NARRATOR: In the criminal justice system
the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups,
the police who investigate crime
and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories.
The guys from auto theft finally confirmed,
deposit's down on the hotel.
Plus I chipped in for a little something extra.
Uh, we said no girls, remember?
It's a bachelor party, there's gotta be entertainment.
Frank, I told you I'm not doing it
with some hooker a week before my wedding day.
What? Nobody can have any fun except you?
I'm the one who's been married 10 years.
(ALARMS SOUNDING)
What the hell was that? You okay?
Call it in! Tell 'em to bring fire, police, bomb squad!
This is Unit 12. We have an explosion at 9 Broome Street.
Yeah, once we got up there, we found the body in the fourth floor,
southeast corner apartment.
Male, I don't know, maybe mid-30s.
You heard a name yet?
No, just the one on the buzzer. Haden.
Anybody else get hurt?
Looks like the other tenants already left for work.
We got a best guess yet on cause and origin?
Well, arson's doing the prelim now.
But based on the burn pattern, I'm thinking gas leak.
The bomb squad will be relieved.
You kidding? They evacuated the whole block when they got here.
These days you don't know who you're dealing with.
Well, the job wasn't exactly routine before.
Is it okay to go up? Yeah. Whenever you're ready.
I'll find out where they're sheltering the tenants,
I'll get right back to you.
All right. Thanks, man. Take care of yourself.
The building's got some history.
I'm sensing something of an illicit nature.
It's a landlord-tenant gripe.
They won't pay the rent till he makes the repairs.
So, he lets the place go to seed until they pay up.
The beat cop said that the empty units attracted some squatters.
He's gonna run down any collars.
He was pretty shook up. I don't blame him.
I guess we're all a little jumpy since 9111.
Yeah, everybody except Mr. Haden.
BECK: The fire marshal traced the origin of the explosion
back to the gas line, here.
So, what happened?
It looks like somebody disconnected the stove, left the gas line open.
So, it wasn't an accident?
No. Only way for the gas to get out,
the line had to be unhooked.
In order to do that, you have to pull
the stove away from the wall.
One of the uniformed officers found this crescent wrench
in the debris pile over there.
It's sized to the flare nut on the gas line.
So somebody had to know exactly what they were doing.
Yeah, and once the gas line is open,
the gas rises and it accumulates in the top of the room,
creating what's called a flammable range.
And that'd be right here.
BRISCOE: So, below that, no problem, above it...
Yeah, ideal conditions for an incendiary event.
You got any idea what sparked the explosion?
A candle, right over here.
ED: How do you know?
Well, when a candle melts away,
the wax always leaves a residue.
That was your fuse.
So, somebody unhooks the stove,
lights the candle and waits for the gas to fill the room.
Give it 10, 15 minutes.
The gas floats down to the height of the candle.
(MIMICS EXPLOSION)
So, you're thinking someone set a trap for this man?
Well, it was either on purpose
or the worst case of home repair ever.
Well, what about signs of forced entry?
There weren't any.
So someone was given access or used a key.
Tell me about this rent strike.
The beat cop said they'd been going
round and round for about a year.
Well, maybe the landlord got tired of the ride,
and this was his idea of an eviction notice.
You think it was arson, that I set my own building on fire?
BRISCOE: ls there anybody who can vouch
for your whereabouts this morning, Mr. Cortez?
(SCOFFS) My wife was out of town,
but she'd probably say you got a hell of a theory,
except for one thing. No insurance.
The law says you're supposed to carry a policy
on a residential unit.
I missed a couple of payments.
The insurance company canceled my ass last month.
I'm gonna be wiped out now.
Funny thing, Haden was the only tenant I liked.
BRISCOE: Why's that?
Those other leaches got together,
decided to stiff me on the rent,
but Joseph, he still paid in cash, every month.
So, he was the only one who hadn't joined the rent strike?
Only one.
Bet the other tenants were thrilled.
TENANT: Man had only been here two years.
The rest of us lived in that building over 10.
Come on, what are we gonna do,
blow up our own building just to get back at him?
Besides, these foreigners come here
and they don't have the same stake in things as the rest of us.
BRISCOE: What do you mean "foreigners"?
Haden wasn't American. He wasn't from here.
Where was he from? Maybe India.
Something in Arabia maybe.
An Arab?
How well did you two know him?
He was a quiet guy. He kept to himself.
Gone most days. Work, I guess.
Was he home yesterday?
He passed me in the hall, never said so much as hello.
What about girlfriends? Visitors?
Never saw him with a woman.
