Spying Trial Begins Monday For Publisher Of Arab-American Newspaper

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

(Chicago) -- The spying trial of the publisher of a suburban Arab-American newspaper is set to begin Monday.

Defense lawyers sought to bar under First Amendment grounds a speech Khaled Dumeisi, of Burbank, made at the Iraqi Mission to the United Nations, and articles published in his newspaper, Al Mahjar. U.S. District Court Judge Suzanne Conlon denied the motion, ruling that the speech sheds light on Dumeisi's "state of mind," and will go before the jury. She will rule on the articles one at a time.

That led to a mocking exchange between defense attorneys William Theis and Dan Gilloghly outside of court:

Theis: "I believe my client has a right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press."

Gilloghly: "I think I read about them in class."

Theis: "Forget about it."

In contrast, Dumeisi stood quietly in court, listening to an interpreter as attorneys argued motions before Judge Conlon, some in open court, some behind closed doors.

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