darren wrote? I doubt it. But if so, how do you explain commenting in total ignorance of the facts about what you were commenting on?…..”
Does Officer Wilson ring a bell, Kitt? I’m not sure you can really state that with a straight face.
Thanks as always Kitt.
and these ‘servicemen’ you refer to…..what is their whole purpose in being?
Though certainly no gadfly on the subject, I’m having trouble recalling the last big terrorist plot exposed by the FBI that was NOT a put-up job, wherein a paid informant (always a criminal, looking for a payday and/or sentence reduction) and his FBI handler(s) surf for mentally deficient boobs through which they can engineer a “plot,” thus achieving a big PR boost when the crime is “foiled” at the last minute.
Seriously, can anyone informed on the subject remind me of when the last terrorist plot exposed by the FBI was not one of their own engineering?
a federal agency spawned from the loins of a lickspittle, closeted homosexual who accused others of homosexuality as a blackmail tactic. Hoover was a genuine freak and his spawn (the fbi) should be put down (terminated) as a humane responce to the gross disfigurement caused by Hoovers influence on it.
A majority of amerkins would agree with this appraisal.
Careerism for politicians can lead to all sorts of crime.
Hope the appeal is accepted. The case seemed to be very flimsy at best.
Chris Christie’s diseased gut affects his psychological state in ways only 22nd century scientists will one day comprehend. If a man can’t control his bad habits, don’t turn to him for leadership.
If they had revived his role as Jabba the Hut on the new Star Wars film he’d be sitting pretty and richer than Trump.
Screw you. Fat people are the majority and NOBODY is going to push us around. I suppose the oppression of any group begins when they let themselves be convinced they’re inferior, but it’s ridiculous to let it happen when you’re not even in the minority.
I wish someone would ask that fat ass about allowing DuPont off the hook for poisoning the people of New Jersey for decades. His own Health Committee said it would take eight billion to clean up. What does Christy do? let the pot off for 250 million, get rid of the committee and build a new one that included 3 ex-DuPont scientist.
Bravo to TI for the Fort Hood five investigation. I thought that was a great piece of reporting
Most people have questionable pasts, but they get along.