There'd be some men sometimes.
ED: Do you know who they were?
They'd come in groups of two or three.
Were these guys Arabs, too?
Guess they come from wherever he come from.
Who the hell knows these days?
Best guess? Mr. Haden was of Middle Eastern descent.
Blast victims always present a few problems.
This one was particularly tricky.
Why?
First off, he came back negative for carboxyhemoglobin.
Wait. In English, he had no smoke in his lungs?
Yeah. His airways were also completely free of soot.
Intriguing finding for somebody who died in a fire.
That's because he didn't die in a fire.
Cavity x-rays showed evidence of blunt force trauma.
Broken ribs, legs, arms, neck.
The initial response team found him buried under some rubble.
Yeah, but that didn't kill him either.
There was no hemorrhaging associated with any of those injuries.
BRISCOE: So, what did kill him?
Posterior inspection indicates massive bleeding
in the upper cervical vertebrae.
Somebody broke his neck.
And you're positive that didn't happen because the ceiling collapsed?
No. Once I fixed cause of death,
I went back into the soft tissue exam,
found focal hemorrhaging in his wrists and ankles.
Your killer tied him up before he murdered him.
She say whether or not this could have been a one-man job?
Nothing conclusive either way.
A couple of the tenants mentioned
that Haden had a few visitors now and again.
But they couldn't tell us much more than that.
Yeah. Except that Haden and his visitors were all of Middle Eastern decent.
And you think his ethnicity's significant?
Well, there was an explosion involved.
I think it's a little early to conclude
that Haden being an Arab had anything to do with it.
Well, still, chances are he might have known his killer.
How much do we know about his personal life?
He didn't have a girlfriend, no known next of kin.
Criminal records? Nothing.
No credit cards either.
No references, no previous address on the lease.
He paid his rent in cash.
BRISCOE: I'm telling you, this guy wasn't just flying below the radar,
he was off the screen.
Three times a week, he'd bring me his greasy clothes.
You should see these things.
I ask him, how you get so dirty?
What'd he say?
He says, blame the boss.
He mention where he worked?
No, but I know he got paid nothing.
What, he told you how much he earned?
No. I go through my customers' pockets when they drop off.
One time, I see a pay stub.
Peanuts.
Did the pay stub show where he worked?
Hmm... Jiffy something.
What kind of a name is Jiffy?
Greasy clothes, low-wage pay stub...
Could be one of those oil-change joints.
Thank you.
I had a feeling something happened.
Joseph hasn't missed a day's work in... Well, never.
So, he was a pretty reliable guy for you then?
Yeah. For the most part.
Not the most ambitious guy, though.
Well, why do you say that?
He'd been here over a year,
turned down a manager's position twice.
Isn't that more money? Sure.
Told me he didn't want the responsibility. Liked his free time.
So, what can you tell us about his personal life?
Well, he never really shared much.
He had some family somewhere,
but didn't really talk about it.
Anybody ever come to visit him on the job?
No. Not that I can think of.
Sorry, I wish I could be more help.
That's all right. If you think of anything, give us a call.
Okay.
Oh, what should I do with the stuff in his locker?
BRISCOE: Work boots, shirt, pants.
Whoa, look at this. Checkbook.
No entries.
E-bank? Never heard of it.
Doesn't even say where it is.
That's an Internet bank.
You can do all your banking, payments, deposits,
everything, online.
So, why the checkbook?
Last vestige of 20th-century banking,
it gives some of our older clients a sense of security.
Speaking of security, if this is a bank,
where do you keep all the money?
Well, what you see here is our computer server station,
where we monitor the accounts.
There is no bank, per se.
Virtual reality.
Well, what happens if I have to deposit a check?
Well, you mail it to our P.O. box in Iowa in a prepaid envelope.
And to pull your money out, we give you an ATM card, just like any other bank.
No lines, 24-hour, world-wide access.
All you need is a computer.
You like to hear more?
No. I think I'll stick with my mattress.
Okay.
According to our records,
Joseph Haden opened an account with us about a year ago.
Says here he's a preferred customer.
Elite status.
So, how does one attain elite status?
Maintain an average daily balance over 10,000.
BRISCOE: Ah, you got the wrong Haden.
This guy's strictly minimum wage.
Joseph Haden, 225 Stanton, New York City?
ED: What's the balance?
Eighty-nine thousand and change as of yesterday.
Nothing virtual about that reality.
So, a guy making minimum wage, living in a tenement,
has almost 90 grand in an online bank account?
