Who knew this case was even going on.
Abby ran a whole article on how insane the jury is, never mind the case. This is such a railroad job.
Hey, dumbfuck Amurka!
It is WESTERN GOVERNMENTS that are CARRYING OUT TERROR ATTACKS, 'kay? '
Kay!!
"Lawyer says Padilla went overseas to study, not train; Accused terrorist awaits jury verdict" by Curt Anderson/Associated Press August 15, 2007
MIAMI -- Jose Padilla traveled overseas to peacefully study Arabic and Islam and not to train as an Al Qaeda terrorist, his lawyer said in closing arguments yesterday in a case rooted in 2002 allegations that he plotted to detonate a "dirty bomb" in the United States.
Far from being the "star recruit" of a terrorism support cell as prosecutors contend, defense attorney Michael Caruso said, the evidence -- including phone calls intercepted by the FBI from 1993 to 2001 -- shows only that Padilla went to Egypt in September 1998 to further his studies after converting to Islam.
Caruso told jurors:
"For five years, Jose Padilla has waited for this day, the day we could stand before you and ask for justice. His intent was to study, not to murder."
Padilla, a US citizen, was held for 3 1/2 years without charge as an enemy combatant in a Navy brig after his 2002 arrest at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport for the purported dirty bomb plot. Amid a legal fight over President Bush's authority to continue holding Padilla, he was added to the Miami terrorism support case in late 2005.
The "dirty bomb" allegations were quietly dropped, in part because Padilla, 36, was not provided a lawyer or read his Miranda rights when he was interrogated in military custody. After a three-month trial, jurors were expected to begin deliberating today.
[And the media hardly covered the case because the "War on Terror" IS a SHAM!]
Although Padilla's lawyers put on no witnesses or evidence in his defense, Caruso spent more than two hours yesterday, poking holes in the government's case.
The critical piece of prosecution evidence is a "mujahedeen data form" Padilla allegedly filled out in July 2000 to attend an Al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. The form bears seven of his fingerprints, but Caruso said they are found only on the first page and the back of the final page -- consistent with Padilla simply handling the form, rather than writing on it.
The form, which the CIA found in Afghanistan in late 2001 in a binder with dozens of similar forms, has Padilla's birthday, US citizenship, and other personal identifying details, such as his abilities in Spanish, English, and Arabic, and his education level. It was signed Abu Abdallah Al Mujahir, allegedly an alias of Padilla.
[Oh, well, CIA-planted evidence is good enough for me!]
"Padilla Jury to Start Deliberations" by ABBY GOODNOUGH
MIAMI, Aug. 14 — Jurors in the terrorism trial of Jose Padilla will begin deliberations on Wednesday, after hearing Mr. Padilla’s chief public defender say the government failed to prove Mr. Padilla is a would-be terrorist.
The closing arguments of the defender, Michael Caruso, and a brief government rebuttal were the last statements the jury heard in a closely watched three-month trial meant to showcase the Bush administration’s efforts to control terrorism.
['Closely watched?" How come it has hardly been in your paper then?]
Mr. Caruso said Tuesday that the government had not produced any hard evidence that Mr. Padilla had filled out an application to attend a Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. He said the government had buckled under pressure to hunt down terrorists after Sept. 11, 2001, and unjustly pursued Mr. Padilla, an American.
Caruso presented different photos, of a smiling Mr. Padilla holding his baby sons. He also pointed out Mr. Padilla’s mother in the courtroom. Mr. Padilla, 36, was arrested in 2002 and described as an operative of Al Qaeda plotting to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb” in the United States.
[Padilla] was detained in a military brig in South Carolina for more than three years, but was transferred to civilian custody here last year, after the Supreme Court considered stepping into the case. At that point, Mr. Padilla was added to an existing terrorism conspiracy case.
The government secretly recorded thousands of phone conversations from 1993 to 2001. Mr. Padilla participated in seven wiretapped conversations presented at trial.... the lone government witness who described Mr. Padilla’s past behavior... described him as solitary.
Mr. Padilla’s lawyers did not present character witnesses. In fact, they passed up their chance to present any evidence or witnesses on his behalf. Mr. Caruso did not explain why on Tuesday, but he repeatedly said the government had the burden of proof.
The lawyer focused on the training camp application that the government says Mr. Padilla filled out under an alias. He conceded that seven of Mr. Padilla’s fingerprints were on the document, which the C.I.A. recovered in Afghanistan in 2001. But the fingerprints are on just the first page and the back of the last page, suggesting, Mr. Caruso said, that Mr. Padilla had merely handled the form, and had not filled it out.
He also pointed out that a palm print was found next to the signature line on the form, but that the government never requested Mr. Padilla’s palm print to see whether it matched.
Mr. Caruso: “They were not trying to find the truth. They were trying to create a case.”
A government witness who admitted attending a Qaeda camp testified that [the] intent was not to learn violence.
Mr. Caruso: “Not everyone who attended the camp had the intent to murder. Talk about that when you’re back in the jury room.”
[Yeah, and somebody bring up "Al-CIA-Duh," too, will ya, jurors?
If the "Al-CIA-Duh" charge's the shits, then you must acquits!!!]
