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American Morning

The Big Question: Is the Crackdown on Terror in Jeopardy?

Aired May 01, 2002 - 07:26   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The Question this hour, is the crackdown on terror in jeopardy? Well the Justice Department was dealt a serious blow yesterday when a federal judge in New York dismissed the government's case against one of those being held in the 9/11 investigation. The court also raised questions about the law enforcement dragnet being used in the war on terror.

And joining us now to talk more about the government's hold on material witnesses and also the latest on the Robert Blake murder case, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin who joins us from Atlanta this morning.

Good morning, Jeffrey.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, Paula.

ZAHN: First of all, let's talk about the judge throwing out these perjury charges against this young college student who investigators believe had direct contact with a number of the 9/11 hijackers.

TOOBIN: This is potentially very significant. You know the government has decided in its investigation to hold a substantial number of people, we don't know how many, as material witnesses, meaning they haven't -- they're not accused of committing any crime, they're just potentially important witnesses. And what Judge Scheindlin did in New York City was she said unless the witness is a witness in a specific case, they have to be let go. You can't just hold someone in an investigation indefinitely. That's been done a lot here. If this ruling is applied across the board, it could mean a lot of people are let go.

ZAHN: What kind of numbers are we talking about here, Jeffrey?

TOOBIN: Well I wish I could tell you. You know this has been one of the mysteries. This is one of the things the government has not released. At one point there were 1,100 people held. It seems to be less than -- it's substantially less than that now, but we really don't know. The estimates range from several dozen to several hundred.

ZAHN: Let's quickly share with our audience what the attorney general had to say about this ruling of the federal judge yesterday. Let's listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ASHCROFT, ATTORNEY GENERAL: The Department's use of material witness warrants is fully consistent with the law and long- standing practice. Numerous other judges have authorized the use of material witness warrants in the settings that we have been using them. And the use of such warrants has been validated at the appellate level.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: All right, so the attorney general feels very strongly about the government's position here. Will this decision be upheld?

TOOBIN: Well that -- this is certainly going to be appealed. But the important point to remember is we're now more than six months past 9/11, holding people without charging them of -- with any crime, judges are going to start to get antsy about that. And I predict that even if Scheindlin's ruling is not upheld specifically, there are going to be others in this vein.

ZAHN: OK, just about 20 seconds left. Robert Blake's bail hearing is going to be held today, what do you think is going to happen?

TOOBIN: He's unlikely to get bail. They will probably set a preliminary hearing in several months from now. So the case is not exactly going to be on a fast track.

ZAHN: All right, Jeffrey Toobin, as always, good to have your insights.

TOOBIN: OK.

ZAHN: Again, welcome to our team.

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