T5 B61 VIP Fdr- 2-15-02 Wainstein Memo Re Final Report on Interview Project 225

8/14/2019 T5 B61 VIP Fdr- 2-15-02 Wainstein Memo Re Final Report on Interview Project 225

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V J S . Department of Ju sticeO f f i c e of Legislative A f f a i r s

O f f ic e of < h * Awtetaat Attorney O ta tml .

FAX TRANSMISSIONPATE: 5/vWATTENTION:FAXNO;PHONE NO:FROM: Faitfa Byrton. SpecialCounselPHONE NO; 202/514-1653FAX NO: 202/305-2643

PAGES: ( lncluding Coyer Sheet)COMMENTS:


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f/04/04 TUB 11:41 FAX n3MflY-04-2004 12=11 P-03Under theoversight andoperational leadership of the United States Attorneys' Offices, law

enforcement officers throughout the country located the individuals on the list, thoroughlyinterviewed them about their knowledge of foreign terrorists, and submitted the results of theinterviews for entry into a database dedicated to this project. Now that the project is substantiallycompleted, we can assess whether h achieved its objectives. This report wiill provide thatassessment.

H. Implementation of the Interview ProjectThe following is a short description of the process bywhich this project wasdesigned and

implementeda. Creation of the List of Individuals to be InterviewedThe critical first step in the Interview Project was to determine who should beinterviewed.

This taskwasassigned to Ihemembersof theForeign TerroristTracking Task Force (FTTTF). TheFTTTF, which was established by the Attorney General on October 31, 2001, is charged withpreventing terrorist attacksbytracking hemovementsof foreign terrorists andprevet ting hemfromentering the country. In order to accomplish its mission, the FiTfr has access to intelligenceinformation and databases maintained byvarious branches of the government

Members of the FTTTF started byanalyzing investigative information readingknownforeign terrorists, including the perpetrators of the PENTTBOM attack, and identifying certaincommonalities among them. Theyfound that the foreign terrorists were primarily (1)malesbetweenthe ages of 18 and 33; (2) whoentered the United States after January 1 ,2000 on a Bon-unmigrantvisa; and (3) who held passports from or resided in countries which have an AI Qaeda terroristpresence. They then adopted those commonalities as theparametersbywhich theycompiled the listof interview subjects, on the theory that the most likely persons to know about such terrorists areother demographically similarpersons who might, wittingly orunwittingly,be in the same circles,

The FTTTF used those parameters to search the Immigration and Naturalization Service(INS)database that contains all arrival records for persons who filled out an INS1-94, which is aform that must becompleted by all non-immigrantaliens upon their entry into the United States.That search resulted hi a listofpersons who fit the selected criteria. That list was tlten run againstFBIsystems, sothatanyperson already under investigation by the FBI was eliminated from the listUsing public source databases to obtain any last known address information for the aliens, thefrTilV then selected 5,147 aliens from the list whowere most likely to be located in the UnitedStates, focusing particularly on thosewho had entered the country more than once since January1 ,2000. The alienswere separated bystateofmost currentaddress,and the listswere turned over tothe Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) for distribution to the United StatesAttorneys* Offices.


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b. Announcement of the ProjectIn hisNovember 9,2001,memorandum to the United States Attorneys and the ATTFs, theAttorney General announced the project, summarized its objectives, and established a one-month

deadline for its substantial completion. Citing September 11th and the clear indications that furtherattack was likely, the Attorney General explained that "it is absolutely imperative that we in lawenforcement do everything in our power to prevent any such attack. These interviews are a criticalstep in that effort, asthey will provide information and leads that will help us identify :and apprehendterrorists in our midst before they have an opportunity to cause more pain and suffering to theAmericanpeople." TheAttorney General then explained that the aliens on the list had been selectedfor interviews simply because they fit the criteria of persons who might have knowledge of foreign-based terrorists, and not because they were suspected of any criminal activity. Accordingly, hedirected that the interviews be conducted on a consensual basis and that the interviev/ees betreatednot as criminal suspects, but rather "as potential witnesses and sources of information."

In conjunction with the Attorney General's memorandum, the Deputy Attorney Generalissued guidelines for the interviews that addressed the manner of conducting the Interviews, thetopics to cover duringthe interviews, and the implementation procedures and deadlines. EOUSAthen distributed to each United States Attorney'sOffice the list ofaliens to be located in that districtas well asa list oftopic questions thatwastobeprovided to the interviewing investigators for theiruse in the interviews. The list of questions corresponded with the format of a database, known asthe ATTF Computerized Reporting System, in which United States Attorneys' Offices would inputthe results of the interviews and thereby preserve the information for future use by anti-terrorisminvestigators.

