Hayat, 23, was convicted in April of one count of providing material support to terrorists by attending an al-Qaida training camp in Pakistan, and three counts of lying about it to FBI agents. In court papers, Hayat's attorneys cited reports by juror Alicia Lopez and Theresa Berkeley-Simmons that Cote used racial slurs during the trail, including saying that Pakistanis or Muslims all "look alike" if dressed the same. They also pointed to an Atlantic magazine interview that Cote gave after the trial where he said he likened Hayat to young Pakistani men responsible for the London subway bombings. This indicates that Cote "flatly disregarded his assurance that he harbored no prejudices against Pakistanis or Muslims, as well as his promise to disregard whatever he had read in the media," the lawyers wrote in the motion. In addition to complaints about jury bias, Hayat's attorneys said U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr., should have allowed a retired FBI agent to testify about the bureau's interview procedures.
They said James Wedick, a 34-year veteran of the FBI, would have revealed the inappropriateness of Hayat's confession. Hayat's attorneys said their client was worn down by the agents' interrogation and confessed to crimes he did not commit. Hayat is a U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent. He faces up to 39 years in prison. Prosecutors have until Dec. 15 to file a response, and a hearing is scheduled for Jan. 19. "We will respond in court at the appropriate time," U.S. attorney McGregor Scott said Saturday. At trial, prosecutors said Hayat returned from a two-year visit to Pakistan in May 2005 intent on attacking targets that may have included hospitals, banks and grocery stores. His videotaped confession was the heart of the government's case.
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More trouble for the electronic voting machine industry was disclosed recently as one such company now finds itself under investigation by the federal government. The investigation stems form the California companies alleged ties to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The investigation centers around a company called Smartmatic, and its subsidiary, Sequoia Voting Systems of Oakland. Smartmatic is owned by three Venezuelans who purchased Sequoia in 2005. The company has voting equipment in 17 states, including California with more than a dozen California counties will operate Sequoia systems in the November election. The investigation is being conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States which is examining whether Venezuelan's leftist government has any influence over the company's voting machine operations.
Smartmatic provided voting machines for the 2004 Venezuelan election when Hugo Chavez was elected president. Chavez is a longtime foe of the Bush Administration and strong ally of President Fidel Castro of Cuba. Chavez made scathing comments about President Bush last month during a speech at the United Nations in New York, calling Bush the "devil.” Smartmatic Attorney Jeff Bialos confirmed the federal probe this weekend, but said the company has no improper connection to the Venezuelan government. Bialos maintains there is "no basis for the allegations." Voting rights groups across the country have expressed concern about the security of America's electronic voting machines.
They say the machines were rushed into production after the Florida’s infamous "hanging chad" fiasco and worry the young technology is vulnerable to hacking. "They're privately owned," said Lowell Finley of Voter Action. "Nobody has access to the software that runs the voting systems, and (voters) have no sense of what the interests might be behind the owners of these companies," he said. "This is a xenophobic reaction,” said U.C. San Francisco Professor Patrick Hatcher to News 10. "And it's not a good thing for the American people to fall for those kinds of, what should I call them, propaganda from the other side," Hatcher said. The San Francisco professor likens the growing uproar over the Venezuelan voting machine connection to the attempted takeover of American ports earlier this year by a company based in Dubai. Hatcher says foreign ownership of voting technology shouldn't be a concern. "No, not at all," Hatcher said. "But it's a reflection of politics today, because the head of the Venezuelan government is much disliked along the Potomac River.
