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American Morning

Lindh to Be Sentenced Today

Aired October 04, 2002 - 07:35   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: And, of course, it is sentencing time for American born Taliban John Walker Lindh. Lindh plans to address the court and the American people before he finds out how long he'll be imprisoned. Lindh served with the Taliban in Afghanistan. And according to secret documents obtained by CNN, he told interrogators that September 11 was just the first wave of terror planned by al Qaeda.
Lindh struck a plea bargain in July.

So what can we expect inside the Virginia courtroom today?

CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin here with a preview -- good morning, Jeff.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Howdy.

ZAHN: How are you doing this morning?

TOOBIN: Great.

ZAHN: What is Mr. Lindh likely to say?

TOOBIN: Well, he's likely to get 20 years. He is, the plea bargain set the sentence. There's really almost no dispute about that's what the sentence will be.

ZAHN: Is that a fair sentence?

TOOBIN: Well, I mean, you know, this is sort of the story of the incredible shrinking case. You know, when he was arrested, there was talk that he was going to be charged with treason, with the death penalty, with causing the death of the CIA agent, Johnny Spann. As the Walker Lindh case was investigated, it turns out his role was a lot more modest, a lot more, in many respects, pathetic than originally thought.

So 20 years does seem like a fairly reasonable sentence. It's no slap on the wrist, but it also means that, you know, he is going to have a full life after he gets out of prison.

ZAHN: Do you have any idea what his message might be? I know you've talked with a bunch of attorneys surrounding this case.

TOOBIN: Right. I mean, and his lawyers submitted a detailed brief yesterday. Basically they're saying that he went to Afghanistan to fight with the Taliban against the Northern Alliance, not against the United States, that he wanted no part of the attacks against Americans, was not someone who wanted to see Americans dead and, you know, apologizes for any connection that he had to those attacks.

ZAHN: In the meantime, it appears as though he has cooperated with federal officials. There are a number of reports this morning saying that, in fact, John Walker Lindh gave investigators critical information about the so-called Buffalo wing of al Qaeda operating in upstate New York.

TOOBIN: Right. One of the reasons this plea bargain took place is that the government acknowledged, and they acknowledged in court again yesterday, that he did cooperate and they did believe he was truthful. And he was there in those training camps, apparently, at the same time as the people from Lackawanna were.

ZAHN: So let's talk about the reality of a 20 year sentence. What does that mean?

TOOBIN: I mean it...

ZAHN: When is he eligible for parole?

TOOBIN: He's going to get credit for time served. There's no parole in the federal system. You get time off for good behavior. But you can get 10 or 20 percent off of your time so a 20 year sentence probably is going to mean about 17 or 18 years. That means he's basically going to get out of prison when he's in his late 30s. I mean it's not exactly, it's not great, but it really will give him a full life after he gets out of prison.

ZAHN: You said that the outlines of this plea bargain were, I guess, pretty obvious from the beginning. But what kind of job has John Walker Lindh's team done?

TOOBIN: They've done a superb job for him. I mean this is a very good deal when you consider he was looking at trial in the Eastern District of Virginia, the famous rocket docket that we talk about, very conservative judges, very conservative jurors, likely to be convicted if he went to trial. Instead of looking at a possible life sentence, which is what he would have gotten if he had been convicted of all the charges, he gets this plea bargain. It's a very good deal.

But it also seems like a fair deal because, you know, as Walker Lindh's story has become clearer, it is really not the story, it seems, of a soldier, someone who is really fighting against the United States. It was this really badly misguided, stupid kid who went off to Afghanistan because he believed in Islam, but was not really any sort of soldier.

ZAHN: We're going to leave it there and be looking forward to seeing you a little bit later on this morning when that actual sentencing takes place.

TOOBIN: OK.

ZAHN: Thanks, Jeffrey.

Have a good weekend.

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 October 4, 2002 - 07:35   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: And, of course, it is sentencing time for American born Taliban John Walker Lindh. Lindh plans to address the court and the American people before he finds out how long he'll be imprisoned. Lindh served with the Taliban in Afghanistan. And according to secret documents obtained by CNN, he told interrogators that September 11 was just the first wave of terror planned by al Qaeda.
Lindh struck a plea bargain in July.

So what can we expect inside the Virginia courtroom today?

CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin here with a preview -- good morning, Jeff.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Howdy.

ZAHN: How are you doing this morning?

TOOBIN: Great.

ZAHN: What is Mr. Lindh likely to say?

TOOBIN: Well, he's likely to get 20 years. He is, the plea bargain set the sentence. There's really almost no dispute about that's what the sentence will be.

ZAHN: Is that a fair sentence?

TOOBIN: Well, I mean, you know, this is sort of the story of the incredible shrinking case. You know, when he was arrested, there was talk that he was going to be charged with treason, with the death penalty, with causing the death of the CIA agent, Johnny Spann. As the Walker Lindh case was investigated, it turns out his role was a lot more modest, a lot more, in many respects, pathetic than originally thought.

So 20 years does seem like a fairly reasonable sentence. It's no slap on the wrist, but it also means that, you know, he is going to have a full life after he gets out of prison.

ZAHN: Do you have any idea what his message might be? I know you've talked with a bunch of attorneys surrounding this case.

TOOBIN: Right. I mean, and his lawyers submitted a detailed brief yesterday. Basically they're saying that he went to Afghanistan to fight with the Taliban against the Northern Alliance, not against the United States, that he wanted no part of the attacks against Americans, was not someone who wanted to see Americans dead and, you know, apologizes for any connection that he had to those attacks.

ZAHN: In the meantime, it appears as though he has cooperated with federal officials. There are a number of reports this morning saying that, in fact, John Walker Lindh gave investigators critical information about the so-called Buffalo wing of al Qaeda operating in upstate New York.

TOOBIN: Right. One of the reasons this plea bargain took place is that the government acknowledged, and they acknowledged in court again yesterday, that he did cooperate and they did believe he was truthful. And he was there in those training camps, apparently, at the same time as the people from Lackawanna were.

ZAHN: So let's talk about the reality of a 20 year sentence. What does that mean?

TOOBIN: I mean it...

ZAHN: When is he eligible for parole?

TOOBIN: He's going to get credit for time served. There's no parole in the federal system. You get time off for good behavior. But you can get 10 or 20 percent off of your time so a 20 year sentence probably is going to mean about 17 or 18 years. That means he's basically going to get out of prison when he's in his late 30s. I mean it's not exactly, it's not great, but it really will give him a full life after he gets out of prison.

ZAHN: You said that the outlines of this plea bargain were, I guess, pretty obvious from the beginning. But what kind of job has John Walker Lindh's team done?

TOOBIN: They've done a superb job for him. I mean this is a very good deal when you consider he was looking at trial in the Eastern District of Virginia, the famous rocket docket that we talk about, very conservative judges, very conservative jurors, likely to be convicted if he went to trial. Instead of looking at a possible life sentence, which is what he would have gotten if he had been convicted of all the charges, he gets this plea bargain. It's a very good deal.

But it also seems like a fair deal because, you know, as Walker Lindh's story has become clearer, it is really not the story, it seems, of a soldier, someone who is really fighting against the United States. It was this really badly misguided, stupid kid who went off to Afghanistan because he believed in Islam, but was not really any sort of soldier.

ZAHN: We're going to leave it there and be looking forward to seeing you a little bit later on this morning when that actual sentencing takes place.

TOOBIN: OK.

ZAHN: Thanks, Jeffrey.

Have a good weekend.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com