Judge: CIA Can No Longer Be Trusted In Terror Trials
By Logan Murphy Thursday Nov 22, 2007 5:29amAP Via Yahoo:
A federal judge expressed frustration Tuesday that the government provided incorrect information about evidence in the prosecution of Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui and raised the possibility of ordering a new trial in another high-profile terrorism case.
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, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said she can no longer trust the CIA and other government agencies on how they represent classified evidence in terror cases.
After the hearing, the judge issued an order that said she would not rule on the prosecutors' motion until the government grants needed security clearances to al-Timimi's defense lawyer, Jonathan Turley, and the lead trial prosecutor so they can review the secret pleadings. Read on...
At least we still have a few activist judges who cling to the Constitution and the rule of law.
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Thanks Logan. Good Post. Good Information.
Damn. About time.
Excuse me, when was the CIA ever 'trusted'?
Since their whole raison d' etre is to lie, to deceive, to prevaricate and create fake reality, who in hell ever expected them to be, or speak, truth?
I guess you could say you can 'trust' the CIA to deceive.
But they are the government. We are supposed to trust the government in all its proclamations and pronouncements.
9/11 was an attack by outsiders, 19 goof-offs and flight school rejects masterminded by a dialysis dependant guy in cave 5000 miles away,
the government says it is so. So it must be true.
/sarcasm.
Don't count these chickens just yet. The judge is moving in the right direction, but she hasn't issued a ruling yet. The good news is that the case is being argued by Turley, who has a very strong rep as a constitutional scholar. That alone should help to keep Judge Brinkeman honest.
Still, it ain't over 'til it's over. She might cave in to the Right and do the Wrong thing.
Remind me of when it was they COULD be trusted.
Cantor de Mambo @ 7:
Hardly. When?
When they were created with the remnants of Nazi intelligence services?
When they were starting a revolution in 1953 to overthrow a democratically elected President in Iran? When they engineered a coup in Honduras? When they experimented on people for mind control in MKULTRA and ARTICHOKE? When they were helping the Chilean coup and police-terror state? When they were teaching torture tactics to other nations? When they were working alongside the assassinations in the 1960's of American leaders? When they were setting up drug couriers in the US Columbian connections?
When?
Oh, she will be replaced, or disappeared.
Wow, this is one great judge. I'm sure we'll be hearing about Activist Judges again - page 183 of the Repug play-book.
Hmmm.. (snark) That god damned Brewster Jennings outfit. How dare they have specialized in searching and investigating the presence of WMD in other countries...like Iraq!
What we needed was Don Rumsfeld's Office of Special Plans to counteract that noise.
The so-called Iraq Group was special too.
My Precioussssssssssss.
This is great, but the CIA will appeal this to the crooked, right-leaning U.S. Supreme Court, where it will the decision will probably be overturned.
Damn activist judges for wanting to know the truth.
Nevermind, that stinging smell is nothing!
That thick thing that looks like fog cannot be fog, because then it's likely there mighht be a fire somewhere. And fires would be illegal to discuss.
Ugh. Sorry for bad writing. :P
Are you a nation of laws, or are you not? Pakistan is not, and...
That is ONE SMART JUDGE.
Let us hope that all judges would take the same CARE.
That's enough of this constitution nonsense...
Seriously though, whenever I hear about this crap all I can think of is 'George of the Bungle'.
As has been often stated on these pages, has that buffoon and his minions managed to do anything right?
Cantor de Mambo @ 7:
Caught In the Act ?
Hmm I can't think of a time ever.
Proud American @ 17:
Bush will replace him.
That's funny because in all the trials I've been in the judges never trusted the CIA. In fact the CIA rarely provides any testimony in a trial. Unless you are talking about a case of espionage or treason, the CIA doesn't directly participate in criminal cases. There are exhibits that may be supplied by the agency, and lots of in chamber conferences; but rarely do juries hear anything from the CIA or CIA sources. That's just not done.
I think GW is finding the CIA is not the FBI. To an armature, they may seem to be similar. I would have expected that Poppy would pay some people to educate the idiot on the finer points.
Imagine, an attorney wanting the "priviledge" of seeing the evidence against their client. What whacky idea will the defense attorneys come up with next?
JerryM 20:
When Bush replace him (him?); that would be one more to add to the list of reasons to IMPEACH Bush and Cheney.
I doubt that would happen; the BUSH administration is already treading water from a sink hole of corruption allegations. They have lost all credibility and have NO integrity left on reserve.
