Court documents reveal the father of the Pulse nightclub gunman was an FBI informant
Court documents revealed that the father of Omar Mateen, the Pulse nightclub shooter who killed 49 people on June, 12, 2016, had been an FBI informant for over a decade.
The FBI also investigated the elder Mateen for money transfers to Turkey and Pakistan, which officials reportedly believed were to help fund "an attack against the government of Pakistan."
Lawyers defending Noor Salman, Mateen's wife, are using this revelation to call for a mistrial, saying the FBI wants to cover up its failure in handling the case by blaming it on Salman.
Lawyers defending Noor Salman, the wife of Omar Mateen, the gunman who killed 49 at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, have uncovered documents showing that Seddique Mateen, Omar's father, was an FBI informant from 2005 to 2016.
The lawyers are now using that revelation, and its late discovery in the trial, to call for a mistrial in Salman's case. She's facing life in prison on charges of aiding and abetting her husband and obstructing a federal investigation, according to Orlando's News 6.
Salman previously admitted to the FBI that she had knowledge of her husband's intent to "do something bad," though her lawyers have disputed if this can be used in court, as they were not present during the statement."I wish I had done the right thing but my fear held me back. I wish I had been more truthful," she said in a statement to the FBI, according to CNN.
The elder Mateen is being investigated over money transfers to Turkey and Pakistan, after law enforcement found documents in his home in a search after the shooting, according to the court documents.
A US government email to his attorney said an "anonymous tip indicated that Seddique Mateen was seeking to raise $50,000-$100,000 via a donation drive to contribute toward an attack against the government of Pakistan" in 2012, News 6 reported.
Salman's lawyers have pointed to the FBI's knowledge of the elder Mateen's alleged attempts to fund violence as evidence of bias against Salman, and accused the FBI of using it to cover up their own mishandling of Salman's case.
The elder Mateen has been vocal since his son's shooting. He used to host a political talk show on Afghan-Pakistan issues, where he railed against Pakistan, Reuters reports.
His son killed 49 and injured 58 at a gay nightclub in what was at the time the deadliest mass shooting in US history. Mateen claimed allegiance to ISIS during the attack.
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