Robert Fuller (FBI)
Encyclopedia
Robert Fuller is an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation
who has worked in counter-terrorism. He has questioned suspected terrorists, been a handler of informants in the U.S., and testified in both federal court and Guantanamo military commission
trials.
stated that in late August 2001, Fuller was given a lead on 9-11 hijacker Khalid al-Mihdhar
. Fuller was instructed to open an intelligence case and attempt to find al-Mihdhar in the U.S. within the next 30 days. It was Fuller's first counterterrorism lead. He checked New York databases and the New York hotel listed on al-Mihdhar's U.S. entry visa. When nothing showed up, Fuller sent a lead to the FBI office in Los Angeles on September 11, because al-Mihdhar had originally entered the U.S. at Los Angeles International Airport in January 2000.
A Department of Justice Office of Inspector General (OIG) report from November 2004, which was publicly released in 2006, provides a more detailed examination of Fuller's actions during his investigation. The FBI New York Field Office opened a full field intelligence investigation to locate al-Mihdhar on August 29, 2001. Fuller was given the assignment on August 30, without any particular priority, and another investigation kept him from starting until September 4. Fuller first filled out lookout request forms for the INS and U.S. Customs Service on al-Mihdhar. By September 5, Fuller had requested New York City criminal history, NCIC criminal history, credit and motor vehicle checks on al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi
, who was mentioned as an associate in the initial lead on al-Mihdhar. Fuller stated to the OIG that he conducted a ChoicePoint
search on both men. However, the FBI located records on al-Hazmi in that database soon after September 11, 2001.
The OIG report did not fault Fuller for his efforts on the investigation. Rather, it stated the New York Field Office should have assigned the search more priority and resources.
, set himself on fire in front of the White House
.
Alanssi had earlier sent a note to Fuller explaining his action:
trial of Salim Hamdan. Fuller stated that it was not FBI policy at the time to give a Miranda warning
about self-incrimination
to terrorism suspects. "A source can be a suspect as well," Fuller testified. In March 2002, Hamdan, who had been detained in Kandahar for four months at that time, led FBI agents including Fuller on a tour of three compounds in Afghanistan owned by Osama bin Laden
.
In 2009, Fuller testified in the military commission trial of Omar Khadr
. Fuller recounted that he interrogated Khadr at Bagram Airbase on October 7, 2002, three months after Khadr was captured. Fuller's report of the interview, written right after it, was introduced as evidence in the trial. The report stated that Khadr took several minutes to identify Maher Arar
from a photograph. It also stated that Khadr thought he saw Arar at a Kabul, Afghanistan safe house in September and October of 2001. The day after the interrogation, October 8, 2002, Arar, who had been in detention at J.F.K. airport for the past 12 days, was extraordinarily rendered
to Syria.
to attempt an attack
on two synagogues in the Bronx in 2009. Cromitie, along with three other defendants, was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Fuller testified at the trial that the informant, Shahed Hussain, made twelve trips to a mosque in Newburgh, New York, "to attempt to interact with other individuals in other F.B.I. counterterrorism operations," and to keep his ear open for "radical Islamic thoughts." Hussain was paid $44,000 for expenses and $53,000 for his services over a three-year period.
Fuller repeatedly told Hussain to encourage Cromitie to buy an illegal gun. An email Fuller wrote suggested the reason he kept suggesting this was to have a criminal charge versus Cromitie "in our back pocket if things went south." A different email from Fuller to officials at Stewart Airport, another potential target of the plot, stated that Cromitie would be casing the airport but that he posed no danger without help from Hussain.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
who has worked in counter-terrorism. He has questioned suspected terrorists, been a handler of informants in the U.S., and testified in both federal court and Guantanamo military commission
Guantanamo military commission
The Guantanamo military commissions are military tribunals created by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 for prosecuting detainees held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps.- History :...
trials.
September 11 attacks
The 9/11 Commission Report9/11 Commission Report
The 9/11 Commission Report, formally named Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, is the official report of the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks...
stated that in late August 2001, Fuller was given a lead on 9-11 hijacker Khalid al-Mihdhar
Khalid al-Mihdhar
Khalid Muhammad Abdallah al-Mihdhar was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was flown into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
. Fuller was instructed to open an intelligence case and attempt to find al-Mihdhar in the U.S. within the next 30 days. It was Fuller's first counterterrorism lead. He checked New York databases and the New York hotel listed on al-Mihdhar's U.S. entry visa. When nothing showed up, Fuller sent a lead to the FBI office in Los Angeles on September 11, because al-Mihdhar had originally entered the U.S. at Los Angeles International Airport in January 2000.
A Department of Justice Office of Inspector General (OIG) report from November 2004, which was publicly released in 2006, provides a more detailed examination of Fuller's actions during his investigation. The FBI New York Field Office opened a full field intelligence investigation to locate al-Mihdhar on August 29, 2001. Fuller was given the assignment on August 30, without any particular priority, and another investigation kept him from starting until September 4. Fuller first filled out lookout request forms for the INS and U.S. Customs Service on al-Mihdhar. By September 5, Fuller had requested New York City criminal history, NCIC criminal history, credit and motor vehicle checks on al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf al-Hazmi
Nawaf Muhammed Salim al-Hazmi was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was crashed into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks....
