Free Republic

SNIPPET: "For all his public activity, Bray has rarely, if ever, discussed his life story in detail. His own MAS biography offers vague descriptions of his work as "a long time civil and human rights advocate." A charismatic African-American convert to Islam, Bray spent this entire decade working for Islamist organizations. Prior to joining MAS, Bray was political director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). Those jobs have helped him build a growing public profile and given him access to politicians and policy makers. And that may explain his reluctance to discuss his life before political activism. The Investigative...

Now that Congress has recessed, and since the conventions aren’t for a couple of weeks, Thursday’s The Situation Room turned back to the "hot" issue of what many liberals are calling on congressional Democrats to do: arrest and lock-up Karl Rove for his failure to testify on the issue of the firing of U.S. attorneys in late 2006. CNN correspondent Jim Acosta, as part of a report on this possible move by the Democrats, conducted a search for the supposed jail inside the U.S. Capitol. He also addressed the little-used power of the legislature to arrest and try government officials...

An appeals court yesterday upheld the legality of federal raids on a Herndon-based network of Muslim charities, businesses and think tanks, a case that caused a firestorm in the Muslim community. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit said the March 2002 raids on homes and business in Herndon and elsewhere in Northern Virginia were "a harrowing experience" for the targets but did not violate their constitutional rights. The court said agents exercised "lawful force" in drawing their guns and handcuffing a family whose home was searched. Federal agents carted away hundreds of boxes of documents during the...

ALEXANDRIA, VA - A federal judge on Friday cleared the way for Sami Al-Arian to stand trial for criminal contempt, ruling there is an "insufficient legal basis" for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad supporter's claim of selective government prosecution. U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema set a March 9 jury trial date for Al-Arian.

A federal jury in Dallas on Monday dealt the Stealth Jihad initiative in the United States a crushing defeat: it found five former officials of an Islamic charity, the Holy Land Foundation (HLF), guilty of funneling at least $12 million of the charity’s funds to the jihad terror group Hamas. The notorious “Muslim civil rights” group, the Council on American Islamic Relations, is involved as well, since Ghassan Elashi, a founding director of CAIR as well as founder of the group’s Texas chapter, was among those found guilty; Elashi and his co-defendants face prison sentences of up to twenty years...

Terrorist leader Sami Al-Arian is out of prison thanks to the efforts of his attorneys, the Washington Post reports. His chief counsel, Jonathan Turley, who is also a professor at George Washington University Law School, said "We are obviously relieved and delighted." Amazingly, immigration authorities decided that Al-Arian, a non-U.S. citizen, was not a flight risk, even though his wife, son, and daughter have moved to Egypt. His daughter, Laila Al-Arian, acknowledges that her father could be deported to Egypt and wants it to happen: We know that the Egyptian government has already accepted for him to be basically deported...

For the first time in more than five years, a prominent Palestinian Arab activist, Sami Al-Arian, is free from jail. His respite from jail may not last long: The former college professor faces a second round of criminal charges in his lengthy legal battle with federal prosecutors. Al-Arian had been in government custody since he was charged with being the leader in America of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad more than five years ago. He was not convicted at trial, although he subsequently pleaded guilty to lending aid to that group and received a sentence of 57 months. Al-Arian's incarceration has...

Islamic leaders tied by federal investigators to the radical Muslim Brotherhood in America – including one under active investigation for alleged terror-financing – have recently donated to Sen. Barack Obama's campaign for president, according to Federal Election Commission records reviewed by WND. Jamal M. Barzinji earlier this year gave Obama $1,000, a gift that records show has not been returned. Other Democratic candidates, including Rep. Jim Moran, have refunded donations from Barzinji since federal agents raided his Virginia home and offices in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Obama's top Muslim adviser resigned earlier this month over controversy surrounding his...

I never give time frames, because you never know where you'll have sufficient evidence to go public with a prosecution, " Mueller said.

Al-Qaeda Draws New Recruits Via Internet Al-Qaeda is using the Internet to recruit vulnerable young people to its terrorist network, according to a programme aired on Saudi Arabian TV late on Tuesday. Umm Osama, the founder of al-Qaeda's first women-only website, al-Khansa, joined several others on the programme to discuss how they renounced jihadist ideology. Among those who sought a response to this question was an imam from the Medina mosque, Saleh Ibn Awad al-Mudamsi, and the father of a young al-Qaeda suspect held in an Iraqi prison. Read More Qaeda Targets U.S. Oil Interests in North Africa U.S....

The Hunt for American al Qaeda The United States is turning up the heat in the hunt for the California boy turned al Qaeda operative, Adam Gadahn, who has been charged with treason and is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan. If caught and convicted, Gadahn could face the death penalty. The State Department along with the Department of Diplomatic Security announced the beginning of a publicity campaign in Afghanistan urging locals to provide any information on Gadahn's whereabouts, with a reward if the information leads to his capture. Radio advertisements with information concerning the $1 million reward have...

What about Sami? New York Times Buys Into American Ikhwan Lobbying on Behalf of Convicted Terrorist by Steven Emerson IPT News April 18, 2008The New York Times today became the latest tool in an aggressive lobbying campaign aimed at sabotaging a terror investigation in northern Virginia. The campaign to free Sami Al-Arian started last year, led by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim American Society (MAS), and other American Islamist groups after the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operative was held in contempt of court for refusing to comply with consecutive grand jury subpoenas. He now is defying his...

Representatives of several American Muslim groups today visited Dr. Sami Al-Arian, a former Florida professor currently on his second hunger strike in federal detention to protest alleged unjust treatment by U.S. authorities. Al-Arian began refusing food and water on March 3rd to protest a third attempt by prosecutors to compel his testimony in court. He was transferred to a medical facility in North Carolina, but has since been returned to Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Va. He is now taking only liquids and has lost 32 pounds.SEE: Jailed Professor on Hunger Strike (IPS)Those taking part in today's visit included...

Sami al-Arian’s fondest wish is to be deported from the United States to the Palestinian territories. The US government has other plans, however, and will keep him in prison until he testifies to connections between charity front groups and terrorists. The former Florida professor claims he has immunity from further investigations, but somehow his side forgot to commit it to paper: Former university professor Sami al-Arian wants to finish serving his prison sentence for a terrorism-related crime next month so that he can be deported to the Palestinian territories. But the Bush administration is threatening to keep him behind bars...

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on American Muslims and other people of conscience to write letters in support of Dr. Sami Al-Arian, a former Florida professor currently on his second hunger strike in federal detention to protest alleged unjust treatment by U.S. authorities. Al-Arian, who has already lost almost 30 pounds, began refusing food and water on March 3rd to protest a third attempt by prosecutors to compel his testimony in court. He was recently transferred from his Virginia prison to a medical facility in North Carolina.SEE: Inmate on Hunger Strike Transferred to Medical Prison (AP) CAIR...

A former Florida college professor who pleaded guilty to aiding a Palestinian terrorist group was not immune from a subpoena forcing him to testify in an unrelated probe of Muslim charities, an appeals court ruled Friday. Sami Al-Arian, 50, had argued the terms of the plea agreement exempted him from testifying before a grand jury in an investigation of Islamic charities in Virginia. A federal judge disagreed and found Al-Arian guilty of contempt when he refused to testify. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Al-Arian's appeal Friday, ruling that federal prosecutors did not violate the plea agreement by...

Trail Of Terror: The Council on American-Islamic Relations is cheering a mistrial in a major terror case as a "stunning defeat" for the U.S. government. But the celebration may be premature. Federal prosecutors say they'll retry the case against leaders of the Holy Land Foundation, the nation's largest Muslim charity, which they accused of funneling more than $12 million to Hamas terrorists. CAIR, an unindicted co-conspirator in the case, also cheered a similar outcome in a federal case against Muslim activist Sami al-Arian in Florida. As in the Holy Land case, jurors deadlocked on several terror counts. But prosecutors threatened...

