Tag: Mike Hawash

So Dan Gillmor wrote about Mike Hawash’s guilty plea today, but he still demonstrates an annoying ignorance of the basic facts surrounding the case. According to Gillmor,

Hawash was held without charges of any kind for weeks, incommunicado
and in a judicial limbo that only lifted when people started raising a
ruckus.

Sorry, Dan, but Hawash was not held incommunicado for weeks. He was granted access to a lawyer and contact with his family shortly after he was arrested.

Steve McGeady did claim that (emphasis added),

Mike was held incommunicado from his wife and attorneys for several days.

But nobody’s ever published a timeline of when he first saw a lawyer/talked to his wife, or what caused the delay. It’s likely the delay is related to the fact that Hawash was arrested — apparently completely by surprise to he and his wife — on a Thursday. The delay likely means he didn’t see a lawyer until the Monday after his arrest (if anyone has more concrete information, please e-mail me or post it here).

If he had been held for weeks incommunicado that would have been a major violation of his rights. But that simply never happened.

What a difference a day makes. Last night anyone who visited FreeMikeHawash.Org would have been informed that Mike Hawash was being unfairly prosecuted because of his religious beliefs (emphasis added),

On April 28, the day before Mike would have been ordered released, the U.S. Justice Department issued a Complaint, charging Mike with Conspiracy to Levy War on the United States. Mike is being targeted because he is a Muslim. The Justice Department has organized a smear campaign to portray him as a radical.

Mike’s attorney, Mr. Stephen Houze, has characterized the evidence in the Affidavit provided to be “sketchy” and “circumstantial”. The evidence provided is substantially less detailed and conclusive than that against the alleged “Portland 6” co-conspirators.

Visit the site today, however, and it’s a whole different story,

Aug 6: Mike pled guilty today to one count of his three-count indictment. He admitted attempting to enter Afghanistan with members of the “Portland 6”. We hope that justice has been served, and our focus now shifts to support for Mike’s family in this difficult time.

I can’t wait to read what Dan Gillmor makes of this Kafka-esque turn of events. Somebody call Andy Grove!