JerryM 20:
When Bush replace HER (him?);
yay.
just trust your instincts
Soliciting treason. That could mean anything. One could argue that a political protest is a form of soliciting treason.
Don't you get it? As soon as the defense lawyers get full discovery, the jig is up! How will we ever prosecute terrorists when we actually have to prove they did something wrong?
[Deleted. Off topic-Sitemonitor]
Good article, thanks. Couple points:
If use of term 'activist judges' was sarcasm to the right, I'd have expected it in "quotes" or italics. Not a big deal, I just think we have to avoid using terminology of the wrong/right (IE: "War on Terror" , "Patriot Act", "Jihadi Extremists"), or risk playing the verbal war on their field of battle (Fear, Xenophobia) rather than luring them onto ours (Enlightenment, Free Speech, Hope).
As for the case specifics, the judge has a tradition of not rolling over. Moussaoui was portrayed as the "20th hijacker" by US-DOJ, yet referred to otherwise by Ramsi Bin-Al Shib, (the supposed mastermind/organizer along with Khalid Sheik Mohamed-both tortured repeatedly) who said he had a short fuse, was unreliable and sought to replace him-with himself.
The Germans had to drop their case because they said the CIA was unreliable and would not put up supposed witnesses to bolster their case.
The case of kidnapped (read "Extroardinary Renditioned") Khalid Al-Masri, flown to Afghanistan, Mallorca, Syria and back to Macedonia (after they realized-'damn, right name, wrong guy') where they chucked him out of car and told him to f-off, when he joked, "Don't you say your sorry?" :) details here including both pdf (his case against USA just dismissed, and EU investigation exposing planes & companies leading to Paul Laxalt (Rep. Nevada Retired) buddy of GHWB and the 'Texas Mafia'
No surprise Angela Merkel (Germany) and G.Orwell Bush made a deal to dump Masri and bury the case (along with the Iraq War 'hatchet'). Sacrificed to the alter of....Money? (Forget the German Prosecutor, Herr August Stern walking around with Egg on his face and the 13 CIA Agents laughing over their Tiger Beer somewhere far off, undermining someone elses rights...)
Oh, if that was not clear, too obtuse, let me stated clearly, there is not such thing as "Activist Judges", like the "Left Coast", derogatory terms useful for short-hand aspersions.
Remember, Harry said "I do not give them Hell, I just tell the truth and they think it's Hell".
Same for Judges merely doing their job properly, interpreting the law from the long view of the Constitution, not the short-term hysteria prevailing at the moment, that is not activism, except in the view of the Radical Federalist Society, (bastion of bizarre Illuminati and Opus Dei types).
Activist Judge?????...How about an honest one that's impartial an unbiased
Aww. isnt anyone going to stand up for George and the CIA. theyrr just trying to defend America. the laws of this land simply stop them from doing their job!
I say we nuke everyone who may someday be a threat to the country. And round up all nationalities that are suspect and waterboard them for info before throwing them into a chicken wire prison. At least we WHITE (and black) americans will be safe!!
Its a great idea! Oh, wait, Germany already tried that in the 40s and it didnt work.. Maybe try again with better weopons and more resolve? /sarcasm
We get to choose out enemy, terrorists, OR terrorists and the US government. This judge has chosen option #1.
Judge Leonie Brinkema can expect to find herself on "the other list." That is, the get searched every time you try to board a commercial aircraft list, not the no fly list.
What do you expect when a rogue regime commits treason by outting a covert CIA wmd specialist and tells the CIA to offer her no protection. I might have the fear of Bush in me too.
Jonathan Turley, the defense counsel mentioned, has written about prosecute a sitting President outside impeachment, outside Congress.
FYI: Turley, the defense counsel mentioned, has written on prosecuting a sitting President outside impeachment.
There are plenty of guys locked up on retarded charges with little on no evidence to support the gov casses. It's just sad because some of them were put on trial for going to pakistan in 1994 and had didn't take up any arms agaisnt Americans. Just going to Pakistan is enough to get you life in prison even if you did so 13 years go. Some guys are in jail for playing paintball, so if you're Muslim you can get 15yrs for playing paintball. Some are in jail like Ali Tamimi for telling Muslims to leave the country and go else where if they fear for there life and families welfare. You can read more about their cases in detail and how weird the trails were here.
The American's
http://freeali.org/Home.html
http://umarlee.com/from-behind-the-walls-the-writings-of-ismail-royer/
The Gitmo Prisioners
http://www.cageprisoners.com/
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