WASHINGTON DC: The Sadir Affair (The Puppets of Washington Book 1)

by Lavina Giamusso

  “Was that also your contention?”

  “No, Mr. Billycan, it was not my contention then, and it is not now.”

  “What did you understand then the sentence to mean?”

  “For several months—almost two years then—my family, Ms. Kartz and I (as well as several other innocent parties) were embroiled unwittingly into various affairs that my uncle felt he could have stopped or averted. His past friendship with Mr. Sadir, I believe, was weighing heavily on his conscience at the time he wrote this email, and I believe he was truly sorry for what happened to Ms. Kartz in particular.”

  Suddenly, Simmons interrupted, “Objection, Your Honour; this witness should not be allowed to testify as to another person’s state of mind…”

  Silverman looked down at Simmons reprovingly. “Yes, Mr. Simmons, I agree with you on that point. However, this witness is only testifying to what he believed to be his uncle’s state of mind—not of it to be a fact. Objection overruled. Please go on, Mr. Billycan.”

  Billycan only nodded and turned to Khalid once again. “And how did that confirm Mr. Sadir’s involvement?”

  “As I said, Agent Lypsick had confirmed that Mr. Sadir maintained a close watch on my uncle’s and my correspondence or movements, which proved to me that Mr. Sadir was intercepting and forwarding messages that didn’t encompass his area of activity.”

  “But were you aware at the time that the email I’ve shown you today was intercepted after Mr. Sadir had been dismissed from the CIA?”

  “No, I was not aware of the fact, no.”

  “And now that you know Mr. Sadir had not read this email, does it change your conclusion regarding his involvement in intercepting messages on behalf of the CIA?”

  “No, it doesn’t, Mr. Billycan. It only proves to me the CIA had intercepted my correspondence with my uncle for a long time and was apparently continuing to do so—from what you said—after Mr. Sadir’s departure.”

  “Thank you, Your Highness.” Billycan turned to Judge Silverman. “Your Honour; the Prosecution introduces this email, marked Exhibit 11, and tender to opposing counsel.”

  “So noted, Mr. Billycan. Mr. Simmons?”

  “No objection, Your Honour.” The defence attorney shook his head and returned to making notes.

  “Now, Your Highness, could you describe the second opportunity whereby you were able to verify that Mr. Sadir was in fact a liaison agent with the CIA?”

  “Yes, Mr. Billycan. This is a little more complicated and dates back to the time Mr. Assor came to Paris. At the time, I was far from realizing that Mr. Assor, who was then known to everyone as Agent Slimane, was trying to avert my uncle’s assassination.”

  “Do you mean to tell us that the CIA was trying to assassinate Prince Abdullah Saif Al-Fadir?”

  “No, Mr. Billycan, not the CIA, but apparently Mr. Sadir was.”

  “How did you determine this and when?”

  “As I said, this chain of events is a little more complicated, but I will try to abridge the story as much as possible. In essence, Mr. Assor—apparently under the CIA’s orders—tried to demonstrate that my uncle had orchestrated the sale of drugs to West Africa and had organized the shipments of weapons to Gaza. None of the parties involved, including me, could believe these accusations. When Mr. Assor showed up in Paris, he pretended to blackmail me into going to Zurich to meet my uncle in order to have him divulge his ties to this operation to me. I accepted the deal and was intending to go to Zurich when I heard that my uncle had been stopped at the airport, and had been declared persona non grata in Switzerland. Later, when my uncle was informed of the deceit, he discovered that Mr. Sadir…”

  “Objection, Your Honour,” Simmons blurted. “Where are we going with these insinuations? Mr. Billycan has not established foundation. What’s more this entire statement amounts to hearsay.”

  Judge Silverman appeared to ponder the objection for a moment. He shook his head. “I will let it go this time, Mr. Simmons. The court and the jury, I am sure, are interested in hearing Prince Khalid’s conclusion. Objection overruled.” The judge then turned to Khalid. “You understand, Prince Khalid, that you cannot elaborate on your uncle’s discovery or conclusions thereof. However, for the sake of attaining some sort of understanding of the events you have described, I will ask you to continue with your answer.”

