Defence gets its say in Moussaoui trial
If jurors in the death-penalty trial of Zacarias Moussaoui are looking for someone to blame for the September 11, 2001, attacks, defence lawyers are pointing the finger at the FBI and other US federal agencies they say botched intelligence.
The sentencing trial for Moussaoui, the only person in this country charged in connection with the airborne attacks that claimed more than 3,000 lives, resumes today with the defence’s first witness scheduled for cross-examination.
The witness, former FBI agent Erik Rigler, on Thursday summarised for the jury a Justice Department report that criticised the CIA for keeping intelligence about two known al-Qaida terror operatives in the United States from the FBI for more than a year.
The two were among the 19 suicide hijackers on 9/11. The report said they had been placed on a watchlist in Thailand in January 2000, but not on a US list until August 2001.
After the prosecution phase, which lasted about two weeks, the defence is expected to wrap up its case in two days or so. The final defence witness may be Moussaoui himself, who wants to testify against the wishes of his court-appointed lawyers.
Prosecutors argue that Moussaoui, a French citizen, thwarted a prime opportunity to track down the 9/11 hijackers and possibly unravel the plot when he was arrested in August 2001 on immigration violations and lied to the FBI about his al-Qaida membership and plans to hijack a plane.
Had Moussaoui confessed, the FBI could have pursued leads that would have led them to most of the hijackers, government witnesses have testified.
To win the death penalty, prosecutors must first prove that Moussaoui’s actions – specifically, his lies – were directly responsible for at least one death on September 11.
Moussaoui pleaded guilty last April to conspiring with al Qaida to hijack planes and other crimes, but he denies any role in 9/11.
He says he was training for a possible future attack on the White House.