Two Egyptian students at the University of South Florida were indicted Friday for carrying explosive materials across states lines and one of them was charged with teaching the other how to use them for violent reasons. Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, 24, an engineering graduate student and teaching assistant at the Tampa-based university, faces terrorism charges for teaching and demonstrating how to use the explosives. He and Youssef Samir Megahed, 21, an engineering student, were stopped for speeding in Goose Creek, S.C., on Aug. 4, where they have been held on state charges. The two men were stopped with pipe bombs...

I checked the title, and didn't find it posted. ~~~~~~~~~ Update: Yahia Megahed’s Hi5 profile is gone 6:20pm Eastern. Eeenteresting. Via Dan Riehl, Yahia Megahed’s Hi5 profile has now been removed: *** Last weekend, I noted the arrest of Yousef Megahed, 21, and Ahmed Mohamed, 24, in the vicinity of the Naval Weapons Station, located in Goose Creek, South Carolina. National media scrutiny since the men were charged with possession of pipe bombs has been scant. Some MSM reports read like CAIR press releases. The AP dispatch carried in the Miami Herald concludes: “Some have suggested the men were targeted...

A coalition of Muslim groups is calling for a worldwide fast in support of Sami Al-Arian, a former college professor convicted of raising funds for a terrorist group. The American Muslim Taskforce for Civil Rights and Elections is made up of larger Muslim groups, including the American Muslim Alliance, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Circle of North America and United Muslims of America. The Muslim Taskforce asked Muslims to fast every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

TAMPA - Sami Al-Arian, the former University of South Florida professor sentenced to prison for providing assistance to a terrorist group, collapsed Wednesday in a Virginia prison on the 23rd day of a hunger strike. He was taken to a North Carolina medical facility. He began his hunger strike after learning his sentence may be extended by up to 18 months for refusing to testify before a Virginia grand jury.

Jihadi Journalist: The Real Peter Jennings By Debbie Schlussel While the rest of the world is blindly singing the praises of Peter Jennings, here's a reality check: Peter Jennings did more for the cause of Islamic terrorism than any media figure today. And that's nothing to celebrate, honor, or even memorialize. Before there was Al Jazeerah, there was Peter Jennings. From the beginning of Jennings career until his death, Jennings' biased coverage went beyond the pale, bending over backward in "understanding" the terrorists who hate us-- from seeing "their side" when he covered the seige and then murder of innocent...

The attacks on US targets culminating in the September 11 suicide hijackings were only a fraction of the onslaught planned by Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida, it emerged yesterday. Over the past three years, US intelligence detected plots against US embassies in 14 countries, mostly in Asia and Africa, and there were over 600 more "credible threats" of attacks. Some were thwarted by arrests or stepped up security. Others appear to have been suspended or may still be pending. The global extent of al-Qaida's terrorist ambitions is revealed in a new book by Peter Bergen, CNN's terrorism analyst, who interviewed ...

American universities rank among the best in the world, but they also boast another, more dubious distinction: They are home to some of the world’s most radical academics. Last month, one of these select individuals, UC Berkeley professor Hatem Bazian, brought his hate-filled show to two extremist Islamic Centers in South Florida. Both of these institutions are in the process of building large-scale mosques in their respective cities. And, given that their guest had previously called for attacks on the United States, the question naturally arose: Were these institutions looking to make friends in the community or to start a holy war?Past...

A co-defendant of a former college professor accused of terrorist ties has been released from jail and deported, more than five months after his trial ended, his attorney and federal officials said Wednesday. Sameeh Hammoudeh's attorney had sued the government this year to try to expedite the deportation, and a federal judge had given immigration officials until Wednesday to deport him or explain why they continued to hold him. Federal officials Tuesday took Hammoudeh, 46, to Jordan, where he crossed into the West Bank to be reunited with his wife and six children, said his attorney, Stephen Bernstein. "He's home...

Two Saudi men were arrested Friday after they boarded a school bus and rode to Wharton High School in New Tampa. Students on the bus became alarmed, as did the bus driver, who called ahead. Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies met the bus at the school and detained the men. No one was injured and nothing out of line occurred on the bus, deputies said. Mana Saleh Almanajam, 23, who lives in Apt. 302 in The Point apartments, and Shaker Mohsen Alsidran, 20 Monticello Gardens, Apt. 304-A, each were charged with trespassing on school property. Both remained in Orient Road Jail...

