The Pulse Nightclub Gunman's Father Was Reportedly an FBI Informant

Seddique Mateen, the father of Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen, was an FBI informant for years, according to new information released by a lawyer for the shooter's widow. The revelation came in the form of a weekend court filing by Fritz Scheller in the ongoing case against Omar's wife, Noor Salman.

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According to the court filing, Scheller claimed that a federal prosecutor notified him through email on Saturday that Mateen's father was a confidential F.B.I. source between January 2005 and June 2016, which falls into the window of when the attack occurred.

The email also said that, after the shooting, the government opened an investigation into financial transfers the father had made to Turkey and Afghanistan. The authorities also received a tip in 2012 accusing Seddique of attempting to raise money for an attack against Pakistan's government.

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This news comes a month after the trial began against Salman, who faces charges of aiding and abetting her husband in the shooting that killed 49 people and wounded 53 others.

"It is apparent from the government's belated disclosure that Ms. Salman has been defending a case without a complete set of facts and evidence that the government was required to disclose," Mr. Scheller wrote in the motion.

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With this information, he's making the argument that, by withholding the information, the government robbed him of the opportunity to investigate a line of defense, which violates Salman's constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial.