Mon, Apr 28, 2003
Gov't. Says He Was To Hijack Fifth Plane on 9/11
Zacarious Moussaoui, an Algerian man the FBI says
would have been the "20th hijacker" on 9/11/01, will have access to
government documents marked "Top Secret/Codeword" as an aid in his
trial defense. So says Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema, who will
preside over the courtroom drama.
Moussaoui is acting as his own attorney in the case and had
wanted to interview Ramzi Binalshibh, a top al Qaeda suspect
captured in Pakistan last year, by videolink. Moussaoui contends
Binalshibh can clear him of government charges he was part of the
terror plot that destroyed the World Trade Center and heavily
damaged the Pentagon. More than 3,000 people were killed in the
terror attacks.
The government denied his request, and submitted
the secret document to Judge Brinkema as a substitute. But
Moussaoui, who doesn't have a security clearance, can't see the
document.
Now, Judge Brinkema says Moussaoui must be allowed to view the
document, security classification aside. "This proposal is
unacceptable," she said of the government's idea.
The case is under appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
in Richmond (VA). Oral arguments are set for next month.
The Case For A Fifth Hijacking
USA Today reports the top secret document outlines
a plan involving Moussaoui in the aborted hijacking of a fifth
commercial airliner on Sept. 11, 2001. That aircraft, sources tell
the newspaper, was to have crashed into the White House. Access to
the document is "necessary not only for him to perform his role as
master of his own defense, but also for him to have a fair trial,"
according to his "stand-by" attorneys.
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