At one point, the prison warden himself recommended McGowan's transfer out of the CMU citing his good behavior, but the warden was overruled by the Bureau of Prison's Counterterrorism Unit, working with the Joint Terrorism Task Force of the FBI.
A certa altura, o próprio diretor da prisão recomendou sua transferência, citando seu bom comportamento, mas o diretor foi ignorado pelo Bureau of Prison's Counterterrorism Unit, trabalhando com a Joint Terrorism Task Force do FBI.