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CNN Live Today
Legal Maneuvers in Moussaoui Case
Aired September 26, 2003 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Legal maneuvers in the case of Zacarias Moussaoui. He is the only person to face charges in the U.S. stemming from the September 11 attacks. Now federal prosecutors are asking a judge to dismiss those charges. That does not mean Moussaoui would go free.
Our justice correspondent Kelli Arena joins us from Washington with details on what exactly it does mean.
Kelli, good morning.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
Well, you're right, the headline sounds like a real heart- stopper. The government wants charges dropped against the only man charged in the U.S. in connection with the September 11th attacks.
But this move is really procedural. The government figures that it's the best way to get the case before an appeals court.
Now let's back it up a bit, the district court judge now overseeing this case has granted Moussaoui access to three Al-Qaeda leaders who are currently being interrogated by the U.S. at overseas locations. Now Moussaoui had argued that those men had had information that might help clear him, and the judge agreed.
Well, the government defied the judge's order. They did not make those men available. And they argued that interrupting those interrogations would be a risk to national security. Now the judge has to sanction or punish the government for not obeying its order. The government's suggestion, throw the charges out, let's get this to an appeals court as quickly as we can, where hopefully the judges will be more sympathetic to our argument.
Now obviously, the judge gets to choose how to sanction the government, and she may not throw out the charges, and we do expect her to rule as early as next week -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And, Kelli, what we're talking about here is not just the Moussaoui case, but this will also probably set precedents in how future terrorists cases are handled.
ARENA: And that's really the crux of this thing, Daryn, is that the government has consistently -- they did this in the John Walker Lindh case, the American Taliban, they refused to allow access to detainees that are in U.S. custody overseas. They continue that now. They say they're adamant about it. They will not compromise on this issue, and so this is something that the government will take to the bitter end.
KAGAN: Kelli Arena, in Washington, thank you.
ARENA: You're welcome.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 26, 2003 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Legal maneuvers in the case of Zacarias Moussaoui. He is the only person to face charges in the U.S. stemming from the September 11 attacks. Now federal prosecutors are asking a judge to dismiss those charges. That does not mean Moussaoui would go free.
Our justice correspondent Kelli Arena joins us from Washington with details on what exactly it does mean.
Kelli, good morning.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
Well, you're right, the headline sounds like a real heart- stopper. The government wants charges dropped against the only man charged in the U.S. in connection with the September 11th attacks.
But this move is really procedural. The government figures that it's the best way to get the case before an appeals court.
Now let's back it up a bit, the district court judge now overseeing this case has granted Moussaoui access to three Al-Qaeda leaders who are currently being interrogated by the U.S. at overseas locations. Now Moussaoui had argued that those men had had information that might help clear him, and the judge agreed.
Well, the government defied the judge's order. They did not make those men available. And they argued that interrupting those interrogations would be a risk to national security. Now the judge has to sanction or punish the government for not obeying its order. The government's suggestion, throw the charges out, let's get this to an appeals court as quickly as we can, where hopefully the judges will be more sympathetic to our argument.
Now obviously, the judge gets to choose how to sanction the government, and she may not throw out the charges, and we do expect her to rule as early as next week -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And, Kelli, what we're talking about here is not just the Moussaoui case, but this will also probably set precedents in how future terrorists cases are handled.
ARENA: And that's really the crux of this thing, Daryn, is that the government has consistently -- they did this in the John Walker Lindh case, the American Taliban, they refused to allow access to detainees that are in U.S. custody overseas. They continue that now. They say they're adamant about it. They will not compromise on this issue, and so this is something that the government will take to the bitter end.
KAGAN: Kelli Arena, in Washington, thank you.
ARENA: You're welcome.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
