The United States v. Adam Gadahn: A Case for Treason

• Author: Douglas A. Kash
• Position: B.A., M.S., J.D.
• Pages: 1-25

THE UNITED STATES V. ADAM GADAHN:

A CASE FOR TREASON

DOUGLAS A. KASH1+

“[T]here is no crime whi ch can more excite and agitate the

passions of men t han treason . . . .”

— Chief Justice J ohn Marshall1

I. INTRODUCTION

In October 2006, a federal grand jury from the Central Distri ct of

California indicted Adam Gadahn for treason.2 This m arked the first time

“since th e World War II era” t hat an American was ch arged with treason.3

In fact, the United States h as only brought charg es of treason

approximately thirty times s ince the birth of the nation.4 According to the

indictment, Gadahn “kno wingly adh ered to an enemy of th e United States,

namely, al-Qaeda, an d gave al-Qaeda aid and comfort, with in the United

States and elsewhere, with intent to betray the United States.”5 If

convicted Gadah n could be sentenced to death, or he could be s entenced to

_______________________________________________________

Copyright © 2008, Dougla s A. Kash.

1 Douglas A. Kash, B .A., M.S., J.D., serves as a S enior Attorney with the Drug

Enforcement Administration, Office of C hief Coun sel, U.S. Department of Justice. Mr.

Kash’s duti es include repre senting the Un ited States in actions filed by confidential

informants.

+ As a ma tter of policy, th e Drug Enforcement Administration discla ims responsibility

for any p rivate publication or statement by any of its employees. T he views expressed

herein are the author's alone and do no t necessarily represent the views of the United St ates

Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration or any officer or entity of the

United States Government.

1 Ex parte Bollman, 8 U.S. (4 C ranch) 75, 125 (1807).

2 First Superseding Indictment at 3–8, United States v. Ada m Gadahn, No. SA CR 05-

254( A) (C .D. C al. O ct. 1 1, 2 006), availa ble at h ttp://www .usdoj.go v/opa/do cuments/

adam_indictment.pdf.

3 Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of Justice, U.S. Ci tizen Indicted on Treason, Material

Support Ch arges for Providin g Aid and Comfort to al Qaeda (Oct. 11, 20 06), available at

http://www.usdoj.gov/op a/pr/2006/October/06_nsd_695.html.

4 Dan Egg en & K aren DeYoung, U.S. Support er of Al-Qa eda is Indicted on Treason

Charge, WASH. POST, Oct. 12, 2006, at A3.

5 First Superseding Indictment , supra note 2, at 3.

2 CAPITAL UNIV ERSITY LAW REVIEW [37:1

at least five ye ars in prison and fined at leas t ten thousand dollars.6 If

sentenced to the latter, he would also “be incapable of holding any office

under the United Stat es.”7 Gadahn also fa ces additional charges of

providing material support to a designated terrorist organization,8 which

can add fifteen yea rs in prison to hi s sentence if he is convicted.9

Adam Y ahiye Gadah n, also known as Azzam al -Amriki or Azzam the

American,10 was raised on a goat farm in Southern California.11 Alt hough

his famil y’s lineag e includes Jews,12 his father adhered to atheism until he

converted to Christianity.13 In his late teen s, Gadahn moved in with hi s

grandparents where he left the world of zealous Ch ristian evangelists and

heavy metal rock music and found Is lam o n t he Internet.14 In November

1995, he began the formal conversion pro cess at a mos que with an Imam.15

Gadahn p rayed fiv e times each day and beg an associat ing with a group o f

young worshippers who were repo rtedly followers of, if not associat ed

with, al- Qaeda.16 Gadahn soon b egan working fo r “Charity Without

Borders,” which purpo rtedly recycled motor oil using public funds but

actually funneled th e money to al-Q aeda.17

In 1998, Gadahn moved to Pakistan and married an Afghan woman.18

While it is unclear when, eventually, Gadahn began working directly with

_______________________________________________________

6 18 U.S.C. § 2381 (2000).

7 Id.

8 First Superseding Indictment , supra note 2, at 9.

9 18 U.S.C. § 2339B(a)(1) (Su pp. V 2005).

10 Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of Jus tice, supra note 3.

11 Amy Argetsinger, Muslim Teen Made Conversion to Fury, WASH. PO ST, December 2,

2004, at A3.

12 Id.

13 Raffi Khatchadourian, Azzam the American : The Making of an Al Qaeda

Homegrown, NEW YORKER, Jan. 22, 2 007, at 50, 52.

14 Id. at 52–56.

15 Id. at 56. Gadah n later assaulted one o f the witnesses to his Shahada, an Arabic term

meaning “bearing witness.” Id. at 56, 59, 61.

16 SITE INSTITUTE, AL-QAEDA’S AME RICAN MUJAHID: AZZAM THE AMERICAN AKA

ADAM GADAHN 2, http://www.siteintelgroup.org/terrorismlibrary/charts_maps/charts_maps_

1160604811.pdf (last visited S ept. 29, 2008).

17 Id.

18 Id. at 3.