The prosecution 鈥� and, for the first time, the defense 鈥� weighed in Monday on the case of two men accused of impersonating federal officers in D.C.
Judge G. Michael Harvey continued the hearing on whether Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, should continue to be held until their trial. He started the hearing by saying he wouldn’t make a decision Monday; he’ll make his decision Tuesday at 4 p.m.
The two men were arrested last week at the tail end of the investigation of an alleged assault on a postal worker March 14. When a U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigator began looking into the reported assault, prosecutors said, they learned that the two had been representing themselves as officers of the Department of Homeland Security鈥檚 Homeland Security Investigations unit.
Prosecutors have argued, and argued again Monday, that the pair should be held until their trial, given that they had a large number of guns in the apartments they controlled at the Crossing on First Street apartment building, in the Navy Yard neighborhood; that Taherzadeh admitted deleting social media posts after he learned that law enforcement was investigating them, and that Ali had told someone that he had ties with Pakistani intelligence.
鈥淲hen the only tool you have is a hammer,鈥� said Taherzadeh鈥檚 lawyer, public defender Michelle Peterson, 鈥渆verything looks like a nail.鈥�
Peterson reiterated what she said in her filings earlier in the day: Taherzadeh is only charged with falsely impersonating an officer, and that doesn鈥檛 require pretrial detention.
鈥淚 understand that the government can bring other charges,鈥� Peterson said. 鈥淏ut they have not.鈥�
She said that the fact that Taherzadeh sat for a 5.5-hour interview after his arrest, during which he gave the passcode for his cellphone, makes the notion that he鈥檚 obstructing justice 鈥渓aughable. He has assisted them throughout.鈥�
Peterson added that Taherzadeh posed no danger to the community: the chance that he will try to impersonate an officer are essentially zero, given the publicity the case has attracted.
Harvey pointed out that Taherzadeh was prohibited from owning a gun in light of his misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence; Peterson replied that even being a felon in possession of a gun is not a crime that requires pretrial detention, and the fact that he was granted a permit for a gun 鈥� though he was denied a concealed-carry permit 鈥� indicated that he thought he was entitled to own it.
Ali鈥檚 lawyer, Gregory Smith, said the government was 鈥渙ut over its skis,鈥� and called the notion that Ali might be an agent of Pakistani intelligence an 鈥渆laborate conspiracy theory that they鈥檝e been spinning to the press鈥� that was 鈥渦tterly false and preposterous.鈥�
鈥淗ow鈥檚 my client going to get over this?,鈥� Smith said.
He pointed out that Ali faces a maximum sentence of three years, and that, as a first-time offender, he would likely be sentenced to no more than six months if he鈥檚 convicted, and could get no jail time at all. Indeed, Smith said, Ali could be held in pretrial detention longer than he would spend in jail.
Taherzadeh鈥檚 father, Masoud Taherzadeh, of Virginia, told the judge that he would take Taherzadeh in if he鈥檚 released before trial.
Harvey asked Masoud Taherzadeh whether anyone would be home during the day if Taherzadeh were released to his custody. He replied that he would ask to work remotely if it came to that, but if necessary, 鈥淚 will quit my job. I will stay home,鈥� he said, breaking into tears.
More documents
In documents filed over the weekend, prosecutors said, 鈥渨ith every new fact uncovered鈥� in their investigation, 鈥渢he story only gets worse.鈥�
While the prosecutors had said in Friday鈥檚 hearing that Taherzadeh had worked as a Special Police Officer for the D.C. police, they said in a document filed Sunday that that was not the case. They added that some of the magazines found with the guns in their apartments were illegal high-capacity magazines.
They added that Taherzadeh had to change his company鈥檚 name, because it was originally called United States Special Police. D.C.鈥檚 Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs made him change it because 鈥渢hat name risked confusing the LLC with federal law enforcement and conveying false authority.鈥� Taherzadeh changed it to USSP.
Peterson said in her filing the entire affair was 鈥渁n embarrassing misrepresentation that got out of control鈥� and included a summary of an interview with a postal inspector from March 21 in which Taherzadeh was asked whether he was a DHS special agent. He replied, 鈥渘o.鈥�
When told that Ali had said he was, Taherzadeh said he had 鈥渘o idea鈥� why that would be.
Ali鈥檚 lawyer, Gregory Smith, on Monday said in a document that Ali told the postal inspector that USSP was part of DHS, but not that he himself was a federal worker. When informed that USSP was not a government agency or contractor, he texted the inspector that he 鈥渂asically lied鈥� because he 鈥渏ust wanted to feel like I was on the same level with you guys and I have realized my mistake, that鈥檚 really stupid of me.鈥� He offered to turn himself in, the document said, but instead 鈥渨as arrested without warning.鈥�
Smith also said that the government was engaged in 鈥渟peculation鈥� about the nature of the pair鈥檚 alleged scheme and 鈥渞eckless innuendo about how this case somehow involves a threat to national security.鈥� They added that, while the prosecutors are claiming that recent travel to Pakistan and Iran makes Ali a flight risk, they don鈥檛 know whether he had any contacts in Pakistan, nor whether he got any money from them.
Smith also argued that most of the bad acts the government is charging the two with were allegedly carried out by Taherzadeh only. The apartment described as 鈥渃ontrolled by Ali鈥� in the prosecutors鈥� filing contained only 鈥渓aptops, flash drives, a USSP badge and police lights that can be installed in a vehicle.鈥�
Peterson said Taherzadeh didn鈥檛 have the money to flee: While the pair controlled five apartments, the lawyer argued, 鈥渢he rent on the apartments was not paid by anyone.鈥� In January, the landlord of the Crossing building won a $222,000 judgment.
Four Secret Service officers have been placed on leave in the wake of the investigation.
