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Ghislaine Maxwell- Case Archive
personpersonMichael William AznaranMichael William AznaranU.S. Customs and Border Protection officer assigned to the New York and New Jersey HIDTA task force.← All People
Witness· U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Michael William Aznaran

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer assigned to the New York and New Jersey HIDTA task force.

AppearedFederal Criminal Trial
217 lines·6 proceedings·1 mention

About

Called by the defense on Day 11, Customs and Border Protection task force officer Michael William Aznaran explained TECS, a system containing international travel and related law-enforcement information. He testified that airline manifest information was transmitted through APIS and that he searched TECS for Jane, Kate, and Annie Farmer from January 1, 1994, through December 31, 2010, producing three reports.

Aznaran resumed direct examination to authenticate defense exhibit MA1, sealed TECS person encounter lists for those three individuals. He described the reports' fields, stated that incoming and outbound records did not receive the same border-inspection processing, and said he did not know the meaning of an updated-status field.

On cross-examination, Aznaran agreed that the records could not provide a complete history of the three individuals' international travel before 9/11 because airline manifest submissions had been voluntary and some 1990s trips might be absent. On redirect, he explained that TECS information may be updated at an immigration kiosk or booth and confirmed that certain Annie Farmer entries reflected border crossings. On recross, he said 1990s CBP records were paper records but was unsure whether they had been entered into the system before 9/11.

Trial Record (6)

FederalFederal Criminal TrialNov 29, 2021 – Dec 29, 2021Called by defense

Called by the defense on Day 11, Customs and Border Protection task force officer Michael William Aznaran authenticated TECS travel reports and explained both their contents and their limits as records of pre-9/11 international travel.

Day 11

DirectMichael William AznaranChristian R. Everdell2highlights81lines spoken

Summary

CBP officer Michael William Aznaran explained TECS travel-record searches and testified that he ran searches for Jane, Kate, and Annie Farmer from 1994 through 2010.

Highlights (2)

testimony highlightAznaran described TECS as a CBP-controlled platform that compiles travel and other law-enforcement information and can be searched by traveler and date range.Open in transcript →
Quote“It's a -- it's a law enforcement system which acts as a platform. It collects data from several other systems and kind of compiles it into one system that CBP -- we own and control TECS.”— Michael William AznaranDescribes the record system underlying the witness's searches.Open in transcript →
DirectMichael William AznaranChristian R. Everdell1highlight84lines spoken

Summary

Aznaran authenticated sealed TECS travel reports and explained their international-flight scope, data sources, and earliest listed entries for Jane, Kate, and Annie Farmer.

Highlights (1)

Quote“I wouldn't say track. I would say when you come into the United States, you are required to be processed or admitted into the country. When you depart the country, there is no -- for example, at JFK, there is no FIS, or federal inspection site with actual CBP officers that are processing you when you go to get on board your outbound flight.”— Michael William AznaranHe explained why outbound entries may lack the same inspection-site information as incoming entries.Open in transcript →
CrossMichael William AznaranLara Pomerantz2highlights24lines spoken

Summary

Aznaran said pre-9/11 CBP travel records may be incomplete and could not establish complete international travel histories for the people listed in MA-1.

Highlights (2)

testimony highlightAznaran said MA-1 could not be treated as a complete record of the listed individuals' international travel before 9/11.Open in transcript →
Quote“I can't really say whether these records truly reflect exactly any passenger's complete travel history.”— Michael William AznaranDirectly limits what can be concluded from the defense travel-record exhibit.Open in transcript →
RecrossMichael William AznaranLara Pomerantz2highlights6lines spoken

Summary

Aznaran confirmed that 1990s CBP records were paper records but could not say whether they were logged into the system before 9/11.

Highlights (2)

testimony highlightAznaran testified that 1990s CBP records were paper records, but said he was not sure whether they were entered into the system before 9/11.Open in transcript →
Quote“I would think that they were, but I'm not sure.”— Michael William AznaranAznaran qualified his answer about whether pre-9/11 paper records were logged in CBP's system.Open in transcript →