According to the E-bank, there's never been more
than his paycheck deposits since he opened it.
Okay, but where's all the money from?
The manager pulled up a tracking number from the initial deposit.
Traces back to a Swiss account.
Yeah. We called the OFAC,
that's the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
It's like an international clearing house for banks.
Yeah. The FBI's got them working overtime looking for terrorist funding.
And?
It's gonna take a while.
How did he open a bank account?
The online application only asks for a driver's license
and a social security number.
BRISCOE: Both numbers turned out to be phonies.
The bank probably never checked him out
once they saw the size of that initial deposit.
Still, he had to know someone at the DMV to get this.
Well, we're going down to talk to a D.A.
at the Rackets Bureau this afternoon.
VAN BUREN: Great.
The ID number on your guy's license
matched up with a batch of blanks
that came out of a DMV office in Brooklyn.
How do you get a driver's license issued
with a phony name and address?
Don't you need a birth certificate?
Mmm, that or 200 bucks. Going rate for a phony.
How many people had access to these blanks?
Once upon a time, a scam like this was pretty widespread.
Since 9/11, we started cracking down.
People at the DMV got a little more careful.
Funny how a few indictments will do that.
You got anybody in particular we can talk to?
The genius behind your guy's license is sitting in Rikers.
Come on, I'm already going to do three years for this.
Well, we might be able to turn those three years into a bullet.
And that's City time.
Save your wife a big train trip upstate.
You talked to my lawyer?
Well, if you help us out, it's a done deal.
What do you want?
Who is he?
I want protection.
Protection from who?
You read the paper?
You hear about the woman in Memphis, from the DMV?
You mean the one who helped the 9/11 hijackers with their licenses?
Burned her up in her car
the day before she was supposed to testify.
If your information checks out, we'll talk to the D.A.
His name's Juseff.
ED: Juseff? Not Joseph?
I said Juseff, didn't I?
The guy gave me a grand to set him up.
I usually get 200.
And that didn't ring any alarm bells?
Well, he said he was here seeking asylum or something.
Application got denied.
Guy seemed pretty desperate.
STAFFER: No Joseph or Juseff Haden.
What if he wasn't using his real name?
Can you look it up just under the name Juseff?
A first name?
How about people who applied for political asylum last year?
Yeah. Just in the New York office.
I guess I could do that.
Narrows it down to 118 Juseffs.
Okay. Our guy was denied. Mid-30s.
Cuts it in half.
I have a Juseff Haddad.
Filed a year and a half ago.
This look like him?
Yeah. Exactly like him.
Where's he from? STAFFER: Yemen national.
Entered the country on a B1 visa.
How did he get that?
Tourist visa.
That little stamp they put in your passport at the airport?
How long's that good for? Six months.
Our guy was in the city for almost two years.
It's a problem.
BRISCOE: On what grounds did he apply for asylum?
Religious grounds.
Apparently, he was an adherent of the Shi'a Muslim sect.
Claimed he wasn't very well-liked
by the Sunni Muslim majority, feared for his safety.
Initial interview for asylum was denied.
Yeah. When was this?
Fourteen months ago.
So, you're saying he was supposed to be deported over a year ago?
INS was alerted. ED: What'd they do?
Guy comes to the States, he's allowed to disappear
and nobody does a damn thing about it.
There's over eight million illegals in this country.
What do you wanna round 'em all up?
How about just the ones from Yemen?
You can't start targeting people
because of where they're from.
Hey, take a look, partner.
There's supposed to be two towers standing over there.
Look, man, I know.
But it's that kind of thinking that gets me
pulled over on the Turnpike every other month.
You forget I lived in the Middle East.
Not every guy wearing a kufi is the enemy.
I'd say a guy with a bogus ID
and about 90 grand in the bank has got some potential.
All right, man, so where do you wanna go to look for a terrorist?
IMAM: Police and their questions
have brought us enough problems, I don't want any more.
Imam, this was a Muslim man that was murdered.
All we're asking is for a little help to find his killer.
Four men from this mosque
have been held for months by police only seeking help.
Look, he lived nearby, we know he was a religious man.
We just want you to take a look at this picture.
And then will you leave?
You know him?
It's Juseff.
He attended prayer services here.
How did it happen?
Somebody set fire to his place.
Dear God.
He was going under a false name.
He was in this country illegally.
Neighbors said he had men who came to visit him.
Now, maybe from this mosque.
IMAM: Then why don't you try talking to people who hate us,
who've already made threats against us?
Who would that be?
Imam, if you know something,
it would be the right thing to tell us.
There was some information about Juseff that came out.
What sort of information?
On the Internet. At a website,
along with articles about other Arab men.
After that happened, Juseff stayed away.
Check this out. "Guerrillas in our midst
"and the failure of the US Government to stop them."
Byline, Adam Teague for The Shadow Report.
Oh, no! Could it be true?
This is a rag, man.
It's designed to scare the hell out of us.
Well, whatever it is, it seems to be working.
Hits on this guy's website
have tripled in the last 12 months.
According to this, the country's full
of fifth column spies from Arabic states.
Quote "Nelfi Sa'ad, recent art history grad at City College
"switched to a degree as a structural engineer.
"Anybody care to guess why?"
What's the harm in looking into it?
If we'd a been a little more alert the first time,
maybe there wouldn't have been a first time.
I switched my major twice in college.
That make me a terrorist?
No. But you don't fit the profile.
The dirty little secret of law enforcement.
I swear, if people start to believe this stuff,
somebody's gonna get killed.
BRISCOE: Maybe somebody already has.
"Another loyal reader has provided firsthand accounts
"that show Joseph Haden, real name a mystery,
"of 225 Stanton Street,
"is a Middle Eastern radical here in New York illegally.
"Although proper authorities have been warned,
"Haden remains a free man at this moment.
"Who will stop him?"
That's practically begging somebody to take him out.
Maybe that was the idea all along.
TEAGUE: Now you guys want to talk?
Where were you when I first published?
When Haden was walking around a free man?
We're not subscribers.
Well, get on the bus, Detective.
I am out there trying to make your jobs easier.
Oh, and just how are you doing that?
You think the liberal mainstream wusses
are going to print names and addresses?
We all know what's going on.
Everybody's so worried about offending Arabs.
They're being singled out, they have their rights, too.
This is the first war where we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.
Just get rid of 'em all, huh?
You sit next to one on a plane yet?
Tell me you didn't watch when he got up to use the bathroom.
We just want to know where you got the information on this man.
You'd be amazed at the sources I have.
You know, it's funny how your sources
turn up terrorists the FBI missed.
Hey, don't blame the Bureau. Their hands are tied.
Bunch of civil rights do-gooders say
all interviews of young Arab men must be voluntary.
(SCOFFS) Excuse me. "Mr. Capone, would you mind coming in
"and make a full confession?"
Your article led the killer to Haden.
I just put the information out there.
You gave up his address. What, were you hoping, a visitor would drop by?
Which brings us back to how you got it.
Nice try.
You've heard of the journalists' Shield Law?
Says I don't have to tell you who my source is.
Hey, you heard of a subpoena?
'Cause we can get one.
You do that. I'll just add it to my collection.
BRISCOE: Article indicates the authorities were notified.
If we were, I'll find it.
How many reports you get like this since 9/11?
We actually stopped counting after 500,000.
When did you say this was filed?
It was three months ago.
Last name Haden? Here it is.
Joseph Haden. Tip called in by one Frank Miller.
And what do you got on him?
Address and phone number.
I love it when they make it easy like that.
Yeah. I'll print you a copy.
ED: Was there any investigation on the tip?
Of sorts. We listed it low priority.
Look, guy's from Yemen, fake name, fake ID,
that's low priority these days?
We looked into Miller's allegations.
Nothing panned out, so we notified the INS.
Look, you wanna critique the operations, get in line.
You want Miller's address, here it is.
Thanks.
Join the FBI, learn to pass the buck.
You guys aren't gonna smash this place up now, are you?
Oh, don't worry, search doesn't always mean destroy.
The mail's recent. He's been here since Haddad's murder.
Hey, Ed, look at this.
Is that a scanner? Mmm-hmm.
Looks like Haddad had his own little fan club.
BRISCOE: Ah, this guy's a soldier.
Combat Unit.
I heard him say he served in Desert Storm.
Yeah? Well, he's got the hardware to prove it.
SUPERINTENDANT: What the hell is that?
It ain't a starter pistol.
Looks like maybe Miller was fighting his own little war
on the home front.
Apparently, Miller had been stalking Haden for quite some time.
Dates, times, visits to the mosque.
He knew this man's schedule down to the minute.
Do we have a working theory for how Haddad entered Miller's radar?
Miller's FBI report came on the heels of the website article
featuring Joseph Haden, aka Juseff Haddad,
as one of thousands of Arab terrorists living among us.
How about finding the person
who brought Haddad to Teague's attention?
You think Teague's source might know where Miller's located?
