Why the DOJ just filed charges against Hamas leaders it is unlikely to ever arrest

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Why the DOJ just filed charges against ****** leaders it is unlikely to ever arrest

Why? And why now?

Those were the first questions that sprang to mind Tuesday, when the

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charging six leaders of ****** for their roles in the

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that ******* around 1,200 people, including 40 U.S. citizens.

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said the ******* was the “culmination of ******’s decades-long campaign of terrorism and ********* against ******* and its allies, including ********* citizens.”

According to the

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in the Southern District of New York, ****** was founded “to create an Islamic ************ state throughout ******* by eliminating the State of ******* through violent holy war.” The complaint further states that “****** has murdered and injured dozens of Americans as part of its campaign of ********* and *******,” and has done so “in retaliation for and in an effort to weaken ********* support for *******’s right to exist and defense of that right.” The 38-page document details decades of brutal attacks and atrocities going back to 1997 that were allegedly committed by a group the U.S. government has designated a foreign ********** organization since.

Let’s start with the first question. Why would the DOJ file charges against ****** leaders it is unlikely to ever arrest and bring to trial, particularly when three of those leaders have been already been *******?

First, the Justice Department has long been in the business of using ********* prosecution to hold terrorists who ***** ********* citizens accountable, even when the conduct occurs overseas. For example, in 2002, the Justice Department announced charges against Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh for his role in the brutal ******** of journalist

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, despite the defendant’s pending charges in Pakistan. In 2017, Ahmed Abu Khatallah was convicted in a U.S. court for helping to plan and carry out the

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that resulted in the ****** of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans posted in Libya.

In some instances, it can take years or even decades to bring defendants to justice, but the DOJ has pursued terrorists relentlessly across administrations. In 2020, the Justice Department unsealed charges against the accused maker of the ***** that destroyed

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and ******* 190 Americans over Lockerbie, Scotland, 34 years earlier. In 2021, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York announced charges against Taliban commander

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for his alleged role in the ******** of three ********* service members in 2008. In 2011, prosecution of the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in

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was completed with the life sentence of the fifth defendant, Ahmad Ghailani.

As

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noted in his press remarks this week, “the Justice Department has a long memory,” vowing to pursue terrorists responsible for murdering Americans “for the rest of their lives.”

The second reason to file ********* charges is to achieve what the DOJ and other experts sometimes

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Even when charges do not result in a ********* conviction and penalty, they can serve as a sort of moral condemnation on the world stage, in this case forcing foreign governments to take note of ******’ record of terrorism.

To the extent ****** portrays itself as a legitimate political entity or one engaged in humanitarian efforts, the indictment paints a starkly different picture of a group that engages in vicious *********. The complaint describes the October 7 ******* as a “massacre,” detailing abductions, the burning of homes, shootings with machine guns at point-blank range and ******* ********* against women, including ***** and ******** mutilation. It details brutality against grandparents and young children.

The complaint also calls out Iran for allegedly supporting, supplying and training ****** to achieve its own objectives of “damaging, weakening, and ultimately destroying both the ******* States and *******.” Hezbollah, another group the U.S. government designates a ********** organization, is also named in the complaint as an ally of ****** that assisted in the Oct. 7 *******. Calling Iran, Hezbollah and ****** the “axis of resistance,” the complaint lays out a damning account of their conduct against the ******* States and its citizens.

A third reason to file a ********* complaint against ****** may be to curtail its fundraising capabilities. The complaint specifies in great detail how the organization solicited and received $7.7 million in funds to promote ********** activities through cryptocurrency payments, ostensibly to protect donor anonymity. By disclosing that the U.S. government is capable of tracking payments, prosecutors may hope to deter donors from contributing further.

But even if the reasons for filing the complaint may be compelling, the question ******** as to why now. The announcement of charges comes at a time when cease-***** negotiations between ******* and Gaza seem especially fragile. During the weekend, ******** authorities recovered in a tunnel beneath Gaza the bodies of

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who had recently been *******. On Monday,

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responded to

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seemed to double down on his demands. His remarks made the odds of a resolution soon feel even less likely.

The complaint offers some tells about its timing. The last page of the complaint asks the court to seal the document except as needed “to secure the defendants’ arrest, extradition, or expulsion, or as otherwise required for purposes of national security.” That page also indicates that the complaint was filed in February, before the three deceased defendants were *******. To the extent authorities had hoped to find and arrest them in a country that permits extradition, their deaths reduce the complaint’s need for secrecy.

This is not the DOJ going rogue. I know from my own experience as a federal prosecutor that policy prohibits charging decisions on the basis of politics. When a case may affect national security or foreign policy, it always involves interagency coordination. The White House and the State Department most certainly would have been briefed and asked to assess this case in light of the ******* States’ objectives in the Middle East. Garland himself hinted at this coordination when he referred to “the whole-of-government effort to bring the Americans still being held ******** home.” Similarly,

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said Tuesday, “when it comes to U.S. policy, we have long made clear that our first priority when it comes to terrorists is to see terrorists apprehended and brought the ******* States to stand trial for their *******.”

It’s also possible recent events actually prompted the DOJ’s decision to unseal the complaint. ******’ refusal to release hostages will remain a sticking point to any cease-***** resolution. This may be DOJ’s way of reminding ****** that the U.S. is in the ****** for the long haul.

As Miller said Tuesday, “It is time to finalize that deal. The people of ******* cannot afford to wait any longer. The ************ people, who are also suffering the terrible effects of this war, cannot afford to wait any longer. The world cannot afford to wait any longer.”

This article was originally published on

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#DOJ #filed #charges #****** #leaders #arrest

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