FALLOUT FROM CHUCKIE TAYLOR INVESTIGATION

S E C R E T MONROVIA 000487 NOFORN FOR DS/IPAF, DS/ITA, DS/CIL, AF/W E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/25/2018 TAGS: PREL ASEC LI SUBJECT: FALLOUT FROM CHUCKIE TAYLOR INVESTIGATION Classified By: AMBASSADOR DONALD E. BOOTH. REASON 1.5(D) ¶1. (S/NF) For the past 10 days a team from FBI and the AUSA have been in Liberia in connection with the prosecution in Florida on torture charges of Chuckie Taylor, the son of former Liberian head of state Charles Taylor. The team has taken photos and made measurements of several sites witnesses described as places where Chuckie tortured his victims. We were briefed before hand on the team,s mission and concurred in the proposed activities provided they were properly coordinated with GOL, which they were. (The Minister of Justice and Director of Police were involved, as were other Justice and Police officials.) One site the team visited was Charles Taylor,s &White Flower8 home. The team coordinated with the Ministry of Justice and obtained a court order to search White Flower. The team, accompanied by armed police and a court officer, tried to execute the search at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 22. The Legatt briefly entered the parking area of the compound, but the team was barred from entering the building by the local guards and the police declined to force the issue. The guards called a Taylor lawyer who eventually came and convinced the police that the court order could not be executed on a Sunday because the courts were closed. (Note: Minister of Justice subsequently confirmed that court orders can be carried out on Sundays.) The team and police officers then left White Flower. During the 45 minutes this lasted, a few journalists showed up and a crowd of about 75 people gathered. ¶2. (S/NF) Since Sunday afternoon, the Taylor camp has made a big fuss about the incident in the non-mainstream print media and on some radio stations, and has played it up as a) linked to the Special Court for Sierra Leone trial of Charles Taylor taking place in the Hague, and b) as an example of GOL collusion with outside forces to persecute Taylor. We coordinated with the GOL on how to respond &if asked.8 Several outlets asked for our comment, and we said: &There was a joint law enforcement effort at White Flower. We don,t comment on ongoing investigations. The effort has nothing to do with the Special Court for Sierra Leone trial of Charles Taylor.8 The Minister of Justice has agreed to use the same line. ¶3. (S/NF) Both the Minister of Justice and other appropriate GOL channels are contacting Taylor camp hotheads to demand an end to vitriol (press photos of Embassy vehicles at White Flower, insinuations US Marines were present, assertions the team could have been killed if they tried to force their way into White Flower) and to warn that the GOL will hold the Taylor camp responsible if there is any violence against US Embassy or American officials. We have also advised all American staff to exercise greater caution when out in town, to avoid crowds, to avoid stopping near White Flower and to carry their radios at all times. We have detected no/no threats against Embassy or Embassy personnel to date. We will convene an EAC tomorrow to review the situation and adequacy of precautions taken to date. ¶4. (S/NF) While the Minister of Justice was aware and approved the White Flower operation, President Sirleaf may not have been aware ahead of time and it is something she may/may raise with A/S Frazer in Egypt. President Sirleaf is very skittish about the GOL being perceived as taking sides in the Charles Taylor trial. Although the operation was related only to the Chuckie Taylor case, that fact may have gotten blurred in many minds because the Taylor camp has been saying the operation was one to plant evidence against Charles Taylor at White Flower. BOOTH