The truth sometimes hurts. Just ask the remaining supporters of Professor Sami Al-Arian. On May 1, 2006, their hero received the maximum sentence available under the plea agreement, in which he acknowledged what he had denied to everyone for over a decade: that he was indeed a secret U.S.-based operative for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The culmination of the Al-Arian case once again illustrates an underrated function of the American criminal justice system: convincing a stubborn, well-heeled defendant of his own guilt. Sometimes prosecutors have to suffer setbacks like a hung jury to make the criminal realize that the...

Sami al-Arian, the former University of South Florida professor, has been a master manipulator for years, gaining strong and vocal support for the American Left. But his luck has now completely run out. When he pled guilty not long ago to “conspiracy to make or receive contributions of funds to or for the benefit of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Specially Designated Terrorist” organization, the maximum sentence was set at four years, nine months. But on Monday Judge James Moody, according to the St. Petersburg Times, “shocked the courtroom when he ignored the recommendation of prosecutors and defense attorneys for a...

Florida professor Sami Al-Arian - who has pleaded guilty to fund-raising and other support for the the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad - is set to be sentenced today. He should get the most severe sentence possible. Palestinian Islamic Jihad murdered my daughter Alisa Flatow in an April 9, 1995, terror attack. No one has ever said that Sami al-Arian was in Gaza the day the bomb went off. And we have never accused him of recruiting the suicide bomber, driving the truck, or pushing the plunger on the bomb that killed Alisa that Sunday morning. But, by pleading guilty...

A federal judge yesterday lambasted a former Florida college professor, Sami Al-Arian, as a liar and "master manipulator," before sentencing him to nearly five years in prison for providing support to a Middle Eastern terrorist group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Under a plea deal finalized last month, Al-Arian, 48, agreed to admit guilt and accept a possible sentence of 46 to 57 months and eventual deportation from America. Prosecutors agreed to join defense attorneys in recommending a sentence at the low end of the range, but the judge, James Moody Jr., ignored those suggestions and imposed the maximum sentence allowed by...

TAMPA -- A judge on Monday sentenced former professor Sami Al-Arian to another year and a half in prison before he will be deported in his terrorism conspiracy case. Al-Arian, 48, was sentenced to four years and nine months, but he will get credit for the three years and three months he has already served while being held before and after his trial. His lawyer, Linda Moreno, asked the judge to release her client now, but the judge refused and called Al-Arian ``a master manipulator.''

TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Former Florida university professor Sami al-Arian has pleaded guilty to aiding the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad and agreed to be deported, U.S. officials said on Monday. ADVERTISEMENT Al-Arian and three co-defendants were charged in 2003 with helping the group carry out attacks in Israel. In December, a federal jury in Tampa found al-Arian not guilty on eight charges and failed to reach a verdict on nine others after a six-month trial. Prosecutors, whose failure to convict al-Arian after the jury trial was seen as a stiff blow to the U.S. government's attempts to prosecute terrorism suspects,...

SAMI AL-ARIAN ADMITS CONSPIRACY IN PLEA AGREEMENT " There is no conspiracy to support terrorism ."  - Ahmed Bedier, spokesman for Tampa chapter of Council on American Islamic Relations From what I’ve been able to gather, there seems to be enough evidence to prove a web of conspiracy . Let’s have a look and see if that’s true! American Muslim Council (AMC)1. Former Spokesman: Faisal Gill.2. Founder: Abdurahman Muhammad Alamoudi.3. Former Director: Erik Vickers 1. Faisal Gill Former spokesman for the American Muslim Council (AMC) Former director of government affairs for the Islamic Free Market Institute (Islamic Institute) in Washington, D.C.,...

After years of denial, Sami Al-Arian has finally admitted it: he has pleaded guilty to a charge of “conspiracy to make or receive contributions of funds to or for the benefit of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Specially Designated Terrorist” organization. He has agreed to accept deportation. In his 2002 defense of Al-Arian, Eric Boehlert wrote: “The al-Arian story reveals what happens when journalists, abandoning their role as unbiased observers, lead an ignorant, alarmist crusade against suspicious foreigners who in a time of war don't have the power of the press or public sympathy to fight back.” Reality is just the...

