Nichols’ Bail Hearing Judge Faults Interrogators’ Tactics
EL RENO, Okla. — A federal judge denied bail Friday for accused Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry L. Nichols, but also sharply criticized government authorities for “definitely inappropriate†actions in their interrogation of the suspect.
U.S. District Judge David Russell ordered authorities to turn over prison records to determine if the actions constitute misconduct. Those actions, disclosed by Nichols’ defense attorney, provide further indications that the federal investigation has slowed considerably--and that Nichols is not providing evidence of involvement by himself or others.
At the close of a 90-minute hearing inside the federal correctional institution here, Russell ruled that Nichols would pose a danger to society and would be a flight risk if he were set free on bail before he can be tried on charges in connection with the April 19 bombing.
But earlier in the proceedings, the judge grew visibly upset upon learning from defense attorney Michael Tigar that Nichols collapsed in tears last month after his wife visited him in prison.
Tigar charged that the government held Nichols’ wife “incommunicado†in hotels for 34 days before letting Nichols see her in prison. He suggested that the visit was purposely arranged by the government in hopes that Nichols would break down and either confess to the bombing or implicate others.
After Nichols collapsed, Tigar said, he was subjected to two interviews by government psychologists. The interviews occurred against Nichols’ will and outside the presence of his attorney, violating his constitutional right to counsel during questioning, Tigar said.
“That strikes me as definitely inappropriate,†said an angry Russell. He ordered copies of all mental evaluation reports and other prison records concerning Nichols.
Patrick Ryan, the interim U.S. attorney in Oklahoma City, told the judge that the government was not trying to unduly pressure Nichols or force him to incriminate himself or others in the explosion at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building that killed 168 people and injured 500.
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Rather, Ryan said, officials were merely following Federal Bureau of Prison rules in providing psychological services to inmates who appear emotionally distraught.
“I have no indication that this was done to interrogate him,†Ryan said. “It was done solely to calm him down.â€
Tigar countered that rules for prison inmates should not be applied to his client because he has not been convicted of a crime and is merely being held while awaiting trial.
Tigar also said that the government’s tactics demonstrate its investigation “has stalled, or at least is in slow motion†as it searches for additional suspects beyond Nichols and his former Army buddy, Timothy J. McVeigh.
Except for their original affidavit outlining evidence against Nichols when they charged him last month, the government has provided scant new details about its case against him or McVeigh. Prosecutors provided no new details at Friday’s bail detention hearing.
But Joseph Hartzler, a federal prosecutor from Springfield, Ill., who is leading the government’s prosecution team, scoffed after the hearing at the idea that the investigation has stalled.
“He is entitled to say whatever he wants,†Hartzler said of Tigar. “That’s his interpretation.â€
Tigar opened the hearing by arguing that Nichols should be released on bail because of his treatment by the government. The attorney said Nichols’ wife, Marife, was held 34 days by FBI agents and Army criminal intelligence investigators and not allowed to speak to either her husband or his attorneys.
Marife Nichols told Tigar that the agents would not give her the phone number for her husband’s attorneys, and even seized a diary she kept of the month she was held by the government. At the time, Tigar said, she was two months pregnant and trying to care for their 22-month-old daughter.
“It is a fair inference that the enforced separation of the couple was deliberately designed to encourage Mr. Nichols and Mrs. Nichols to provide information to the government,†Tigar said.
“She was moved from hotel to hotel, constantly in the custody of the FBI and the Army. She was not free and did not feel free to leave.
“After Terry Nichols was allowed to see his wife and child, his spirits were down,†the lawyer said. “He wept. He called me and he wept.â€
Tigar said he learned later that two prison psychologists interviewed Nichols after his wife’s visit.
He also charged that guards tried to put greater psychological pressure on Nichols by keeping a light on in his cell for a solid week, 24 hours a day.
Tigar said it is unfair to Nichols that Michael Fortier, a friend of McVeigh’s, remains free even though he has reportedly told the FBI that he and McVeigh “cased†the Murrah building before the explosion.
Tigar also refuted the government’s assertion that Terry Nichols used three aliases in renting storage bins in Kansas because he was trying to conceal his involvement in helping to assemble the bomb.
Rather, Tigar said, Nichols was in default with his creditors and used aliases to rent the storage bins so that he could protect his personal belongings from repossession.
Tigar sought to play down the importance of a series of letters that Nichols wrote over the last few years disavowing his allegiance to the United States and recanting his citizenship. Tigar said the letters pale in comparison to those written by other more vehement members of state militias and other anti-government organizations.
“These are the sort of documents we see a lot of, particularly in this part of the country,†Tigar said. “There are a lot of tax-protester cases.â€
Nichols, in an orange prison jumpsuit, did not speak during the hearing. But his mother, Joyce Wilt, and sister, Suzanne McDonald--both of Michigan--were present and, although they did not testify, were prepared to be responsible for him should he be released on bail.
But Vicki Behenna, another government prosecutor, noted that a federal magistrate has already found “probable cause†that Nichols was involved in the conspiracy. And she said bail should not be granted now because Nichols has moved around a lot in recent years, used aliases and has expressed deep anger against the United States.
“He has no ties to the community,†she said. “In fact, he thumbs his nose at the very government that is trying to hold him.â€
Tigar plans to appeal the ruling to the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.
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