Dennis Wagner of the Arizona Republic reports on the case of Faisal Michael Al Salmi. Excerpt:
Faisal Michael Al Salmi, an Arizona man who was indicted as part of the federal anti-terrorism campaign, failed an FBI lie-detector examination when asked if he played a role in the Sept. 11 attacks, according to court records.
However, Al Salmi passed a second test when he denied participating in those events.
Al Salmi faces a two-count indictment on charges of providing false information to the FBI. Investigators first contacted him after discovering that he had rented a flight simulator at Sawyer Aviation in Phoenix. Hani Hanjour, the suicide hijacker who crashed a jetliner into the Pentagon, also trained on the simulator.
Frederick F. Kay, an assistant federal public defender who represents Al Salmi, could not be reached for comment. Kay disclosed the lie-detector results in a U.S. District Court motion asking that the evidence be precluded at trial.
FBI agents first questioned Al Salmi on Sept. 18, when he denied knowing Hanjour and agreed to a polygraph exam. Before the test began, agents told Al Salmi they believed he had lied to them. His answer: “Just because I met someone doesn’t mean I know his plans.”
During the first test, Al Salmi was asked, “Did you see Hani in Arizona?” and, “Did you help in any way with the bombing last week?” He answered “no” to both questions, and a polygrapher concluded that the responses were deceptive.
Kay’s motion says Al Salmi then acknowledged that he met Hanjour at a Tempe mosque, but insisted he played no role in the Sept. 11 attacks.
During a second lie-detector test, he was asked, “Did you see Hani at Sawyer Aviation this summer?” and, “Did you participate in the terrorist acts on Sept. 11?”
Al Salmi answered “no” again. This time, the examiner found that his responses were not deceptive.
Mr. Al Salmi’s “failing” one day and “passing” the next is hardly surprising, considering that polygraph “tests” have no theoretical foundation and lack both standardization and scientific control.