You know, Briscoe and Green tried to rattle Teague's cage
with a subpoena, but he thinks he can hide behind the Shield Law.
Maybe from a subpoena. Not from a warrant.
Mr. Teague isn't gonna like this.
Oh, that's okay. The judge sort of said it would be all right.
Well, then, Mr. Teague's lawyer isn't gonna like this.
What the hell do you think you guys are doing?
This is a newsroom.
It's not some crack house you can just barge into.
Mr. Teague, stand aside.
I asked you... Hey! Don't make me restrain you.
Whoa, a file marked "Haden"?
That's source material.
Oh. We got audio tapes, transcripts...
Well, now we know what Miller's scanner was used for.
Good morning, Yemen.
Teague's files on Haddad were stocked
with information and documents from Miller.
So, Miller didn't learn about Haddad from Teague's website,
Miller was the source himself.
He illegally monitored telephone conversations
between Haddad and unidentified Arabic-speakers
with a VHF scanner.
I thought the police write-up indicated
Haddad didn't have a phone.
Audio technicians think Haddad was using a cell phone.
Have you tracked that down?
Probably went up in the fire.
LEWIN: What about the phone records?
Nothing so far.
You know, if Haddad was staying true to form,
the phone was probably one with preloaded hours.
No account number.
There was also a reference to a wire transfer
for a large sum of money from a Swiss bank account.
McCOY: Haddad claimed he had been forced to leave his country.
A Swiss account may have been the only way
to take his life savings with him.
Still, you have to admit, coupled with his attempt to hide who he was,
it's pretty suspicious circumstances.
Even if it is,
suspicious circumstances can't condemn a man to death.
LEWIN: Do we have any idea where Miller is?
Right now, it's anybody's guess.
Plus, this guy is Special Forces.
Then let's talk to the people who trained him.
Frank Miller joined Special Forces in '89,
had advanced weapons training.
Transferred to Army Intelligence.
What did he do for them?
Surveillance and covert operations.
Seems like you may have taught him a little too well.
Well, there's no question Lieutenant Miller was a bit of a cowboy.
That's one of the reasons we let him go.
I was under the impression he resigned his commission.
Passed over twice for promotion, he got the message.
Which was?
Let's just say he didn't see eye-to-eye
with department policy regarding the end of the Gulf conflict.
He wanted to finish Saddam off right then and there.
Can't say everyone around here disagreed with him either.
Do you have any idea how we can track him down, Major?
Check with local V.A. hospitals.
When Miller came home from Desert Storm,
he came home pretty sick.
CLERK: I'm usually pretty good with faces,
but him I don't recognize.
Are you sure he came to this pharmacy?
According to the V.A., he would've been here about a week ago.
Let me check our invoices.
(COMPUTER BEEPS)
Miller, Frank.
We filled the prescription last Wednesday, actually.
But you don't recognize him?
Oh, that's because he used our delivery service.
Freeze!
Who the hell are you?
Keep your hands where they are!
Where's Frank Miller? I have no idea.
That's a lie. He had a prescription delivered here last week.
Ed, looks like surveillance tapes.
Haddad's name's all over them.
Where did you get these? BOB: They're Frank's.
I've been doing some translations for him.
What's on these tapes?
Just chatter, conversation.
Look, I really don't know anything.
Why you?
It's how I make my living.
I was a communications specialist
in Frank's outfit before my accident.
Look, what... What's going on?
Your buddy's in a lot of trouble.
BOB: For what?
That guy he was spying on is dead.
Oh, my God.
ED: When's he coming back?
I don't know.
You know how tough prison can be in a wheelchair?
(SIGHS)
Frank's not coming back here.
Look, he was here a few days ago.
He told me to send everything to this Internet guy.
Tape originals, transcripts, copies, everything.
And what's this guy's name?
(SIGHS)
Adam Teague.
We'll see ourselves in.
I'm on a deadline, I can't talk now.
Adam Teague, you're under arrest
for conspiracy to commit murder.
That's ridiculous! The murder of who?
Joseph Haden. (GROANS) Haden my ass.
You mean, Juseff Haddad.
You have the right to remain silent.
Don't you people understand?
These people are here They're waiting for us. Please remain silent.
They're waiting for orders to destroy us!
You have the right to an attorney...
You should be glad there's someone like me looking out for us.
Look at my face, I'm ecstatic.
I'm being punished for trying to tell the truth.
You can come down from your soap box, Mr. Teague.
You're being prosecuted for participating
in a conspiracy leading to a man's death.
You're forgetting that a murder conspiracy charge requires an overt act.
