United States v. Noureddine Malki

United States v. Noureddine Malki (Immigration fraud; contact w/ Iraqi insurgents; U.S. Army contract interpreter):

- Complaint (Added 2/6/08) According this filing by FBI Special Agent Robert Long, Malki made multiple false statements on his naturalization form and his SF-86 security clearance form, including lying about his name, his birth date, and his place of birth. Long writes, “the defendant was born at an unknown location outside the United States. At some unknown time, the defendant entered the United States. The defendant’s true identity is unknown.” Long continues, “in August 2003, Titan [Corporation] hired the defendant as a contract interpreter. That same year, and in subsequent years, Titan deployed the defendant to Iraq to provide Arabic interpreting services for the United States military.” Malki served with, among others, an intelligence group in the 82nd Airborne Division and held a Top Secret security clearance.

- Indictment (Added 2/6/08) In November 2005, DOJ charged Malki with making false statements on his security clearance form, as well as when interviewed by FBI agents. He was also charged with naturalization fraud.

- DOJ Press Release on Guilty Plea (Added 2/6/08) In February 2007, DOJ announced that Malki had pled guilty to illegally possessing national defense documents. According to the press release, “during assignments in Iraq, the defendant took various classified documents from the U.S. Army without authorization. While assigned to an intelligence group in the 82nd Airborne Division…the defendant downloaded a classified document and took hard copies of several other classified documents. The documents detail the 82nd Airborne’s mission in Iraq in regard to insurgent activity, such as coordinates of insurgent locations upon which the U.S. Army was preparing to fire in January 2004 and U.S. Army plans for protecting Sunni Iraqis traveling on their pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in late January 2004. During a later deployment to a U.S. Army base near Najaf, Iraq, the defendant photographed a classified battle map identifying U.S. troop routes used in August 2004 during the bloody battle of Najaf, where the U.S. and Iraqi security forces sustained serious casualties. In September 2005, the JTTF recovered these classified documents during a search of the defendant’s Brooklyn apartment.”

- Transcript of Plea Hearing (Added 2/6/08) This filing provides a transcript of the hearing at which Malki pled guilty.

- U.S. Government Sentencing Memorandum (Added 2/6/08) This government filing reveals that Malki has claimed to other individuals that he is from Mauritania and that upon his return to the U.S., he “had phone contact with numerous Iraqi phone numbers linked to suspected insurgent forces.” Moreover, he “has admitted receiving graft while working as a translator for the 82nd Airborne,” accepting “at least ten thousand dollars in cash from several Sunni sheiks who were seeking to obtain and re-new truck transportation contracts with the U.S. military in Iraq.” He also “agreed to sponsor two of those individuals’ applications for visa to enter the United States.”

- Images Found on Malki’s Computer (Added 5/21/08) Several notable images were found on Malki’s computer, including a photo of the Empire State building with a bullseye on it, as well as a photo of a plane about to strike the World Trade Center.

- Declaration of Noureddine Malki (Added 2/6/08) Malki writes, “my love for America started when I was very young.” He continues, “my love for America is pure and so strong that there is no doubt whatsoever about my loyalty and patriotism…I am honored to be living in America.” He further claims, “I never had any connection with insurgents…” The document also describes Malki’s experiences in Iraq, as well as with federal law enforcement agents.

- Titan Corporation Performance Evaluations: Noureddine Malki (Added 2/6/08) Malki’s attorneys entered his Titan Corporation performance evaluations into evidence. Malki consistently received stellar reviews.

- Department of Defense Performance Evaluations: Noureddine Malki (Added 2/6/08) Malki’s attorneys entered a number of extremely positive letters from Department of Defense personnel into evidence. For example, a U.S. Army Captain wrote, “his contributions have undoubtedly saved the lives of countless soldiers and civilians while ensuring that the insurgency and terrorist threat was drastically reduced. I highly recommend Almaliki for future employment in any linguist or translator capacity and would gladly serve with him again in either peacetime or war.” And a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army wrote that Malki was “the best linguist I have served with in my 17 years of service.”

- Letters in Support (Added 7/30/08) These letters were sent to the judge in support of a lighter sentence for Malki.

- DOJ Press Release on Sentencing (Added 5/20/08) Malki was sentenced to 121 months of imprisonment for illegally possessing national defense documents, and using a false identity to procure his U.S. citizenship and to gain access to classified military materials. Malki was also stripped of his U.S. citizenship.