Moussaoui Trial Derails

Due to an "egregious violation" on the part of TSA attorney Carla Martin, U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema suspended the sentencing hearing of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person who has been convicted in the 9-11 attacks. The prosecution concedes that Clark's actions -- coaching witnesses -- was "reprehensible" but should not derail the case. The defense wants a mistrial.

The judge said, "In all the years I've been on the bench, I have never seen such an egregious violation of a rule on witnesses." She added, "I do not want to act precipitously, but it is very difficult for this case to go forward."

Moussaoui, who was arrested in August 2001, was, according to the prosecution, "a standby hijacker intimately involved in the September 11 plot." The government asks for the death penalty because Moussaoui did not warn about the impending attack. The prosecution contends that had he done so, 9-11 could have been prevented. Moussaoui has denied specific knowledge of the attack.

Attorney Andre Cohen has another, more chilling, observation:

[I]t is not insignificant that aviation lawyers believe, apparently, that the core of the case against Moussaoui is weak.. It is astonishing that important governmental lawyers would think so poorly of the government’s case -- and essentially embrace the defense view of how weak the link is between Moussaoui and Sept. 11....

Martin ... may have derailed a trial that took over four years to begin and cost us tens of millions of dollars. But it clearly will give aid and comfort to Moussaoui, the terrorist, who has been saying all along that the government is lying and cheating to win. This trial is about to become a show trial, all right, but for all the wrong reasons.

The judge had "barred witnesses in the case from viewing or listening to accounts of hearings before they testify." Martin communicated with FAA witnesses via e-mail last week, sharing trial transcripts. Based upon the e-mail trail, it appears that Martin realized that the government's case was weak, and the FAA witnesses agreed. Again, from Cohen:

Martin’s uninvited comments to the Gang of Seven also suggest a level of coordination and coaching of the witnesses that is even more destabilizing to the trial than the exposure itself. One witness, responding to Martin, says he or she “agree we need to be careful in describing” certain testimony. To another witness, Martin talks about how that witness, and others, “have their work cut out for them, and you may as well” to get around certain problems with the evidence. In yet another, Martin tells one witness “we MUST emphasize the deterrent value of the measures.”

TSA is part of Homeland Security.

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