Which we can make out through your client's
financial assistance to Frank Miller.
And his acceptance of Miller's tapes.
The First Amendment doesn't shield a journalist
from accomplice liability after the fact.
Even if my client did pay for the tapes and accept them,
you still have to prove he knew Miller would kill this man.
You financed Miller's operation,
you shared information.
You can't put a murder in motion
and then claim you had nothing to do with it when it happens.
I'm a reporter. I didn't put anything in motion.
Well, then maybe you can explain
what you and Miller talked about the day of Haddad's murder?
McCOY: I don't think a jury will have much trouble
concluding it was a call about Juseff Haddad.
You didn't care what you published,
what it meant to Juseff Haddad.
What do you think it meant?
The money, hiding who he was...
So, you invited Frank Miller
to take matters into his own hands.
Look, I never meant for him to kill anyone.
Miller was all wound up talking about 9111,
how Haddad had to be stopped.
He said that no one at the FBI would listen
because we just didn't have the goods.
And you don't pick up the phone to warn anyone?
No. Not after I talked to my source in the State Department.
See, Miller had been monitoring Haddad's overseas calls.
In some of the conversations,
he talked about bringing his family here.
A wife, a child.
The day he got killed, I found out that Haddad had no wife, no kid.
He had no family at all.
It was all code.
And you told Miller that?
I wanted Frank to know that he'd done his job.
That we could go to the FBI.
That... That they'd have no choice now.
But he just wouldn't listen to reason.
What's on the table here?
If he's willing to testify and tell us where Miller is,
I'd be willing to consider a negligent homicide charge.
I was only doing my job.
You lit a fuse you couldn't put out, Mr. Teague.
Get down! Down on your knees!
Get down! On your knees!
Down. Down. Clear.
We're all clear, Detectives.
Frank Miller, you're under arrest
for the murder of Juseff Haddad.
On your feet!
I didn't murder anyone.
Oh, yeah? There's somebody down at the M.E.'s office
doing a pretty good impression of a dead guy.
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say...
"Docket 2508, People v. Miller,
"one count murder in the second degree,
"one count arson in the first degree."
Counselor, does your client wish to enter a plea?
HASTINGS: Your Honor, my client refuses
to recognize the jurisdiction of this court.
Is your client in need of a psych exam, Mr. Hastings?
I'm not crazy. I served in Desert Storm.
I've been wounded in battle defending my nation.
I received a Bronze Star.
The defendant's military record is irrelevant, Your Honor.
Irrelevant? I have devoted my life
to the defense of my country.
Killing the enemy is not murder.
Counselor, you might want to remind your client
that anything he says in this courtroom can be used against him.
It is our position
that any acts Lieutenant Miller may have committed,
he did so in the capacity of a soldier during wartime.
A soldier in whose army under whose orders?
JUDGE: I think I'll let the trial court sort that one out.
He also demands an immediate and unconditional release.
Now that one I can decide on my own.
Defendant's application for release is denied.
Defendant is hereby remanded.
I'll take care of it, all right?
My client relies on the statements of the Attorney General
that terrorists are illegal combatants.
Which has no bearing on acts of murder
committed in New York City.
Haddad's legal status has every bearing.
Judge, according to the highest law enforcement official
in this land,
illegal combatants are subject to summary execution.
As far as I know, that determination
hasn't been limited to a particular geography.
But clearly it's limited to battle,
and under exigent circumstances.
Which is exactly what my client was facing.
A terrorist about to attack this country.
He murdered a man.
He used the skills and training
his country gave him and he acted.
By setting an apartment on fire to cover his crime?
Not exactly the actions of a soldier
who thought what he'd done was right, Counselor.
HASTINGS: Do you know what Haddad was doing
at that garage he worked at?
Learning how to drive 18 wheelers.
They had a deal with a trucking company.
That's why he wanted that driver's license so badly.
McCOY: So we all turn our backs
when a cold-blooded murder is committed?
We do that, we turn into the very thing we're fighting.
The word "terrorism" loses its meaning.
I agree with Mr. McCoy.
Your client is a civilian, not a soldier.
All due respect, Your Honor,
but we're all soldiers.
Soldiers in a war against terrorism.
I know this because CNN tells me so every day.
The Homeland Secretary tells us we're all on yellow alert.
That has to mean something more than just a color.
If Juseff Haddad was indeed a terrorist,
then my client was acting in defense of country.
If you won't dismiss this case outright,
at least let me raise this at trial.
Motion to dismiss is denied.