WASHINGTON, April 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Former University of South Florida Professor Sami Al-Arian has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a specially designated terrorist organization, in violation of U.S. law, the Department of Justice announced today. In a closed proceeding before a federal magistrate at U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Florida last week, Al- Arian pleaded guilty to Count Four of the indictment against him -- a charge of conspiracy to make or receive contributions of funds, goods or services to or for the benefit of...

Federal authorities have decided to deport a former University of South Florida professor and long-time Palestinian rights activist after failing to convict him on charges he helped finance terrorist attacks in Israel. Two lawyers familiar with the case say Sami Al-Arian has reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to a lesser charge and be deported. The lawyers spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement had not been made public by the court. It isn't clear where Al-Arian will be sent. Al-Arian has been in jail since a Tampa jury acquitted him in December on eight of the...

WASHINGTON -- Federal authorities have decided to deport a former Florida professor and longtime Palestinian rights activist after failing to convict him on charges he helped finance terrorist attacks in Israel. Sami Al-Arian, who had met with U.S. presidents and other political leaders before his terrorism indictment in 2003, reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to a lesser charge and be deported, two lawyers familiar with the case said Friday. The arrangement requires the approval of a judge.

On Wednesday, January 18, I received an e-mail from someone identifying himself as “Ahmed.” He wrote to me that he was a “Muslim activist” and that he wanted me to come on his radio show to discuss my work, or, in his words, “to give [my] side of the story.” In doing a simple web search on his e-mail address, it turned out that this individual was none other than the Director of Communications for the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Ahmed Rehab. While I didn’t know his motives in contacting me, I had recalled when...

Imam Fawaz Damra helped lay the groundwork for an organization that ultimately merged into al-Qaida in the late 1980s. He was an unindicted co-conspirator of the terrorists who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993. And he passionately raised money for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which killed dozens of Jews in Israel during the 1990s. Yet Damra, spiritual leader to thousands of Muslims in Northeast Ohio, seemed to fly comfortably beneath the radar of U.S. terror investigators - until Tuesday. FBI agents swooped in on the Palestinian cleric at his Strongsville home, arresting him on a relatively minor - and...

Instead of being deported, Sameeh Hammoudeh will leave the country voluntarily, immigration officials say. MEG LAUGHLIN Published January 21, 2006 TAMPA - If everything goes as promised by immigration supervisors, Sameeh Hammoudeh, his wife and six children will be on their way to Amman, Jordan, next week - finally. In early December, Hammoudeh, one of four co-defendants in the Sami Al-Arian terrorism trial, was acquitted of all charges that he conspired to send money to Palestinian Islamic Jihad to further violence in Israel and the Occupied Territories. He was also acquitted of a charge that he committed immigration fraud. Nevertheless,...

DETROIT - A Cleveland imam convicted of hiding terrorist ties has agreed to leave the United States, ending his deportation case, his attorney and government officials said Thursday. The agreement allows Fawaz Damra to resettle in Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Egypt or the Palestinian territories, said Greg Gagne, a spokesman for the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review. A judge has approved the agreement with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which will decide his destination. Damra is still in federal custody, said Robert Birach, a Detroit lawyer who negotiated for him. He declined to discuss more...

What I saw at the deportation hearing of another convicted anti-American, anti-Semitic, Palestinian terrorist Fawaz Abu Damra. Today, I attended a pre-trial hearing in the deportation proceedings against convicted felon Palestinian Fawaz Abu Damra (a/k/a Fawwaz Damra, a/k/a Fawaz Damrah and multiple other spellings he deliberately used for multiple identities and deliberate confusion), the imam of the Cleveland mosque, and a conspirator with Islamic Jihad chieftain Sami al-Arian. Damra was also an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing--another piece of evidence showing that al-Qaeda and Islamic Jihad are working together. He headed Brooklyn's Al-Farooq Mosque where the...

