Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/729810
ByEricTucker, Jake Pearson and Jennifer Peltz TheAssociatedPress NEW YORK TheFBIlooked into New York bombing sus- pect Ahmad Khan Rahami two years ago — and came up empty-handed — after his father expressed con- cerns his son might be a ter- rorist, law enforcement offi- cials said Tuesday. During the inquiry, the father backed away from talk of terrorism and told investigators that he simply meant his son was hanging out with the wrong crowd, including gang members, and acting like a thug, the officials said. In any case, the FBI checked its databases and other sources and closed the inquiry in a matter of weeks after finding nothing tying Rahami to terrorism, three law enforcement offi- cials said. Also Tuesday, investiga- tors disclosed that when Rahami was shot and cap- tured, he had a notebook with him that contained extremist ramblings. One bloodstained sec- tion contained references to both Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born cleric who was killed in a 2011 drone strike and whose preach- ing has inspired other acts of violence, and Nidal Hasan, the former Army of- ficer who went on a deadly shooting rampage in 2009 at Fort Hood, Texas. The information emerged as the younger Rahami, 28, was being held on $5.2 mil- lion bail, charged with the attempted murder of police officers during the shoot- out that led to his capture Monday. Federal prosecu- tors said they were weigh- ing charges over the week- end bombings in New York City and a New Jersey sea- side town that wounded 29 people. Rahami's father spoke with the FBI after Rahami was charged in 2014 with stabbing his brother, ac- cording to the officials, who were not authorized to dis- cuss the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of ano- nymity. The disclosure of the fa- ther's contacts with the FBI raises questions about whether there was any- thing more law enforce- ment could have done at the time to determine whether Rahami had terrorist aspi- rations. That issue arose after the Orlando massacre in June, when FBI Director James Comey said agents a few years earlier had looked into the gunman, Omar Mateen, but did not find enough information to pur- sue charges or keep him un- der investigation. In Rahami's case, the law enforcement official said the FBI had opened up an "assessment," the least in- trusive form of an FBI in- quiry. Justice Department guidelines restrict the types of actions agents may take; they cannot, for instance, record phone calls without obtaining a higher level of approval or developing more grounds for suspicion. "In August 2014, the FBI initiated an assessment of Ahmad Rahami based upon comments made by his fa- ther after a domestic dis- pute that were subsequently reported to authorities," the agency said in a statement. "The FBI conducted inter- nal database reviews, inter- agency checks, and multiple interviews, none of which revealed ties to terrorism." Rahami, a U.S. citizen born in Afghanistan, re- mained hospitalized Tues- day after surgery for a gun- shot wound to his leg. He was captured in Linden, New Jersey, after he was discovered sleeping in the doorway of a bar. Federal agents have at- tempted to question Ra- hami in the hospital. But Rep. Tom MacArthur, R- N.J., who received a classi- fied briefing from the FBI, said Rahami was not co- operating. The congress- man said he doesn't know whether Rahami has a law- yer. Investigators are look- ing into Rahami's overseas travel, including a visit to Pakistan a few years ago, and want to know whether he received any money or training from extremist or- ganizations. Rahami's father told re- porters Tuesday outside the family's fried-chicken restaurant in Elizabeth, New Jersey, that he called the FBI two years ago. But asked whether he thought his son was a terrorist, the father said: "No. And the FBI, they know that." The younger Rahami was not prosecuted in the stab- bing; a grand jury declined to indict him. William Sweeney, the FBI's assistant director in New York, said on Monday that that at the time of the bombing, Rahami was ap- parently not on the FBI's radar. Nor were Afghan intelli- gence officials aware of ei- ther Rahami or his family, said Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, director-general of the Afghan National Di- rectorate of Security. INVESTIGATION FBI says it looked into New York bombing suspect 2 years ago THEASSOCIATEDPRESS This poster provided by the FBI shows Ahmad Khan Rahami, wanted for questioning Monday in bombings that rocked a Manhattan neighborhood and a New Jersey shore town. By Hope Yen The Associated Press WASHINGTON Seven weeks before Election Day, the ear- liest numbers from advance voting for president show initial strength for Hill- ary Clinton in swing state North Carolina, good news for Donald Trump in battle- ground Iowa and a record number of requests for bal- lots in Ohio. The first early voting fig- uresTuesdayaretooprelimi- nary to serve as clear indica- tors about how the election will go. Still, they are of in- terest because, unlike polls, they deal with actual voters either casting ballots or tak- ing their first steps to do so. Campaigns are scrutinizing these figures to help guide their strategies. Among those requesting an early ballot in Iowa was Josh Hughes, a 19-year-old sophomore at Drake Univer- sity in Des Moines. "I'm so ready for the elec- tion to be over," he said, cit- ing negative campaign rhet- oric. He plans to vote for Clin- ton, the Democratic nomi- nee. Many of his classmates — once Bernie Sanders sup- porters — are opting to wait for now. "The engagement is a little bit lower," he said. Democrats historically do well in attracting early voters, and Republicans ac- knowledgetheirmaingoalis to avoid deep deficits before Nov. 8. With absentee ballot- ing underway in North Car- olina, voting kicks off this week in Georgia, Wiscon- sin, and Virginia as well as Iowa next week. Four years ago, about 45.6 million people or 35 percent of the electorate, voted early. InNorthCarolina,amust- win state for Trump, more than 53,000 voters had re- quested ballots, and 2,939 had been returned, accord- ing to data compiled by The Associated Press. That's up from 47,313 ballots re- quested during a similar time frame in 2012. Broken down by party, Democrats made up 40 per- cent of the ballots returned so far compared to 33 per- cent for Republicans. At this point in 2012, Republi- cans were running slightly ahead, 43 percent to 38 percent, in ballots submit- ted. Republican Mitt Rom- ney narrowly won the state that year and it's difficult to see how Trump could ac- cumulate the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the White House without win- ning North Carolina. Clinton has sought to en- ergize state Democrats by pointing to a voter ID law passed by a Republican-led legislature that was later struck down by a federal court as racially discrim- inatory. On Tuesday, the campaign also announced a new radio ad in North Caro- linaandotherbattlegrounds aimed at African-American young adults. Trump, mean- while, was visiting rural parts of the state Tuesday to gin up support among work- ing-class whites. 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