The day following distribution of these documents, EOUSA held a conference call with allUnited States Attorneys, and many of the United States Attorneys and their Anti-TerrorismCoordinators had further discussions about the project at EOUSA's National Anti-TerrorismConference the followingweek. Withindays of their return from the conference, the: Coordinatorsro|ecttQ-tfaje-ATT-F membms,copies of the memoranda and the interview questions.

The United States Attorneys, in coordination with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)Special Agents in Charge, were responsible for assigning the interviews to task force: members. Insome districts, there were enough FBIagentsandpolice officers on the Joint Terrorism Task Force(JTTF) to handle the assignments. While it would have been ideal to have such specializedinvestigators assigned throughout the country, that option was unavailable in most districtsbecauseof the number of interviewees and the other investigative demands on those anti-terrorisminvestigators. Consequently, we decided to call upon our state, local and federal partners on theATTFs, an extraordinary collection of investigators who, though largelylackingspeci:5c experiencein terrorism investigations, have ample experience in criminal investigation that easily transfers tothis new arena. Like military reservists in a war situation, these investigators serv


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disruption to other aspects of th e federal governm ent's an ti-terrorism effort1The United States Attorneys were also responsible for determining bow best to canyout the

interviews in their respective districts. In most districts, investigators simply visited theinterviewee's residence or called the interviewee and requested an interview. In tw o districts witha large number of interviewees - th e Northern District of Illinois and the Eastern District ofMichigan theUnited States Attorney opted to solicit interviews by sending each of the individualson the list a form letter that explained the Interview Project and requested that the incipient call toschedule an interview. If no call w as received from th e recipient, investigators followed up with apersonal visit to request an interview.

c. Outreach Efforts to the Affected Cpmmunjt jpgMedia reports following the announcement of this Project suggested that seme immigrantcommunities perceived this project as an effort to"harass"or "round up" persons who fit a certain

ethnic and/or religionsprofile. In order to allaytheseconcerns and to solicit their cooperation, theAttorney General and other Department officials held meetings with members of die affectedcommunities. For example, onNovember27, 2001, theAttorney General, the Assistant AttorneyGeneral for the Civil Rights Division, and the Director of the Department's Office of Inter-Governmental Affairs attendedan Iftaar dinner(a traditional evening dinner at which Muslims breaktheir fast during Ramadan) at the Islamic Centero f Washington. After dinner, th e Attorney Generaladdressed questions from those in attendance concerning the government's investigative efforts.Then, o n December 2, 2001, th e Attorney General and the Assistant Attorney General for theCriminal Division met in Detroit with representatives of the Arab-American community there todiscuss the investigation and the Interview Project

These outreach efforts were duplicated on a local level by United States Attorneys, FBISpecial Agents in Charge, and other A T T F members. In the Central District of California, forexample, the United States Attorney and the FBI Assistant Director in Charge held a meeting on Becember4,-2001 withirieml^*Me^s1ffl^audicncc that the Department (1) was not targeting Muslims, (2) was intent on {Conducting theinterviewsin aconsensual,non-confrontational manner,and (3) was interested in hejtring about anycomplaints the Muslim community m i g h t have about the manner in -which interviews were

'The overwhelming majority of state and local law enforcement agenciesenthusiasticallyparticipated in the InterviewProject However, in Oregon,despite the ruling of the OregonAttorney Generalmat nothing in Oregon law prevented investigators from participating in theinterviews, the Portland Police Bureaunonetheless refused to participate. There were a h a ndf u lof other jurisdictions where certain police department! declined to participate, citing concernsthat the project amounted to racial profiling or that aspects of the Project were incoasistent withlocal laws or regulations that restrict their participation in the enforcement of fedend immigrationlaws. In those jurisdictions, the other members of the ATTF simply made up for the absence ofthose departments by performing a greater share o f interviews.


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conducted. In the Eastern District of Michigan, the Acting United States Attorney participated infive meetings with police chiefs and Middle Eastern community leaders to discuss their concernsabout the Interview Project. Shortly after his confirmation on December 7*. the newly swom-inUnited States Attorney followed up with a meeting with Arab-American and Muslim communityleaders and representatives of the offices ofSenators Stabenow and Levin. In the District ofOregon,two Assistant United States Attorneys met with representatives of the Muslim Community inEugene, Oregon, took some suggestions from the community as to how best to approach interviewsubjects in a non-threatening manner, and then passed those suggestions along to the officersconducting the interviews.

