San Diego Student Allegedly Knew 3 of Sept. 11 Skyjackers

A San Diego college student held on false document charges knew three of the Sept. 11 skyjackers and helped them acclimate to the U.S. by obtaining Social Security cards, driver’s licenses and information about student visas that could be used for flight schools in Florida, according to federal court papers filed this week.

Mohdar Abdallah, indicted last fall on charges of lying on U.S. immigration forms, “regularly dined, worked and prayed with the hijackers” who crashed an American Airlines jet into the Pentagon, the federal court documents say.

Abdallah, 21, is also described as a “close associate” of the terrorists by a San Diego man who himself has been accused by authorities of providing financial assistance to two of the hijackers, the 18-page court filing says.

The papers were filed as a response to a request by defense attorneys that the immigration charges against the San Diego State University student be dismissed. Abdallah is being held in federal custody in San Diego on $500,000 bail.

The defense also asks that a notebook found in Abdallah’s car, which prosecutors say contains references to “planes falling from the sky, mass killings and hijacking,” should not be entered into evidence because it was improperly discovered. The defense also says the entries were written after Sept. 11 by someone other than Abdallah.

Prosecution papers say Abdallah made himself available without a lawyer present for interviews by FBI agents within days after the East Coast attacks--including sessions held at two San Diego restaurants--but that “he was neither truthful nor candid.”

As such, authorities allege, the agents “did not believe Abdallah’s denial of knowledge of the attacks or the plans of his friends,” Hani Hanjour, Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid al-Midhar.

Attorney Kerry Steigerwalt, defending Abdallah in the documents case, dismissed the allegations as unfair and unfounded, noting that his client has been charged only with making false statements on immigration forms.

“If these [new] allegations were true, the government would have indicted him a long time ago,” Steigerwalt said.

Attorney Randy Hamud, who represents Abdallah in connection with deportation proceedings, added that the government’s filing “has absolutely nothing to do with the immigration counts” filed against Abdallah.

“These are nothing more than inflammatory statements by the government to demonize my client,” said Hamud. He also challenged a prosecution contention that Abdallah failed to show up as promised for a polygraph test.

“When he told a community leader that agents wanted to administer a polygraph, this person advised my client to talk to a lawyer first,” Hamud said. “Abdallah told the FBI he wanted to talk to a lawyer first before agreeing to the test. That was his right.”

Hamud said Abdallah was arrested about 2 p.m. Sept. 21, though he had agreed to meet with FBI agents again at 9 p.m. that day. He was arrested while dropping off a friend at work.

Abdallah is scheduled to be in court Monday, when attorneys will argue over his lawyer’s motion to dismiss the indictment.

If he’s convicted, Steigerwalt said, Abdallah would serve no more than the time he already has spent in custody since he was arrested by the FBI.

Authorities also plan to press deportation proceedings against Abdallah, regardless of the outcome of the criminal case.