WASHINGTON
The government intercepted at least 18 e-mails between Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan and a radical Muslim cleric, and a key senator says there could be more communications that might have tipped off law-enforcement or military officials.
Federal investigators say they intercepted the messages between the suspect in the Fort Hood shootings and Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical American-born cleric. They were passed along to two Joint Terrorism Task Force cells led by the FBI, but a senior defense official said no one at the Defense Department knew about the messages until after the shootings. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said Friday after a briefing from Pentagon and Army officials that his committee will investigate how those and other e-mails involving Hasan were handled and why the U.S. military was not made aware of them before the Nov. 5 shooting.
Levin said his committee is to determine whether the Defense Department's representative on the terrorism task force acted appropriately and effectively.
Levin also said he considers Hasan's shooting spree, which killed 13 and wounded more than 30, an act of terrorism.
"There are some who are reluctant to call it terrorism but there is significant evidence that it is. I'm not at all uneasy saying it sure looks like that," he said.
He said his committee will look into whether military members can report suspicious behavior evinced by colleagues.
The Washington Post, citing two anonymous sources, reported yesterday that in the months leading up to the attacks Hasan stepped up his contacts with al-Awlaki to discuss transferring money. One of the sources told the Post the two men considered how to transfer money abroad without drawing attention.
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