Dan Abrams
Why the feds should not give up on the prosecution of alleged 20th hijacker in a federal court
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | The administration will soon decide whether to transfer him to the military as an enemy combatant. Why the possible change in status? Because Moussaoui wants to call the other so-called 20th hijacker, Ramzi Binalshibh, as a defense witness.
Moussaoui argues he should get to interview Binalshibh. The Pentagon is right.
They must be able to restrict Moussaoui's access to fellow terrorists, but there are ways to address this problem. If necessary, have government official conduct the interviews, have the judge review Binalshibh's possible testimony to see if it's actually exculpatory. And in a worst-case scenario, if the judge rules against the government, the federal court of appeals in Virginia is one of the most conservative in the country.
More than likely, they would side with the government.
Look, I support classifying some as enemy combatants and
Moussaoui, you know, would certainly fit the bill when he
was charged. But to change his status now sends the
message that in the post 9/11 world, round one in our court
system goes to al Qaeda and sends the wrong message to
our friends and foes alike.
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JWR contributor Dan Abrams anchors “The Abrams Report,” Monday through Friday from 6-7 p.m. ET on MSNBC TV. He also covers legal stories for “NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw,” “Today” and “Dateline NBC.” To visit his website, click here. Comment by clicking here.
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