  “Yes, Your Honour.” Khalid, who had focused on Silverman while the latter was talking to him, returned his attention to Billycan. “As I was saying, it was then my understanding, from talking to my uncle later on, that he had discovered that Mr. Sadir had somehow organized his assassination and that Mr. Assor actually blocked the CIA’s order of execution by having my uncle arrested as he stepped off the plane in Zurich.”

  “Was anyone else present when Mr. Assor blackmailed you?”

  “Yes, there were several people sitting around the table.”

  “Anyone in particular?”

  “Yes, Mr. James Flaubert, the president of Carmine Resources, and Agent Mark Gilford, were present.”

  “And what was the subject of the blackmail, do you recall?”

  “Agent Slimane threatened to reveal Ms. Kartz’s involvement into the death of the CIA undercover agent, Mr. Al Nadir, and have her arrested, if Mr. Flaubert and I were not going to Zurich to confront my uncle.”

  “Thank you once again, Your Highness, for your thorough answers and your patience.” Billycan turned to Judge Silverman. “Your Honour, I have no more questions for this witness at this time.”

  “Very well, Mr. Billycan. Mr. Simmons—your witness.”

  “Thank you, Your Honour,” Simmons said, rising from his chair and approaching the witness with what appeared to be a cautious stride. Khalid observed him. He was determined to shoot down his defence strategy given the opportunity.

  “Good afternoon, Prince Khalid,” Simmons said, bowing.

  “Good afternoon, Mr. Simmons.”

  Obviously surprised to be addressed by his name, Simmons looked up. “Your Highness, I will now ask you to go over some of your answers with me.”

  “By all means, go ahead, sir.” Again, Khalid managed to startle the attorney. Simmons wasn’t used to have the witness apostrophe his questions.

  “Hum…, yes.” Simmons paused. “First, I’d like to go back to you confirming Mr. Sadir’s status with the CIA. You said that you received confirmation of Mr. Sadir being a liaison agent with that agency. Would you say then that it stood to reason that Mr. Sadir would send and receive messages to and from the foreign field agents assigned to work in his region?”

  “Yes, it would.”

  “Therefore, that Mr. Sadir was well informed of Mr. Meshullam’s movements would stand to reason, would it not?”

  “No, sir, it would not.”

  “Why, Your Highness? You’ve testified that the Director of the CIA gave you confirmation of Mr. Sadir’s duties in the agency. Why then would you not find it appropriate for Mr. Sadir to be informed of Mr. Meshullam’s movements?”

  “Because, Mr. Simmons, if you go back to my testimony, you would read that the Director of the CIA specified the area in which Mr. Sadir was working, which was West Africa. And as far as I know, West Africa is nowhere near Australia.”

  The audience, once again, was out of control. Judge Silverman looked down at Khalid quickly, smiled, and then pounded his gavel fiercely. “Ladies and Gentlemen…, this court will not tolerate any more of these outbursts,” he shouted over the abating noise. “If I hear one more titter out of the audience, I will clear the court.” Once silence was restored, Silverman turned to Simmons who had remained standing in front of Khalid, seething. “Your Highness, the court apologizes for this interruption.”

  Khalid smiled. “That’s perfectly alright, Your Honour. No harm done.”

  Silverman nodded and turned to the defence attorney. “Go on, Mr. Simmons.”

  “Thank you, Your Honour.” He peered into Khalid’s eyes. He knew the prince wasn’t going to take it eas
y on him. “Your Highness, you said that Mr. Meshullam’s wasn’t an agent assigned to the West African region…”

  “I’m sorry; Mr. Simmons, but I didn’t say that. I said that I found it somewhat strange that Mr. Sadir was well informed about the movements of an agent who was not apparently assigned to the West African region where Mr. Sadir worked.”

  “Yes…, but since you don’t know whether Mr. Meshullam was a field agent in West Africa, you could assume that to be a fact, could you not?”

  “I could have, yes, but since I have had the opportunity to talk to Mr. Meshullam since then, I am now assured that he was never involved in any of the CIA’s operations in Africa.”

  “Are you saying that you finally made contact with Agent Meshullam and that you had occasions to ascertain his position within his agency?”

  “Yes, I have had an opportunity to talk to Agent Meshullam lately, yes.”

  “And during this conversation, Agent Meshullam confirmed that he had never worked in West Africa, is that correct?”

  Billycan was on his feet. “Asked and answered, Your Honour!”