, who was mentioned as an associate in the initial lead on al-Mihdhar. Fuller stated to the OIG that he conducted a ChoicePoint
ChoicePoint
ChoicePoint was a data aggregation company based in Alpharetta, near Atlanta, Georgia, United States, that acted as a private intelligence service to government and industry...
search on both men. However, the FBI located records on al-Hazmi in that database soon after September 11, 2001.
The OIG report did not fault Fuller for his efforts on the investigation. Rather, it stated the New York Field Office should have assigned the search more priority and resources.
Informant's self-immolation
On November 15, 2004, an informant Fuller had been working with since November 2001, Mohamed AlanssiMohamed Alanssi
Mohamed Alanssi is a Yemeni national who has worked as an informant for the FBI in over 20 terrorism-related federal prosecutions, starting in November 2001. Alanssi set himself on fire in front of the White House on November 15, 2004...
, set himself on fire in front of the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
.
Alanssi had earlier sent a note to Fuller explaining his action:
Guantanamo military commissions testimony
In 2008, Fuller testified in the Guantanamo military commissionGuantanamo military commission
The Guantanamo military commissions are military tribunals created by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 for prosecuting detainees held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps.- History :...
trial of Salim Hamdan. Fuller stated that it was not FBI policy at the time to give a Miranda warning
Miranda warning
The Miranda warning is a warning given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody before they are interrogated to preserve the admissibility of their statements against them in criminal proceedings. In Miranda v...
about self-incrimination
Self-incrimination
Self-incrimination is the act of accusing oneself of a crime for which a person can then be prosecuted. Self-incrimination can occur either directly or indirectly: directly, by means of interrogation where information of a self-incriminatory nature is disclosed; indirectly, when information of a...
to terrorism suspects. "A source can be a suspect as well," Fuller testified. In March 2002, Hamdan, who had been detained in Kandahar for four months at that time, led FBI agents including Fuller on a tour of three compounds in Afghanistan owned by Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
.
In 2009, Fuller testified in the military commission trial of Omar Khadr
Omar Khadr
Omar Ahmed Khadr is a Canadian child soldier and one of the juveniles held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. He was convicted of five charges under the United States Military Commissions Act of 2009 including murder in violation of the law of war and providing material support for terrorism,...
. Fuller recounted that he interrogated Khadr at Bagram Airbase on October 7, 2002, three months after Khadr was captured. Fuller's report of the interview, written right after it, was introduced as evidence in the trial. The report stated that Khadr took several minutes to identify Maher Arar
Maher Arar
Maher Arar is a telecommunications engineer with dual Syrian and Canadian citizenship who resides in Canada. Arar's story is frequently referred to as "extraordinary rendition" but the U.S. government insisted it was a case of deportation.Arar was detained during a layover at John F...
from a photograph. It also stated that Khadr thought he saw Arar at a Kabul, Afghanistan safe house in September and October of 2001. The day after the interrogation, October 8, 2002, Arar, who had been in detention at J.F.K. airport for the past 12 days, was extraordinarily rendered
Extraordinary rendition
Extraordinary rendition is the abduction and illegal transfer of a person from one nation to another. "Torture by proxy" is used by some critics to describe situations in which the United States and the United Kingdom have transferred suspected terrorists to other countries in order to torture the...
to Syria.
2009 Bronx terrorism plot
Fuller was the FBI handler of an informant who conspired with James CromitieJames Cromitie
James Cromitie is the alleged leader of the 2009 Bronx terrorism plot, a scheme to shoot down military airplanes flying out of an Air National Guard base in Newburgh, New York and blow up two synagogues in the Bronx....
to attempt an attack
2009 Bronx terrorism plot
On May 20, 2009, US law enforcement arrested four black Muslim men in connection with a plot to shoot down military airplanes flying out of an Air National Guard base in Newburgh, New York and blow up two synagogues in the Riverdale community of the Bronx....
on two synagogues in the Bronx in 2009. Cromitie, along with three other defendants, was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Fuller testified at the trial that the informant, Shahed Hussain, made twelve trips to a mosque in Newburgh, New York, "to attempt to interact with other individuals in other F.B.I. counterterrorism operations," and to keep his ear open for "radical Islamic thoughts." Hussain was paid $44,000 for expenses and $53,000 for his services over a three-year period.
Fuller repeatedly told Hussain to encourage Cromitie to buy an illegal gun. An email Fuller wrote suggested the reason he kept suggesting this was to have a criminal charge versus Cromitie "in our back pocket if things went south." A different email from Fuller to officials at Stewart Airport, another potential target of the plot, stated that Cromitie would be casing the airport but that he posed no danger without help from Hussain.