NOW WE KNOW

USS Cole Defense Quit Over Microphone Found in Client Meeting Room

The defense attorneys say they weren't allowed to investigate or speak out about the discovery.

The three civilian defense attorneys for the USS Cole bombing mastermind resigned from the case because they found a microphone in their special client meeting room and were denied the right to investigate or speak out about the matter, the Miami Herald revealed Wednesday. The prosecution stated in a court filing that the microphone was from past investigations and had never been turned on during the 50 days that the defense utilized the room for attorney-client meetings. After Rick Kammen, Rosa Eliades, and Mary Spears resigned from their defense roles in the case, prison workers “removed flooring, walls, and fixtures” to confirm that the “legacy microphones” that were installed were “not connected to any audio listening/recording device nor in an operable condition,” the filing says. The microphones were also removed from the room. This revelation comes as prosecutors are attempting to renew the death penalty case against the mastermind of the USS Cole attack, Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, who was charged with killing 17 U.S. soldiers by bombing the warship off the coast of Yemen in late 2000.