FBI agent takes stand in bomb-plot trial
PORTLAND, Ore. -- An FBI agent who launched the undercover investigation of Mohamed Mohamud took the stand Monday morning as the first witness in the terrorism trial.
Special agent Miltiadis Trousas described the emails that he intercepted in Spring 2010 between Mohamud and an Al-Quaida recruiter that prompted the FBI to begin the undercover operation.
Mohamud “made statements that he wanted to be a martyr, so that was a great concern for us,” Trousas testified.
The agent’s testimony came in the trial of the 21-year-old former Oregon State University student charged in U.S. District Court with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
A 12-member jury was seated on Friday, followed by attorneys’ opening statements in the afternoon.
Trousas testified that in June 2010 he assumed the role of an associate of an Al-Quaida recruiter and began emailing Mohamud.
“Are you still able to help the brothers?” Trousas said he wrote, posing as a jihad extremist.
After Mohamud expressed interest in assisting the jihad movement, Trousas began sending more emails to Mohamud under the name “Youssef.” Youssef was to be the name of the first undercover FBI agent, who would meet with Mohamud later in the summer of 2010.
Trousas also explained why the FBI staged an in-person meeting with Mohamud.
“The goal of the meeting was to assess Mr. Mohamud’s mindset” about whether he was serious about turning violent, Trousas said.
During cross-examination, Chief Deputy Federal Public Defender Stephen Sady attempted to show Trousas used his FBI training to target whom he described as a vulnerable teenager.
“You heard from other agents he was a manipulable and conflicted teenager?” Sady asked. The agent said yes.
Sady also pointed out that Trousas used information that Mohamud had a troubled home life and was easily influenced.
Trousas' testimony was cut short at lunchtime. It will resume on Monday afternoon.
The undercover agent, “Youssef,” is expected to begin testifying late in the afternoon and should be on the stand for about two days.
The trial is anticipated to last four weeks.
What a lark. This kid pulled the trigger on a thousand people. Fortunately it was a dud. The govt will probably lose this case anyway, once they get to the good part where they "somehow lost" the original meeting records, which are needed to help prove that the kid wasn't entrapped. And it may be overturned on appeal when the kid says he has the right to practice religious freedom and sue because they won't allow him to practice jihad. I think the kid deserves a second chance, like most everyone else gets.
@Icarus, The FBI did it's job, which doesn't even com close to steping on the toes on anyone in Washinton, including the State Dept. It's a ruthless game that spares only the truely innocent. Apples, oranges, no comparison.
On the basis of that suspicion e.g. posted comments; there are about 50 million cases of potential domestic terrorism that the FBI could take action on, set-up a "sting operation" and then prosecute the offender. The should start with Ted Nugent and work their way down the list of radical gun advocates who constantly shoot their mouths off. Â
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Should the FBI have investigated this kid...yes. Should they have spent and continue to spend the excessive resources to ruin this kids life?  NO!  The threats made by radical and loud Gun Nutz are of greater consequence than this kid because the Gun Nutz already have acquired and assembled the tools for an attack.
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It is very suspicious that there isn't a level field of prosecution/investigation for the same level of "threat".  Is it because that boy is brown? Is it because that boy is young and easily impressionable? Is it because that boy is muslim and foreign? When the FBI went to "investigate" Ted Nugent they used the front door. Even if they set-up a "sting" it would likely have failed because Terrible Ted would have...likely....smelled a rat. And, the prosecution would have been a nightmare because people would not allow an American to be treated in such an underhanded manner.
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There are a large number of gun nutz that are a greater threat to the 2nd. Amendment than a thousand Liberals. The way that the FBI is abusing its power and over-reaching its authority for bureau gain while ignoring the greater the public interest undermines both its "rational legal authority" and contributes to the general erosion of rights reserved to the people.
 @Icarus I am sure if Ted Nugent was doing anything wrong the law would be all over him for his vocal dislike of our liberal gun grabbing government leaders like Obama.
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I don't consider Ted a radical for believing in and fighting for our constitutional rights I do consider Obama won for ignoring his house to protect them though.
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Also if the FBI offers anybody access to a bomb and they willingly take it throw their house in jail for life. Nobody with good intentions would ever say yes to a question like that so I'm not sure which are insinuating they did wrong.
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I don't buy the age thing even a 10 year old would be smart enough to say I don't think I'll take that bomb and blow up 300 innocent people.
 @Icarus You my sir are an idiot!
I am not saying the FBI didn't do it's job here, but from here I get a whiff of entrapment, however it is clear to me the State Dept. should have never allowed this guy in. Â The expense of the trial and the resourses of the FBI are nothing to sneeze at.
 @czulloÂ
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Bravo! The resources spent just to ruin this kids life is extraordinary. The real question that you raise is: "has the zeal of the FBI to find grounds and prosecute this kid either wasted resources or diverted resources from other investigations that may have had a greater social benefit?"   For instance; how many more meth distributors could have been caught with another $5 million?
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Not sayin' that this kid didn't need some attention; just that he isn't any kingpin.  A meth trafficker is a greater social drain but it doesn't sell newspapers and get the FBI national attention for fighting TERRORISM!  Whole careers are built on that shiz...look at how sexy is that Zero Dark Thirty movie; the guys that took down this kid in Portland scripted this for a movie. Â