Chris Christie's Post-9/11 Sting Targeted People Who Posed No Threat w/Murtaza Hussain

In a case that made Chris Christie's career, five men were sent to prison for allegedly plotting to attack Fort Dix military base in New Jersey. However, new evidence has come to light about the case of the "Fort Dix Five" that calls into question the tactics used by law enforcement. This interview previously aired on Peacock on August 31, 2021. Sam Seder discusses the Fort Dix Five with The Intercept's Murtaza Hussain.

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Sam: So we are recording this on August 31st the day that the United States has finally ended its occupation of Afghanistan after 20 nearly 20 years a month or so short. Some are suggesting that in some ways this represents an end to the war on terror. I think there's probably some argument that that's not the case based upon authorizations that are life. But they're as we are close to 9/11 and as we are ending the Afghanistan war at least in terms of our occupation it seems an appropriate time to look at some other things that were a function of 9/11 things that took place in its wake. I think people are familiar with the patriot act at least to some extent. And the development of the DHS the department of homeland security. And what I think many people may not be as aware of and certainly those who are younger is the level of spying that was done on this country and the targeting of Muslim people. Joining me now is Murtaza Hussein he is a national security journalist with the intercept. And Murtaza you and I mentioned just before we started to record I interviewed you in 2015 about a case of the Fort Dix Five and I have done since then literally probably thousands of long-form interviews and I don't know if there is a single story that has stuck with me in the way that your piece on the Fort Dix Five has. Because it encapsulated so much of what was wrong about that era and it really is shocking. Welcome to the program and tell us who was the Fort Dix Five.

Hussein: Yeah thanks for having me Sam so the Fort Dix Five were a group of men in Cherry Hill New Jersey who in 2008 was arrested on an accusation of plotting a terrorist attack against the Fort Dix military base. Now, these men most of them were from Albania from former Yugoslavia and they were the subjects of an 18-month long sting operation which had been led at that time by then-new jersey attorney general Chris Christie. And you know hundreds of thousands of dollars were paid to informants in the case who infiltrated their lives and spent time with them and recorded them under the guise of being their friends. They were subject to surveillance for the entire time and ultimately they were charged with these offenses very serious offenses of carrying out this alleged attack against Fort Dix military base. But you know it's interesting at the time the way that story was reported it was a very heated moment in the united states still and 9/11 was only seven years prior and you know there was a lot of warning Iraq was at a peak. And it was reported that you know effectively the FBI and chris christie had fought the terrorist attack. What we found is years later about 2015 we did a very big investigation and documentary about the case we found the actual informant the primary informant used in the case who spoke to us about three of the brothers who were interested in the case he told us that look I was telling the FBI the whole time these guys are not guilty of anything they're not terrorists. and they told me no don't worry about it continue just recording them, recording them. And you know effectively they were convicted set to trial and they were subject to all these very egregious testimonies from terrorism experts who have since been discredited and have had theories used for their convictions which were thrown out of court or not nine miscible in court anymore. at their sentencing, they were given life in prison and the judge actually made a very amazing statement he said that there is not much evidence against you but that did not bother the jury and does not bother me either. so and he pursued a sentence of life in prison.