Judge... However, the defendant
will be able to assert reasonable fear of imminent harm at trial.
Your Honor...
I said he could assert a claim, Mr. McCoy.
None of us knows whether it'll fly.
Acting in defense of country.
He's asserting a clear and present danger.
He's making up the law as he goes along.
Illegal combatants military tribunals, a war on terrorism.
We're all making it up as we go along.
Justice isn't a moving target.
We can't just forget the rule of law
because we don't like who lays claim to it.
The jury might bend a little
when they find out who Haddad was.
The FBI just faxed this over.
They traced the source of the money
in his Swiss bank account to a Sudanese charity.
It's on a terrorist watch list.
Which Miller couldn't have known about at the time.
Which a jury definitely will know.
Miller doesn't get the benefit of hindsight.
He can't murder someone and then hope afterwards it turns out he was right.
Only he was right.
Based on what information at the time? What proof?
The only thing that made Juseff Haddad a terrorist
at the time of his murder was where he came from and who he talked to.
The moment we agree to use a person's origin
as a litmus test for terrorism
is the moment the terrorism turns us into racists.
LEWIN: Yeah, but you're forgetting there's a reality here.
The reality of who attacked us.
And where they're from.
In World War ll we put Japanese-Americans into camps.
I'm sure everyone concerned at the time
thought it was right.
But that didn't make it right, or legal.
A jury who learns that Haddad was a terrorist
will vote their fears, not their principles.
It's our job to keep fear out of the courtroom.
Only I think what we're saying is
we're not sure that we can.
McCOY: The audio tapes from which you made the transcriptions
were given to you by the defendant?
Frank told me he was doing surveillance work for the Army.
But you knew that wasn't true?
It was my out, in case Frank got caught.
McCOY: Then the defendant understood that
what he was doing was illegal?
HASTINGS: Objection.
Sustained.
In the translations you made
of Mr. Haddad's phone conversations,
did you ever find any information proving that he was a terrorist?
Nothing specific, no.
What did you hear on those tapes?
Mostly Haddad talked about his family,
about bringing them to America.
Did you tell this to the defendant?
Yes.
What was his reaction?
Frank said that we should keep listening.
That there had to be something.
Find anything when you listened to these tapes, Sergeant?
Anything suspicious at all?
There were a lot of things.
For one, there were references to money.
What sort of references?
Haddad kept assuring who he was talking to
that things were in place.
That he had access to money,
that everything would be waiting.
HASTINGS: Waiting?
Like I said, there were references
that others were gonna be coming over, his family.
How did Lieutenant Miller react to all this?
He thought Haddad was a sleeper.
A sleeper?
Someone here waiting for orders.
Now, Joseph Haden,
that's what the subject on the tape called himself.
He kept his real name, Juseff Haddad, secret?
As far as I know, yes.
What about the phone he was using?
It was a prepaid, untraceable cell phone.
He had no telephone in his apartment?
None.
And he had a minimum wage job?
Yes. I believe so.
Are you aware that Juseff Haddad, or whatever his name was,
had almost $90,000 in the bank?
Objection.
Overruled.
I think Frank had access to his bank account.
Are you also aware that Mohammed Atta,
the man behind the 9/11 attacks
also had a minimum wage job? Objection!
And hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank?
Objection! Sustained.
While he was planning to destroy the World Trade Center?
Your Honor! Move on or be seated, Mr. Hastings.
I think everything that needs to be said has just been said.
Serena told me she saw heads nodding
in the jury box during Hastings' cross.
Fears in, common sense judgment goes out the window.
You once told me that when people were afraid,
they'd consider any means necessary
in order to feel safe again.
People can consider whatever they want.
But fear is not a license to kill.
What Miller did put everyone who lived in that building at risk.
He acted as a vigilante, not in anyone's defense.
Labels won't matter if there's an acquittal, Jack.
He hasn't walked just yet.
Yeah. But if he does...
There's lunatics out there.
They'll consider a not guilty verdict
as the start of open season on Arabs.
And the alternative is what?
Make it go away. Offer him man one.
If he takes it, the point's been made.
I can't do that.
Can't or won't?
I'll withdraw from the case, if you want,
and I'll understand the reason why,
but I can't make a deal here.
Why?
Because of how easy it would be.
Because of how much I personally want to do it.
Miller's not on trial in this case, Nora, we are.
How do we plea bargain that?
Ten years' service in the Army.
That's right.
A Purple Heart, Bronze Star for valor.
Your nation considers you a hero, Mr. Miller.
I was just doing my duty.
And your pursuit of Juseff Haddad?