  “Yes, Mr. Billycan,” Silverman said. “Mr. Simmons, please move on. You’ve got your answer. Get on with it.”

  “Yes, Your Honour. Now, Prince Khalid, when you arrived in Australia and you were informed that Mr. Meshullam was going to be arrested and extradited to Canada to stand trial, why didn’t you go to Vancouver to be with Ms. Kartz?”

  “Because the Australian authorities had arranged for me to return to Paris and instructed me to do so.”

  “I see. And when you learned that Mr. Meshullam was on his way to Vancouver, did you make any attempt to go to Canada then?”

  “Yes, I went to Vancouver at the bidding of Mr. Fred Gibson of CSIS in Ottawa.”

  Billycan gawked at the prince. He had not heard this before.

  “What prompted this request from Mr. Gibson, do you know?” Simmons went on.

  “Apparently CSIS had been alerted by the CIA that Mr. Sadir had telephoned me. Mr. Gibson subsequently explained his surveillance of Mr. Sadir’s movements and alerted me of his alleged deceit. He then asked me to confirm my travel plans to Vancouver and asked if I were willing to help his agency in this regard.”

  Billycan couldn’t let Khalid go on. Who knows where this would lead. He needed to stop him. “Objection, Your Honour, the prosecution didn’t introduce any of this on direct—Mr. Simmons is reaching…”

  “I hate to contradict you, Mr. Billycan, but you’ve opened that door when you broached the subject of Mr. Sadir’s telephone call to Prince Khalid when His Highness returned to Paris.” Billycan sat down and retreated to the back of his seat. He threw an annoyed glance at the judge. “Objection overruled,” Silverman stated in reply. “Go on, Mr. Simmons. I’ll give you some latitude here, but please don’t abuse the court’s patience or time.”

  “Yes, Your Honour.” Simmons refocused his attention on Khalid. “And what was the substance of the assistance Mr. Gibson requested from you?”

  “When I arrived in Vancouver, I found out that Agent Lypsick had arranged for me and Agent Gilford to interview Mr. Sadir.”

  “Did you have this interview with Mr. Sadir then?”

  “Yes, we did, yes.”

  “Then what happened when you and Agent Gilford met with Mr. Sadir?”

  “Agent Lypsick had coaxed Agent Gilford into pretending that he was a wealthy merchant wanting to resume drugs and arms’ trade in West Africa with the help of Mr. Sadir.”

  “Are you telling this court that Agent Lypsick of the CIA persuaded Agent Gilford to set a trap for Mr. Sadir?”

  “That’s what it appeared to be, yes.”

  “Did Mr. Sadir accept the proposed involvement?”

  “No, he didn’t. He seemed to think that he had nothing to fear from Mossad since he was adamant that he had followed the CIA’s orders to quash all remaining evidence of the organization’s operation in West Africa.”

  “When you say, “quash all remaining evidence,” do you know what the ‘quashing’ may have entailed?”

  “Mr. Sadir was quite clear on that point. He said that the CIA intended to eliminate all parties involved…”

  “Objection, Your Honour, hearsay,” the U.S. Attorney cut-in. Although he was happy that Sadir had finally admitted his involvement, he was not at all pleased with the way this admission had come to light.

  Silverman’s stern look told Billycan not to press his luck. “Overruled!” he said, turning to Khalid. “You may continue, Your Highness, the court wants to hear this.”

  Before Khalid had time to resume, Simmons said, “I’m sorry for the interruption, Your Highness, but is it your understanding then that the CIA had ordered Mr. Sadir to kill anyone who had been involved in this particular operation?”

  “Yes, Mr. Simmons, that was my understanding.”

  “And this interview occurred when, do you recall?”

  “When Mr. Sadir was held against his will in Vancouver—soon after he had been dismissed from the CIA, I believe.”

  Simmons paused. He seemed lost in thought for a moment. “Do you have a record of this conversation, Your Highness? I don’t seem to recall you mentioning this interview in your statement.”

  “No, sir, I don’t. However, I know that Agent Gilford recorded the conversation on tape.”

  “Objection, Your Honour,” Billycan blurted. “Is it my colleague’s intention to continue introducing evidence or inviting testimony from this witness that has not been brought up during direct examination?”

