Judge Doubts Moussaoui's Claims About 9/11

[Rose Siding]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The judge presiding over Zacarias Moussaoui's sentencing told trial lawyers that she doesn't believe Moussaoui's claims on the witness stand that he knew advance details of the Sept. 11 plot.

"I still think that Moussaoui was not accurate in a lot of what he said about how much he knew about what was going to happen with which particular buildings and when," U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said during a closed hearing on April 21 outside the jury's presence. Transcripts of the hearing were released Tuesday.
...
Specifically, Moussaoui claimed that he and would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid were to have flown a fifth plane on 9/11 into the White House...

Even though jurors have no way of knowing about Brinkema's editorial comment presuming they obey rules against following news coverage, prosecutor David Novak objected to her remark.
"With all due respect, that's the jury's decision to decide whether they found him to be credible or not," Novak told Brinkema.
...
Meanwhile, the jury began a seventh day of deliberations Wednesday to decide whether the Sept. 11 conspirator should be sentenced to death or life in prison.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/03/AR2006050300324.html

[libodem]

1. And God only knows who the extracted the confession

from an obviously crazy man. They can make you say anything.

[gratuitous]

2. From what I've read

From what I've read about this case, this is the first time anyone has hinted that Moussaoui may not be the most reliable source of testimony for what he knew or did. His own attorneys did nothing, as far as I could tell, to impeach his lunatic rantings during his testimony. Sounds like the judge is paying attention, at least.

You have to wonder, though, about prosecutor David Novak, who is being so assiduous about executing a crazy man who so obviously has a death wish and a martyr complex.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

5. The public needs someone to assuage their fears.

Moussaoui is the perfect candidate for such a role, but the truth appears that at best he is just a wannabe terrorist.

[mrcheerful]

3. Wait a minute, if thats the case then where was flt 93 headed? Sorry to

bring that up, but something doesn't smell good in denmark. Yet watch, they will give this guy the death sentence after finding him guilty.

[MaineDem]

4. He already pleaded guilty

All the jury is doing is the sentencing.

[leesa]

6. I agree. I think his role is to bolster the WH fantasy about how 9-11

happened. Probably why he's so confident he will be released, but he's been their sad stooge since the beginning. He still doesn't understand that they were willing to blow him up for PNAC, why would they save him now?

[HuffleClaw]

7. Moussaoui claimed that he and would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid

????? bwaahhahahahhhaaaaa

geeze, why not toss in the bit about the proverbial grassy knole too?

[xchrom]

8. the judge simply agrees with the government.

not even the government thought moussaoui was ''in deep'' on the 9-11 plot.

but they had to prosecute some one -- so they prosecuted the crazy guy.