Free Republic

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Prosecutors in Zacarias Moussaoui's death penalty trial sought Tuesday to unravel his claims that he knew nothing of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, arguing that al-Qaida members are carefully scripted to lie when caught. FBI agent Michael Anticev, testifying for a second day, offered the jury a primer on al-Qaida cover stories and the organization's techniques of deception when cell members are questioned. Moussaoui's lawyers are portraying him as a pathetic loner who dreamed of becoming a terrorist but was shut out of Sept. 11 planning and considered by one al-Qaida leader a "cuckoo in the...

The Bush administration is risking dismissal of charges against Zacarias Moussaoui by refusing for a second time to obey a court ruling that allows the terrorism defendant to question senior al-Qaida prisoners. The Justice Department on Wednesday acknowledged that U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema could respond by dismissing the case, but asked her to postpone any punishment pending an appeal. Moussaoui is the only person charged in the United States as a conspirator in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. If his case is dismissed, the government has the option of sending the French citizen's case to a military tribunal....