Just exactly what is the government hiding on one of its star terrorism “expert” witnesses? It’s a question many defense attorneys are asking across the nation as the man, of questionable credentials, shows up in courtroom after courtroom to support government cases.
His name is Evan Kohlmann, and he’s the subject of an intriguing piece from FirstLook.org, “Doogie Huckster: A Terrorism Expert’s Secret Relationship with the FBI.”
According to FirstLook, to begin with, the credentials of Kohlman are suspicious:
Kohlmann’s claimed expertise is his ability to explore the dark corners of the Internet — the so-called deep web, which isn’t indexed by commercial search engines — and monitor what the Islamic State, al Qaeda and their sympathizers are saying, as well as network the relationships among these various actors. Kohlmann doesn’t speak Arabic, however, and aside from a few days each in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Dubai and Qatar, has hardly any experience in the Arab world. Kohlmann’s research is gleaned primarily from the Internet.
In court questionings and cross examinations, judges are quick to end questioning about Mr. Kohlmann’s backgorund. Again, from FirstLook:
“You have done more than consulting for the FBI, correct?” Dratel asked Kohlmann.
“Correct,” Kohlmann said from the witness stand.
“You have done more than act as an expert for the government, correct?” Dratel followed.
“That’s correct, yes,” Kohlmann admitted.
That’s as far as the judge would allow.
So what, exactly, is the government hiding about this expert? You can read the full article from FirstLook.org here.
