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Federal Prosecutors File Charges Against San Diego Man Who Lied About Knowing Hijackers

Aired October 19, 2001 - 10:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Daryn, in the past hour we've been talking about somewhat of a break on the investigative side -- an arrest warrant being issued overseas, specifically in the country of Germany.

Susan Candiotti brought us that news. Back to Washington with more now. Susan, what do you have?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yet another new development. This time out of New York City, Bill. We are learning from the federal prosecutors there -- located in Manhattan -- they have unsealed an indictment being issued by a grand jury there just a short time ago. That has an indirect link to the September 11th attacks.

Let me explain it to you this way. Charges have now been filed against Osama Awadala (ph), originally from Jordan. He is identified as a college student who had been living in San Diego. An attorney for his client says that he had come into some contact with at least one of the suspected hijackers back in San Diego.

Today, Osama Awadala is being charged with making false statements to a grand jury out of New York. We just received information about this a little while ago, so I'll be referring heavily to my notes here. In the first of two counts against Awadala, he has been charged with making a false statement when he said he didn't know anyone by the name of Khalid, that is suspected hijacker Khalid Almihdhar, involved in the September 11th attacks. Lying under oath. Now additionally, he is charged with making a false statement to the grand jury when he said he didn't know another person, another suspected hijacker by the name of Nawaf Alhazmi.

In a written statement, Mary Joe White, the prosecutor out of New York City, said the following -- in her words "every witness brought before a grand jury as part of the investigation of the horrific attacks on September 11th, indeed as part of any investigation, has an absolute obligation to tell the truth throughout his or her testimony. This prosecution demonstrates," Mary Joe white says, "that we will not allow perjury to impede the pursuit of justice for the victims of these terrorists through lies and deception and that they will be vigorously prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

These charges again have been filed as part of the joint terrorism task force. And are only charges at this time.

So Bill this is certainly a very important development coming out of New York City, involved in this case. And it's not the first time we have had charges filed in connection with the September 11th attacks. We do know that someone else was charged with lying before a federal grand jury in Arizona about knowing one of the other suspected hijackers.

And in Virginia, we had a few people charged with supplying identification papers to some of the suspected hijackers.

HEMMER: Alright. A lot to follow. It is a bouncy, bouncy ball.

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