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CNN Live At Daybreak

Moussaoui Trial Set for October

Aired January 03, 2002 - 05:00   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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well the trial of terrorist suspect Zacarias Moussaoui is scheduled to begin in October. CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports on the arraignment on the man said to be the missing hijacker of September 11th.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Under heavy guard, Zacarias Moussaoui, the word prisoner on his green jumpsuit, entered a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Seconds into his arraignment he stood and with a thick French accent addressed the judge in English saying "in the name of Allah, I do not have anything to plea. I enter no plea".

The judge asked Moussaoui's lawyers if that meant not guilty and they said yes. Some officials believe Moussaoui may be the missing hijacker, possibly destined to be on the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back. That one plane had four, not five, skyjackers.

Moussaoui was taken into custody a month before the September 11th attacks. Minnesota flight instructors teaching him to fly grew suspicious about his motives and called the FBI. A letter now shows FBI agents at the time were warned by the flight school of the possibility that Moussaoui may have wanted to hijack the plane or fly it as a bomb.

Sources say at the time there was nothing to suggest a broader plot in the works. When the Pentagon and World Trade Center were hit, Moussaoui was in jail on immigration violations. He is now charged with being part of Osama bin Laden's terrorist conspiracy. His mother, who chose not to attend the hearing, claimed her son's innocent before returning to France.

AICHA EL-WAFI (through translator): He told me he didn't do anything because on September 11th he was in jail. So in my opinion, my son told me he didn't do anything, and on that basis until I have proof to the contrary my son has done nothing.

FEYERICK: Prosecutors have linked Moussaoui with suspected skyjack ringleader Mohammed Atta. Both men at different times at a Norman, Oklahoma flight school, with Moussaoui receiving money from one of Atta's Hamburg, Germany roommates. ERIC HOLDER: And I suspect the government's going to have an ability to show that he did a whole variety of things that are consistent with the aims of the overall conspiracy.

FEYERICK: Moussaoui is also indirectly connected to shoe bomb suspect Richard Reid, both praying at the same Mosque in London, though it's unclear they ever met. The trial date is set for October 15th.

(on camera): Moussaoui's lawyers asked the judge to set an even later trial date saying they needed more time to prepare their defense. They cited the vast amount of evidence they'll have to sort through including translating Arabic documents into English and interviewing witnesses in France, Britain, Germany, and Spain.

(voice-over): The judge said no, dismissing defense worries that publicity on the anniversary of the September attacks would influence the jury pool. Prosecutors have until March 29th to decide whether to seek the death penalty.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Alexandria, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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