A federal judge dealt a serious, perhaps crippling, blow on Tuesday to the government's effort to execute Zacarias Moussaoui for the deaths that occurred in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The judge, Leonie Brinkema, ruled that because of three major instances of misbehavior by government lawyers in the trial, she was barring prosecutors from using any testimony or evidence from a handful of government aviation officials.
The officials were to provide a pillar of the Justice Department's argument as to why Moussaoui deserved to die: That had he told investigators when he was arrested three weeks before the attacks on immigration violations about al-Qaeda's plans to fly planes into buildings, the Federal Aviation Administration would have put in place security measures that could have prevented the attacks.
Prosecutors seemed dispirited by the ruling and indicated that they might seek an immediate review before a federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia. Brinkema granted their request to postpone the trial until at least Monday until they decide what to do.
Brinkema said the prosecution of Moussaoui was "too riddled with errors" to proceed without some sanction against the government.
She directed her wrath most strongly against Carla Martin, a lawyer for the Transportation Security Administration, who was assisting prosecutors in arranging for the testimony of aviation security officials. When Brinkema learned on Monday that Martin had coached seven witnesses on how to testify and respond during cross-examination, she called it the most striking example of witness tampering by a lawyer she has experienced in her years on the bench.
On Tuesday, Brinkema's anger grew as she learned of another problem apparently created by Martin.
During an extraordinary special hearing in the middle of the trial to determine if the witnesses were "tainted" by the coaching, Brinkema said it became apparent that Martin had violated Moussaoui's constitutional rights to a fair trial by telling prosecutors that four government officials had refused requests by defense lawyers to speak with them.
"That was a bald-faced lie," Brinkema declared after some of the witnesses testified that they had not said that to Martin.
The third misstep cited by the judge was a question by a prosecutor in front of the jury last Thursday that she ruled improper. But Brinkema said the question by David Novak, a prosecutor, was not significant enough by itself to order any sanctions on the government.
"A trial, particularly a death penalty case, simply cannot go forward with this many errors," Brinkema said.
Martin appeared briefly on Tuesday in court after being hurriedly summoned the evening before by the judge.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was