04/29/2003

By DOUG IRVING, kgw.com Staff

A Hillsboro software engineer known to friends as a good-natured and supportive family man appeared in federal court on Tuesday, charged with plotting to wage war against the United States.

Maher “Mike” Hawash did not enter a plea during his first public court appearance Tuesday morning. A federal complaint released Monday accuses Hawash of conspiring to support al-Qaida and Taliban forces alongside other terrorism suspects known as the “Portland Six.”

Maher 'Mike' Hawash (FBI mug shot/kgw.com photo)

The case has drawn national attention, putting a face on the ongoing debate over government secrecy in the war against terrorism. Dozens of Hawash’s supporters gathered outside Portland’s federal court building Tuesday with pickets that said, “Due Process for Mike Hawash” and “Justice for Mike Hawash.”

“It’s our intention to shed the light of day on what has been a dark cloud of secrecy,” said Stephen Houze, the well-known attorney representing Hawash. He said he will use his pre-trial discovery powers to compel the United States to declassify any evidence it plans to use in the case. “This is America,” Houze added. “We have an open court system.”

Hawash case linked to 'Portland Six'

The federal complaint filed Monday accuses Hawash of trying to enter Afghanistan in 2001 with five of the other Portland suspects to fight against U.S. forces. Hawash traveled with the five men through China and stayed at the same hotels on at least three occasions, according to the document. The group failed to reach Afghanistan.

Hawash told investigators he traveled to China on behalf of his personal software business. But the complaint filed against him says he had not contacted Oregon foreign trade officials and left no records of any telephone calls to China before the trip.

Hawash was charged more than six months after charges were filed against the so-called Portland Six – the five men accused of trying to reach Afghanistan, and a woman accused of sending money to them.

A crowd of supporters gathers outside of the federal courthouse as Maher 'Mike' Hawash appears inside. (kgw.com Photo)

“We hope that once a jury hears what happened, they’ll realize that a mistake was made,” said McGeady, Hawash’s former supervisor at Intel. He called the charges “baseless” and said the case rests on circumstantial evidence. “You need something other than a travel itinerary,” he said.

Supporters, co-workers gather outside courthouse

More than 50 people held up signs of support outside the federal courthouse in downtown Portland as Hawash appeared for his hearing inside. Many wore buttons with pictures of Hawash; others handed out buttons with a picture of U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and the slogan, “One Nation under Surveillance.”

Most of the crowd had worked with Hawash during his decade-long career with Intel.

Leora Gregory met Hawash in 1992, shortly after Intel hired him and sent him to its office in New Jersey for a few months. She remembers competing with him to see who could stomach the spiciest food, and the snowy day he volunteered to shovel her walk.

Maher 'Mike' Hawash. (Family Photo/kgw.com Photo)

Hawash made a pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest site of Islam, about two years ago, Gregory said. She remembers him telling her, “A lot of people don’t understand. You’re supposed to get along; you’re specifically not supposed to fight."

'Just a big smile'

Others in the crowd outside the courthouse remembered Hawash as a respected colleague at Intel whom they viewed as a mentor. He co-authored a well-received technology book and participated in some of Intel’s most cutting-edge projects, but still had time to run five miles a day with a small group of friends.

Hawash worked in Israel for Intel from 1994 to 1996, McGeady said.

Supporters hold up pickets in support of Maher 'Mike' Hawash. (kgw.com Photo)

He pointed to a grinning picture of Hawash copied onto a picket outside the courtroom. “That’s a really good photo of Mike,” he said. “That’s the way he looks every time you meet him, just a big smile, ‘glad to see you again.’”

“That has been the essence of him, the real core of why people like him,” Gregory said. “He’s so uplifting. The idea that he could turn into someone who is not just destructive, but would wage war against the U.S., it’s a big, big, big leap.

“If he did do what they say he did, he’s going to have to tell me himself. I would never believe it from anyone else.”