These outreach efforts were quitesuccessful in convincing many community leadersthat lawenforcement was acting in good faith and in soliciting the active cooperation of the Muslimcommunities in the government's war on terrorism. A good illustration of that success is theexperience of the Chief of die Criminal Division of the United States Attorney's Office for theEastern District of Michigan whenheandpolice officials attendedameetinghiDecember with fourImams andother leaders of the localMiddle Eastern community. At the end of the meeting, nearlyall of the community leaders presented himwith their business cards, and told him to call if heneeded interpreters to assist in the interviews and the war on terrorism.

m. Results of vie InterviewsThe Interview Project produced results in a number of ways. Besides achieving its primary

purposes of netting intelligence and sowing disruption, the project had the effect of significantlystrengthening our relationships withthe country's Muslim communities and with our state andlocallaw enforcement partners-relationships that will becritical to the success ofour long-term anti-terrorismeffort. This section will summarizethe numerical results of the Interview Project and thendescribe these other benefits.

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a. Number of Interviews ConductedBased on our review of the Computerized Reporting System and the weekly reports

submitted by the Anti-Terrorism Coordinators, itappears that investigators locatedand interviewedapproximately half of those on the list The original list, minus any double entries;, totaled 4793individuals. Ofthatnumber,681 weredetermined, after investigationandextensive efforts to locatethem, to have left the United States. Another 1097 individuals could not be verified as having leftthe country, but simply could not be located. Approximately 785 individuals could not be locatedwithin the assigned district, but were determined to have moved to another district. In thoseinstances, the individual's name and any information derived from the investigation in the originaldistrict was referred to the ATTF in the.district to which he had moved. Those "referral" casesrequired closecoordination between theATTFs,and they account for the interviews that have takenthe longest to complete.

Todate, investigatorshave conducted approximately2261 interviews, a number which will


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probably increase slightly as A T T F s finish the final interviews, many of which arc referrals fromother districts or college students who left school for winter break an d only recently returned. Onlya small percentage of the persons interviewed declined to answer questions. In the JBastem Districtof Michigan, for example, only eight out of 313 individuals refused to be interviewed In Oregon,it was only one out of 69, and in Minnesota, it was one out of 59. T hose num bers an: representativeof the experience of districts around the country.2

b. Terrorism-Related LeadsT he first goal of these interviews was to obtain inform ation about terrorist activities. Whilemost of the interviewees had no information relating to specific terrorists or terrorist acts, someprovided leads that may assist in the investigation of P E N T T B O M or other potential terroristactivities. T he following are examples of such leads:

Sal |aninterviewee provided investigators with the name acid address of an f - r a o n l I with on e of the nineteen S etemb er ll tt l hijackers.In the! I an urtemewee indicated that he recalled seeingone of the September 11* hijackers ati IIntfae[\. interviewee acknowl

' I (an organizationterrorist groups. T he individual reported thai

One interviewee id liescribed * man u y h ' ? tfllfad of gathering like-minded friends and[going to| IIn the] I investigators

2Very few arrests w ere made in connection with the interviews. Reports from the UnitedStates Attorneys indicate that fewer than twenty interview subjects were taken into custody.Most of those arrested were charged with im migration violations, an d three individuals werearrested on crimina l charges. No ne of the criminal cases appears to have an y connection toterrorism. There arc a small number of individuals who remain under investigation by the INSfor immigration violations, but have not yet been charged.


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Atleasttwo other interviewees identified acquaintanceswho had taken flight trainingin Florida.In addition, the interviews yielded reports of criminal activity of the sort that ha s been linkedto foreign terrorists in thepast.

In I x\interview produced a lead relating to a person manufacturingfraudulent! [cards.One interviewee in t f a e j \Jprovidedinformation regardingtaiat offered to produce ralsA I passports.I nl \n interviewee identified a I I raale w ho hadpreviouslypossessedl land is allegedly wanted fod IintAnother individual inthe| [ p r o v i d e d information aboutat I w ho produces] I f or luie in solicitingfinancial assistance andjustifying alien requests for visa extensions.In the\ an interviewee reported that heknew of a persondealing in counterfeit!_ i The interviewee agreed to assistinan investigation of the counterfeiter.

c. Disruptive EffectOver and above our search fo r tcrrorism-related intelligence, the interviews were intended

to disrupt potential terrorist activities. Whileour success in adueving this objective: is impossiblereasontG4)eU ow thfltthe^course of conducting these interviews, investigalors fanned out across the U nited States and madecontact with thousands of people. In the course of locating and interview ing each p erson on the list,investigators generally had contact w ith many of Ac person's neighbors, friends and relatives. T hesecontacts, c om bined w ith the widespread m edia attention the project received, ensured that potentialterrorists sheltering themselves within ou r com m unities w ere aware that law enforcement was on thejob in their neighborhoods.A H of this investigative activity certainly m ust have caused concern for those :i n this co untrywho are associated with A J Qaeda. Any AI Qaeda-trained terrorist living in this country was onnotice that someone he associated with might well be on a list to be interviewed. Even if that

terrorist had not confided his plans to anyone, he could not be sure whether his activities hadgenerated suspicion in his community, suspicion that might have prompted an interviewee tomention his nam e to investigators. T he unease caused by that u ncertainty wou ld likely have caused


