NACDL - National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

USA v. Moalin

The case involves four Somali immigrants who were convicted in San Diego on terrorism financing charges. Following the revelations from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013, it came to light that the investigation of defendant Basaaly Moalin was a product of the NSA’s phone metadata surveillance program under Section 215 of the Patriot Act. To date, Moalin is the only instance identified by the government where the NSA’s mass surveillance program has been used in a terrorism prosecution. None of the defense attorneys was made aware of the NSA’s involvement at trial.