TAMPA - Juror 211 is one of the reasons that the fate of Sami Al-Arian remains unsettled after a trial lasting half a year. As one of two holdouts favoring conviction for the former University of South Florida professor, she said she's glad federal prosecutors may get a second chance to bring terror-support charges against Al-Arian. "After six months, I didn't like it left hanging like this," she said in an interview last week. "I wanted it left with a definite result." Deliberations lasted 13 days and were tense at times, said juror 211, known as "Char" to her friends....

Where Al-Arian's Prosecutors Failed By JEFF LIPKES Published: Dec 19, 2005 Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the exoneration of Alfred Dreyfus after one of the most famous trials in history. On the basis of perjury and forged documents, the French artillery captain had been convicted of spying for Germany and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. His real crime was to have been Jewish at a time when anti-Semitism was on the upsurge in France. Is there a parallel with the Sami Al-Arian case? Was the former University of South Florida engineering professor persecuted because he...

TAMPA - Hatem Fariz, co-defendant of Sami Al-Arian, asked the federal court Thursday to dismiss the remaining eight counts of the conspiracy indictment against him. Fariz was acquitted on 25 counts on Dec. 6. When jurors could not reach a verdict on eight counts, U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. declared a mistrial for those counts. Prosecutors have not yet said whether they will retry him. Fariz, who lives in Spring Hill, is free on bond. Al-Arian, a former University of South Florida professor, was acquitted on eight counts. He remains in a Hillsborough jail while prosecutors decide whether to...

dolphin says: But... but... he was only sponsoring the Islamic Jihad!.. A truly shocking, unbelievable piece that will long be revered as an epitome of whitewashing in the history of journalism. Al-Reuters, without a hint of shame, attempts to portray the apparent sponsor of terrorism, who barely escaped conviction, as a simple peaceful man who is only trying to help his fellow Muslims in the Palestinian Authority.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a country seared by the September 11 attacks, Muslim American charities and donors say they live in constant fear of frozen funds, indictments and even closure, regardless of whether they...

American Muslim organizations rally behind message of hate. When former college professor—and alleged terrorist—Sami al-Arian was unexpectedly acquitted Tuesday on eight counts and received a hung jury on the other nine, many Muslims could barely contain their glee. “People are just jubilant,” Ahmed Bedier, the Tampa chapter director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told the New York Times. The not guilty verdicts were a “wonderful and a tremendous victory,” according to a statement released by Muslim-American Society (MAS) President Mahdi Bray. While in many cases it might be reasonable to forgive a defendant acquitted by a jury of...

Sami's Guardian Angel By Paul Sperry FrontPageMagazine.com | December 9, 2005 "I didn't see the evidence," explained one male juror who this week voted to acquit former Florida professor Sami al-Arian on charges he conspired to help Palestinian terrorists kill Israelis and Americans. Don't blame federal prosecutors for that. They did the best they could with the reams of circumstantial evidence they had, which was powerful enough by itself to sway even al-Arian's defense team to admit he had at least "some affiliation" with Palestinian Islamic Jihad and may have cheered news of the terror group's attacks. But prosecutors could...

My friend, Michael Eisenstadt, dedicated his life, among other things, to seeing terrorist leader Sami Al-Arian face justice. In September, Mike, spokesman for Tampa's Jewish community, died of lung cancer. While his passing is a source of great sadness, I'm glad Mike didn't get to see Al-Arian's acquittal, Tuesday. It was a sad day in America, but not one that was unexpected. At least by me. Everyone predicted that the jury would throw the book at the man who was a founder of terrorist group Islamic Jihad, and ran its worldwide headquarters from his University of South Florida offices. But...

"I didn't see the evidence," explained one male juror who this week voted to acquit former Florida professor Sami al-Arian on charges he conspired to help Palestinian terrorists kill Israelis and Americans. Don't blame federal prosecutors for that. They did the best they could with the reams of circumstantial evidence they had, which was powerful enough by itself to sway even al-Arian's defense team to admit he had at least "some affiliation" with Palestinian Islamic Jihad and may have cheered news of the terror group's attacks. But prosecutors could have had an open-and-shut case if it weren't for a reluctant...