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\ . that terrorist topursuehis plans less boldly,andpossibly to. scale back, delay orabandonhis plans\ .d. Effect on Community RelationsThisproject had the effect of increasing the level of contact between law enforcement and

communities of immigrants from countries witha significant A l Qaeda presence, and it gave ourfederal and local law enforcementofficers the opportunityto demonstrate, on a;person-to-person\ , their professionalism and their interest in these immigrant communities. Contrary to thepredictions of some in the media that the project would produce greater friction between law

enforcement and thesecoramunities,reports from the Anti-Terrorism Coordinator:: indicate that thecontact resulting from the project has forged stronger ties between law enforcement and these

\.This is borne out by the cooperative response from most of the interviewee. Notonly did

very few of those contacted for interviews decline to answer questions, most expressed a strongdesire to help law enforcement in its campaign against terrorism. In! I for example, an

\ e c l ai m e d k n o w l e d g e of groups inhisnative countryoil Ithat may ba. sympathetic toterrorists, an d he/ II |Many others agreed toact as sources for lawenforcementinthiscountry and others, and a largenumber volunteered their services as interpreters.

' Th e willingness of these non-citizens to volunteer their timeand efforts in ihe fight againstterrorism demonstrates the enhanced feeling of kinship between these communities and lawenforcement that was generated by this project. While some members of these communitiescertainly continue to distrust the government, a significant number are now less suspicious of lawenforcement, and,as the Anti-Terrorism Coordinatorfor the Middle District of Florida noted in areport to EOUSA, law enforcement nowhas a "much better feel for the Middle Eastern communityhi the District." This higher level of mutual understanding will pay dividends as we continue to

c. Effect on Working Relationships in Law EnforcementTheInterviewProject requiredtheassistanceofapproximately250different lawenforcementagencies. While the FBI and otherfederal agencies insome districtscompleted the interviews on

their own, the majority ofdistricts calledupon their stateand local partners on the ATTFs to assistin theproject. Besides being critical to thetimely completion of the interviews,the participation ofthese agencies laid thegroundwork for closer working relationships in the future. In the course ofthe project, police officers and detectives routinely teamed up with FBI agents to locate andinterview individuals. This collaboration gave state and local law enforcement agencies anopportunity to demonstrate their competencehi anti-terrorism investigations, a relatively new fieldfor many of these agencies. Atthe same time, me federal law enforcement agencies established thatthey can work hi good faith as partners with their state and local counterparts in the war against


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terrorism. The positive experience and interaction betweenagenciesduring this project bode wellfor future cooperation and information-sharing among the agencies involved in the: long-termbattleagainst terrorism.f. The ATTFjThisproject alsohad the effect ofestablishingtheATTFsas a vital and effective componentof our anti-terrorismstrategy. As explainedabove,the AttorneyGeneral established the ATTFssoonafter the September 11th attacks to serve as an operational entity for the implementation andcoordination of the Department's anti-terrorismplan, to be a conduit for the dissemination ofinformation about terrorists between federal and local agencies, and to provide a standing

organizationalstructure foracoordinated responseto a terrorist incident in thedistrict Thesuccessof the ATTFs in undertaking andsuccessfully completing his complicated project has demonstratedtheircapacity and willingness to perform these important responsibilities, which hiis in turn furtherintegrated them into the national anti-terrorism network and the local law enforcement communityineach district.

A good example of this phenomenon is the experience in the Western District of Michigan,where a joint task force of federal, state and local officers located and interviev/ed 98% of theindividuals ontheir list,developinguseful informationand cultivating potential source relationshipswith a number of interviewees. As the United States Attorney wrote in her report to ECUS A:

The success of the effort in Western Michigan is attributableto the federal agentsandstateand local officers whovolunteered toconduct he interviews. Thishas been anexcellent example of federal, state and local partnership. Some of the WesternDistrict's most seasoned andexperienced agentsand officers knocked on doors andtreated the interviewees with courtesy and respect The outcome has beenconsistently positive.

g. Precedent for Future OperationsWhen this project was first announced, some commentators quickly labeled! it a "dragnet"or a "round-up" based on an ethnic or religious profile that would unleash our police officers toharassmembers of minority communitiesthroughout the country. This prediction wiis proved falseby the sensitive and respectful mannerinwhichthe investigators conducted these interviews, andby the absence of any credible allegations to the contrary by those who were interviewed. This

project demonstrates that,contraryto hepredictions,our law enforcement community can undertakeaggressive and wide-ranging anti-terrorismmeasureswith full respect for legal safejjuards and thedignity of individuals who might be touched by the measures. This legacy will help to quellresistance to and criticismof future such operations.

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T5 B61 VIP Fdr- 2-15-02 Wainstein Memo Re Final Report on Interview Project 225

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