Judge Accepts Compromise Deal on Moussaoui

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Judge Accepts Compromise Deal on Moussaoui

By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN and MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writers 36 minutes ago

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The federal judge in the death penalty trial of al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui accepted a government compromise Friday that will allow prosecutors to present new witnesses about aviation security.

Judge Leonie Brinkema in a written order said prosecutors could present exhibits and a witness or witnesses if they are untainted by contact with Transportation Security Administration lawyer Carla J. Martin, cited by Brinkema for misconduct earlier this week when the judge decided to exclude all aviation security evidence.

"The government's proposed alternative remedy of allowing it to call untainted aviation witnesses or otherwise produce evidence not tainted by Ms. Martin has merit," Brinkema wrote.

Her partial reversal of an earlier order was a boon to prosecutors who had said it would be a waste of time to continue the case if they were not allowed to present some evidence about possible defensive aviation security measures the government might have taken to prevent the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon.

Defense lawyers had argued Thursday that Brinkema was fully justified in concluding that evidence about U.S. aviation security was tainted beyond repair.

Moussaoui's lawyers also had said that there was no reason for her to agree to a request by prosecutors on Wednesday that she revoke her order or at least impose less severe penalties on the government.

Brinkema has sent the jury home until Monday while she decides what to do.

The only person charged in this country in the Sept. 11 attacks, Moussaoui pleaded guilty in April to conspiring with al-Qaida. But he says he had nothing to do with 9/11 and was training for a possible later attack.

To obtain a death penalty, prosecutors must prove that Moussaoui's actions — his lies, in this case — led directly to at least one death on Sept. 11, 2001.

Martin's lawyer, Roscoe Howard, said Thursday she had been "viciously vilified by assertions from the prosecution" and is preparing a response he said "will show a very different, full picture of her intentions, her conduct and her tireless dedication to a fair trial."

Meanwhile, in New York, lawyers representing plaintiffs in a liability lawsuit stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks have asked a judge there to conduct an inquiry into whether Martin, or any other TSA lawyers, engaged in witness tampering or other acts to favor American Airlines and United Airlines, defendants in the case.

"We are particularly concerned that TSA may not have acted with the total impartiality required of that Agency in decisions it has made that affect our cases," lawyers Marc S. Moller and Beth E. Goldman wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, who is overseeing the civil lawsuit over property damages that resulted from the terrorist attacks.

Judge Accepts Compromise Deal on Moussaoui

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US judge upholds ban on coached witnesses in Moussaoui trial

26 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US federal judge in the death penalty trial of Al-Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui upheld her decision to ban coached prosecution witnesses but said she would allow other, "untainted" witnesses to testify.

Judge Leonie Brinkema denied a request by prosecutors to reconsider her earlier ruling tossing out testimony from seven witnesses who had been coached by a government lawyer, Carla Martin.

But Brinkema said prosecutors in the sentencing trial for the confessed September 11 plotter could call other witnesses on aviation security or produce evidence that was not affected by the government lawyer's misconduct.

Friday's order offered a possible lifeline to prosecutors who were considering quitting the case altogether after the judge last week threw out all evidence relating to aviation security, eliminating half their case.

"The government's proposed alternate remedy of allowing it to call untainted aviation witnesses or otherwise produce evidence not tainted by Ms Martin has merit," Brinkema wrote in her order.

Prosecutors had argued that the judge's earlier decision was "patently disproportionate" to the damage done by Martin, a lawyer for the Transportation Security Administration.

Martin sent the witnesses transcripts of the trial proceedings contrary to the judge's instructions and instructed them how to testify when called.

Prosecutors are eager to call in witnesses on aviation security to show that authorities could have introduced new airport security measures to head off the September 11 attacks, had Moussaoui told the truth about the looming strike.

The trial is to determine if Moussaoui, who has confessed to conspiring to fly hijacked airliners into US buildings in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, qualifies for the death penalty and, if so, whether he should receive it.

Although he was in jail at the time of the attacks, prosecutors argue Moussaoui should be executed because he knew Osama bin Laden's group planned to use airliners as weapons but did not tell US authorities, making him complicit in US deaths on September 11.

If he escapes the death chamber, Moussaoui will spend his life in prison without possibility of parole.

US judge upholds ban on coached witnesses in Moussaoui trial

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Court's Moussaoui site

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Judge Accepts Compromise Moussaoui Deal

By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN and MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writers 1 hour, 1 minute ago

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Prosecutors seeking to execute al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui partially revived their case Friday after a judge reversed course and agreed to admit some evidence about aviation security.