Something I also felt duty bound to do.
As a patriot.
And what made you feel that?
Everything. Everything about him.
The fact he was here illegally.
The fact he used a false name
actively concealed who he was.
Couldn't he have simply been afraid of deportation?
He was meeting other Arabs, men from his mosque.
And he was going out of his way
to make people think that he was poor,
but he had $90,000 in the bank.
An immigrant does everything to build a life.
Haddad was doing everything to hide his.
Anything else?
He was getting calls from overseas
on an untraceable cell phone.
He was being told to get things ready.
And over and over again, he talked about bringing his family here.
And that had some significance for you?
Well, from the conversation on these tapes,
these people were supposed to be coming any day.
But Haddad never did a thing to get his place ready.
No beds, nothing.
And what did you conclude?
It was obvious "family" was code.
Haddad was a terrorist, a sleeper.
So you decided to stop him?
Not till after the last phone call from Teague.
And what did he tell you?
He confirmed that Haddad had no family, no wife, no child
and that I'd been right about the code.
And only then did you act?
I did what I was trained to do.
Did what you were trained to do? That's right!
On whose orders? Where was the chain of command in all this?
You don't get it.
Who verified the target before you took it on yourself to act?
I just testified that Teague had confirmed Haddad had no family.
Teague is a journalist.
He had a source in the State Department.
And there was no question in your mind
that this source was reliable?
None whatsoever.
So you knew at that point.
Juseff Haddad was a terrorist!
Yes.
Only you didn't call the FBI?
The FBI ignored the warning signs.
But you had new evidence.
Surely with this proof the FBI would have had to act.
Only you couldn't wait, could you?
I didn't think so, no.
Or was it that you didn't want to?
You knew that not a single dime
of the money had been touched.
That not a single contact had been made by Mr. Haddad.
But you went there anyway, didn't you?
Objection. You went there without a warrant,
without benefit of any legal authority,
intent on killing this man.
HASTINGS: Objection! JUDGE: Overruled.
I told you. I did what I was trained to do.
When did the Army train you
to kill an unarmed prisoner, Mr. Miller?
When did the Army train you to risk civilian lives
in an explosion designed to hide your crime?
Osama bin Laden never thought
the Towers would come down either, Mr. Miller.
Your Honor! Strike that last comment.
These people are here.
The FBI knows it, the CIA.
You must understand,
if we don't kill them first, they will kill us.
Which would make who the terrorist?
You can defend your home, your family.
Nobody'll question you,
doubt the sincerity of your motives.
But some attacks, you can't know who the victim will be
or when the attack will come.
Nobody could have imagined that
a beautiful September morning
could have been the prelude to so much death.
Mr. McCoy would have us wait for proof
before he'll allow us to defend ourselves.
But sometimes proof comes too late.
Frank Miller acted.
Did what he was trained to do.
Not for himself,
but for you and for me.
And no matter what the prosecutor tells you in this courtroom,
the one thing he won't tell you is that Juseff Haddad
wasn't here to harm us.
If Haddad was a terrorist, then Frank Miller is a hero.
If it really is a war we're fighting,
if our country's survival really is at stake,
then the rules of war have to apply.
And you don't try a soldier for murder.
Not if you want him to fight for you.
(EXHALING)
We all fear the threat of terrorism
and the simple fact is that our lives have changed.
But what we do with that fear
will ultimately define who we are.
Do we let it overwhelm us,
until we become so consumed with dread of what might be
that we no longer give thought to what should be?
Or what we stand for?
Being afraid can't justify murder.
Nor can calling yourself a patriot.
People in this country are innocent until proven guilty.
We've sent men off to die
in order to protect that right.
Don't let's be the first generation to succumb to fear.
Not when so many who came before us
stood their ground.
McCOY: When Frank Miller took on the role
of judge, jury and executioner,
his actions diminished us all.
When in our name,
he took it upon himself to kill a man,
we all lost a measure of our humanity.
But this jury has a chance to get it back.
Because this jury
has a chance to answer the question.
How much of ourselves as a country
are we willing to surrender to terrorism?
Has the jury reached a verdict?
Yes, we have, Your Honor.
As to the first count in the indictment,
murder in the second degree in the death of Juseff Haddad,
we find the defendant, Frank Miller, guilty.
Five days of jury deliberations.
Which means some of them were ready to acquit.
LEWIN: A minority may have given in to their fears for a moment.
But you were right, Jack.
They came to their senses.
I think the American dream is still safe.
Give us your tired, your poor,
your terrorists.