Al-Timimi May Seek New Trial

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said she can no longer trust representations the CIA and other government agencies have made to her about classified evidence in terror cases.^[1]

Brinkema, who oversaw the prosecution of Sept. 11, 2001, conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui expressed frustration Tuesday that government agencies provided wrong information about the evidence in that case, and raised the possibility of ordering a new trial in another high-profile terrorism case.^[2]

Her comments came at a post-trial hearing Tuesday for Ali al-Timimi, a Muslim cleric from Virginia sentenced to life in prison in 2004 for soliciting treason.^[3] Al-Timimi, a U.S. citizen, was convicted after prosecutors portrayed him as the spiritual leader of a group of young Muslim men from the Washington, D.C., area who played paintball games in 2000 and 2001 as a means of preparing for holy war around the globe.^[4]

After the Sept. 11 attacks, it was alleged that al-Timimi told his followers to travel to Afghanistan and join the Taliban to fight U.S. troops.^[5] Several of his followers admitted that they traveled to Pakistan and received training from a militant Pakistani group called Lashkar-e-Taiba, but none actually joined the Taliban.^[6]

Federal criminal defense attorneys for al-Timimi want to depose government witnesses to determine whether the government improperly failed to disclose the existence of certain evidence.^[7] The government has denied the allegations in secret pleadings to the judge that defense lawyers are not allowed to see; even the lead prosecutors in the al-Timimi case have not had access to the information, relying instead on the representations of other government lawyers.^[8]

Brinkema said she no longer feels confident relying on those government briefs, particularly since prosecutors admitted last week that similar representations made in the Moussaoui case were false.^[9] In a letter made public Nov. 13, prosecutors in the Moussaoui case admitted to Brinkema that the CIA had wrongly assured her that no videotapes or audiotapes existed of interrogations of certain high-profile terrorism detainees. In fact, two such videotapes and one audio tape existed.^[10]

Moussaoui, who had pleaded guilty to terrorism charges, was sentenced to life in prison last year. Because Moussaoui admitted his guilt, it is unlikely that the disclosures of new evidence would result in his conviction being overturned.^[11]

Jonathan Turley, al-Timimi's defense lawyer, praised Brinkema for taking a skeptical view of the government's assertions saying ''We believe a new trial is warranted, we are entirely confident that there are communications that were not turned over to the defense. These are very serious allegations.''^[12]

Treason
Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.^[13]

---

^[1] Matthew Barakat, Judge questions US government's reliability in terror trials, Associated Press Newswire, November 20, 2007, available at LEXIS, News Library, Wire News Services.
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Id.
^[6] Id.
^[7] Id.
^[8] Id.
^[9] Id.
^[10] Id.
^[11] Id.
^[12] Id.
^[13] 18 U.S.C. § 2381 (2007).