U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema relented from her earlier order barring all such testimony. She had issued that ruling Tuesday as punishment for the misconduct of Transportation Security Administration lawyer Carla J. Martin, who coached witnesses and lied to the defense.

"It would be unfortunate if this case could not go forward to some final resolution," Brinkema told trial attorneys in a telephone conference Friday. Moussaoui is the only person charged in this country in connection with al-Qaida's Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Late Friday, Moussaoui's lawyers asked Brinkema to further investigate Martin on Monday, before allowing any aviation testimony. Prosecutors agreed, if Martin is willing to testify. Brinkema did not immediately respond.

Meanwhile, two lawyers coordinating private lawsuits for property damages from Sept. 11 alleged that Martin's actions were prompted by airlines fearful the government's arguments in Moussaoui's case might undercut their defense against paying civil damages.

Martin's attorney, Roscoe Howard, acknowledged Friday she spoke with an United Airlines attorney about the terrorist-sentencing case and the civil case. "But I don't think there is any collaboration between them," Howard said.

The trial, begun March 6 and suspended for a week to deal with the misconduct, is to resume Monday with the jury back in court.

Brinkema accepted a compromise proposal by the government. It allows prosecutors to present limited testimony about what the government could have done to enhance aviation security before the Sept. 11 attacks if Moussaoui had not lied to FBI agents Aug. 16-17, 2001, about his al-Qaida membership and plans to crash a jetliner into the White House.

Prosecutors had told Brinkema their case would be gutted without at least some testimony on aviation security. Though they disputed her ruling that the aviation security evidence was contaminated beyond repair by Martin, prosecutors suggested using a new, substitute witness and documents that Martin had no contact with.

Prosecutors said a substitute witness could be found who worked at the Federal Aviation Administration at the time of Sept. 11 and could discuss how government used "no-fly" lists to bar specific terrorist suspects from airplanes.

Brinkema acknowledged substitute government witnesses would present problems for the defense, including finding rebuttal witnesses.

The testimony is crucial because prosecutors must prove that Moussaoui's actions led directly to at least one death on Sept. 11 to obtain the death penalty. They argue that Moussaoui's lies about his true intentions prevented the FBI from identifying some Sept. 11 hijackers in advance and prevented the FAA from taking airport security steps to keep them off airplanes.

Defense lawyers had urged Brinkema not to reconsider. They said federal law has required since 1790 that defense lawyers be notified of the government's witnesses at least three days before trial in death-penalty cases. Allowing new witnesses mid-trial would leave them unprepared, the defense argued.

Brinkema ordered prosecutors to provide at least three days notice before calling any substitute witnesses to testify.

Moussaoui pleaded guilty in April to conspiring with al-Qaida to crash airplanes into U.S. buildings. But Moussaoui denies any role in Sept. 11 and says he was training for a possible later attack on the White House. The current trial is to determine whether he is executed or spends life in prison.

A hearing Tuesday revealed that Martin sent current and former FAA employees a transcript of the trial's first day and coached them on how to testify about certain topics to deflect the kinds of attacks the defense mounted that day. In e-mails, Martin wrote that she believed the government's opening argument overstated the FAA's ability to prevent Sept. 11.

Martin has been suspended with pay by the TSA.

Robert Clifford and Gregory Joseph, who represent victims of Sept. 11 property damage, told a federal judge in New York that United Airlines lawyer Jeff Ellis received a transcript of the first day of Moussaoui's trial from an American Airlines lawyer and forwarded it to Martin. After that, Martin sent the transcript to the Moussaoui trial witnesses with her own commentary and advice.

The e-mails by airline attorneys, however, do not ask Martin to take any action, nor do they explain why they were forwarding Martin a transcript that was available on the Internet for $119. The e-mails were released during Brinkema's inquiry into Martin's actions.

Clifford and Joseph said the government's Moussaoui position could have a "devastating" impact on the airlines' defense and urged the New York judge to investigate "the mutual back-scratching relationship that appears to exist between the (airline) defendants and the TSA."

But U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein declined, referring the complaints to the court of appeals or Brinkema.

United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said actions of United and its lawyers "have been entirely appropriate."

American Airlines attorneys Desmond Barry and Roger Podesta said no one connected with American has communicated directly with Martin and the government's Moussaoui stance was irrelevant to the company's defense against civil damage suits.

Judge Accepts Compromise Moussaoui Deal