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.

FMI: www.usdoj.gov