Prosecution Rests in Padilla Trial [View All]

[steve2470]

Source: AP

MIAMI (AP) -- For a star defendant whose name is known around the world, Jose Padilla has become almost a bit player in his terrorism support trial - and some observers say the federal government may not have proved its case against him.

Prosecutors rested their case Friday after nine weeks, 22 witnesses and dozens of FBI wiretap intercepts played at trial, most of them in Arabic with written translations for jurors. Defense lawyers for Padilla and his two co-defendants begin presenting their case next week.

Much is at stake for the government, which once heralded Padilla's arrest as a success in the country's war on terror, accused him in an al-Qaida "dirty bomb" plot, and held him for 3 1/2 years as an enemy combatant.

Padilla's voice was heard on only seven intercepts, a tiny fraction of the 300,000 collected by the FBI during the nearly decade-long investigation.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PADILLA_TERROR_CHARGES?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US