  By this time, Billycan was mystified. No one, least of whom Prince Khalid or Agent Gilford, had mentioned anything about this interview or the tape recording of it. In fact, the U.S. Attorney was furious.

  “Yes, this has also been the court’s observation,” Silverman agreed. “Objection sustained. You may resume your cross-examination, Counsel, but do not tread on uncharted territory anymore; otherwise I’ll be the one stopping you.”

  “Yes, Your Honour,” Simmons said, steadfastly noncommittal, turning to Khalid again. “Your Highness, you testified that you wanted to kill Agent Meshullam if you were able to reach him while he was in Australia; what made you change your mind?”

  “When I finally visited Ms. Kartz in Canada, she explained to me the reasons behind Agent Meshullam’s action, and that explanation served to change my mind.”

  “Extraordinary!” Simmons sneered. “Are you telling this court that Ms. Kartz—the victim in this case—managed to change your mind about her assailant, and after hearing what she had to say, you no longer had designs on Agent Meshullam’s life?”

  “That’s exactly what I am saying, yes.”

  “She must be an exceptional woman…”

  “She is, Mr. Simmons.”

  “Well, let’s assume that your answer can be corroborated, and that Ms. Kartz convinced you to stay away from Mr. Meshullam, did she also tell you that it was Mr. Sadir’s plan to have you killed in Australia, as you, yourself surmised before going to Sydney?”

  “No, Ms. Kartz was not aware nor had any knowledge of Mr. Sadir’s activities at that point.”

  “I see. One more thing, Your Highness…”

  “Yes, Mr. Simmons…?”

  “Do you have any knowledge of Agent Lypsick’s whereabouts at this time?”

  “He’s doing it again, Your Honour…!” Billycan shouted from his chair.

  “Are you objecting, Mr. Billycan?”

  “Yes, Your Honour, I…, I… am, most strenuously,” the U.S. Attorney spluttered in anger. “The prosecution has not addressed the subject of Agent Lypsick’s whereabouts, so, and again, this question is not relevant to Mr. Simmons’s cross at this time.”

  “Objection sustained. Mr. Simmons, you are moving beyond boundaries here. Remember what I told you, and move on!”

  “I have no more questions, Your Honour,” the defence attorney said, visibly miffed, and went to sit down.

  Billycan rose
in a bound. “Redirect, Your Honour?”

  “Yes, Mr. Billycan, go ahead,” Silverman agreed, seemingly relieved.

  The US Attorney walked toward the prince a reproachful look in his eyes. Khalid looked down at his lap. “Your Highness, you have testified during Mr. Simmons’s cross-examination that you agreed to meet with Mr. Sadir and that, during this interview, you learned that the CIA was supposedly directing some sort of clean-up of their operation in West Africa. Did you draw any conclusion from the fact that Agent Lypsick was apparently setting up this trap for Mr. Sadir?”

  Khalid nodded. “Yes, at the time, I thought Agent Lypsick was trying to extract information from Mr. Sadir which would indicate that someone in the CIA was trying to eliminate every possible witness to their failed operation in West Africa.”

  “Is it your contention then that Agent Lypsick was aware of this “someone’s” intention and was intending to confirm his findings?”

  “Yes, I believe that’s what Agent Lypsick was trying to accomplish, yes.”

  “Now, Your Highness, just one more detail; since Agent Gilford pretended to be a wealthy drug dealer could you explain to the court what your role was during this interview?”

  Khalid looked uneasy. “Yes. This dates back to the time my father was involved in the CIA’s operation in West Africa. Agent Lypsick was apparently aware of the fact and asked me to pose as the person who intended to follow in my father’s footsteps.”

  “Thank you, Your Highness.” Billycan looked up at Silverman. “I have no more questions for this witness, Your Honour.” He walked back to his table and sat down, still visibly angry.

  Chapter 79

  As soon as court was adjourned for the day, Billycan rushed out of the courthouse and into his car at kerbside. Marcel was waiting for him in the backseat. “How did it go with Prince Khalid?”

  Billycan groaned. “The man keeps his aces up his sleeve alright. He’s been talking to the CIA Director…” Marcel raised an eyebrow. “Yes, you heard me. Prince Khalid obtained confirmation from the Director himself that Sadir had no business meddling in Mossad’s affairs—such as being informed of Meshullam’s movements—in a region that was not in his purview.”