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Doubt cast on Moussaoui trialJudge laments government's 'shroud of secrecy'
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- The judge presiding over the only U.S. criminal trial stemming from the September 11 terrorist attacks said Friday that government secrecy casts doubt on the trial's future. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, overseeing the stalled trial of admitted al Qaeda member Zacarias Moussaoui, said in an otherwise routine order issued Friday that she is "disturbed by the extent to which the United States' intelligence officials have classified the pleadings, orders and memorandum opinions in this case." Brinkema's comment came at the end of an order instructing the government to respond to Moussaoui's latest handwritten jailhouse motion, which happens to be sealed from public view in accordance with her court procedures. Brinkema has agreed to unseal Moussaoui's often inflammatory motions only after his inappropriate comments are crossed out and after prosecutors have had an opportunity to delete comments that could be interpreted as communications to cohorts who share his violent anti-American views. Moussaoui, 34, a French-Moroccan and self-described "mujahedeen," or Muslim holy warrior, is charged with conspiring with al Qaeda and the 19 hijackers who killed more than 3,000 people in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001. Moussaoui maintains his innocence and is representing himself, though he is being assisted by a team of court-appointed defense attorneys. The government is seeking the death penalty. In a motion filed Thursday, Moussaoui asked for complete transcripts of two recent closed-door court hearings to help prepare his defense, saying he continues to be in the dark of "the facts underlying the government's theory of the case," according to Brinkema. Brinkema then said she "agrees with the defendant's skepticism of the government's ability to prosecute this case in open court in light of the shroud of secrecy under which it seeks to proceed." Justice Department confident in systemThe Justice Department expressed confidence the Moussaoui prosecution could proceed under existing legal procedures for handling classified information. "We regularly hold terrorists and spies accountable in court while safeguarding both national security and due process," said Justice Department spokeswoman Barbara Comstock. "We are confident in the system of justice to try these cases under the procedures adopted by Congress and regularly upheld by the courts." The judge's comment came just as the issue of trial secrecy and the defendant's access to key al Qaeda captives is being litigated before her and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.
The government has asked the appeals court to lock out the media and the public from oral arguments scheduled next month. In so-far secret filings, the government is appealing an order by Brinkema -- made under seal but confirmed by sources familiar with the case -- granting Moussaoui access to Ramzi Binalshibh, a key member of the September 11 hijackers' Hamburg cell who allegedly wired $14,000 to Moussaoui in August 2001 to help him pay for flight school. Binalshibh was captured in Pakistan last September and is being detained at an undisclosed location. Moussaoui would also like to depose other key al Qaeda captives -- Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the main planner of September 11; Mohamed al-Hawsawi, an alleged paymaster of the hijackers; and Abu Zubaydah, a recruiter who oversaw the training camps -- in an effort to exonerate himself of the most serious charges. Mohammed, during his interrogations, told investigators Moussaoui was not selected to carry out the September 11 plot, but was to conduct a separate attack, according to sources. The government forcefully opposes Moussaoui's applications and, citing national security, has strictly denied terrorism suspects or attorneys any access to such top al Qaeda captives; nor does the government want them to testify in open court. The Bush administration also is weighing whether to declare Moussaoui an "enemy combatant" to make him eligible for a military tribunal. In addition to the arguments before the appeals court over access to captives, several news organizations, citing the First Amendment and the public's right to know, petitioned Brinkema on Wednesday to open parts of the court record -- several dozen motions, orders and transcripts -- that remain sealed. From CNN's Phil Hirschkorn and Terry Frieden.
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