...with the prosecution's hands tied. From AP, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:
NEW YORK (AP) -- A judge earlier this week refused to let federal prosecutors present some of the most potentially damaging evidence against a Yemeni sheik charged with funneling millions of dollars to terrorists.Prosecutors will not be able to present documents allegedly linking Sheik Mohammed Ali Hasan al-Moayad to suspected al Qaeda militants in Afghanistan and Croatia, Judge Sterling Johnson Jr. ruled....
If convicted, al-Moayad, 56, could face more than 60 years in prison. Zayed, 31, could face more than 30 years.
The government had hoped to prove al-Moayad's ties to Osama bin Laden with address books containing al-Moayad's name and phone number, which were confiscated from suspected al Qaeda fighters being expelled from the former Yugoslavia. The government also planned to introduce an admission form for an al Qaeda Afghan training camp that used al-Moayad as a reference.
The judge called the Croatian evidence "so remote, I am going to preclude the government from using it."
He went on to exclude the Afghan evidence, apparently agreeing with a defense argument that the presence of al-Moayad's name on the form was not sufficient proof of wrongdoing. "We don't know who put this name in," the judge said.
He also ruled a videotape showing al-Moayad with a high-ranking Hamas official on the day of an Israeli suicide bombing could not be introduced without the testimony of Mohamed Alanssi, an FBI informant who recorded it.
Anyone in NYC here; be sure to vote him out come election time.
When the Government fails to heed the calling of the people and continues to play tiddly wink with terrorists then the people will use their second amendment to ensure liberty and justice prevail.
BOSTON - April 20
National guard units seeking to confiscate a cache of recently banned weapons were ambushed on April 19th by elements of a para-military extremist faction. Military and law enforcement sources estimate that 72 were killed and more than 200 injured before government forces were compelled to withdraw.
Speaking after the clash Massachusetts Governor Thomas Gage declared that the extremist faction, which was made up of local citizens, has links to the radical right-wing tax protest movement. Gage blamed the extremists for recent incidents of vandalism directed against internal revenue offices. The governor, who described the group's organizers as "criminals," issued an executive order authorizing the summary arrest of any individual who has interfered with the government's efforts to secure law and order.
The military raid on the extremist arsenal followed wide-spread refusal by the local citizenry to turn over recently outlawed weapons. Gage issued a ban on private ownership of weapons and ammunition earlier in the week. This decision followed a meeting in early this month between government and military leaders at which the governor authorized the forcible confiscation of illegal arms. One government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, pointed out that "none of these people would have been killed had the extremists obeyed the law and turned over their weapons voluntarily."
Government troops initially succeeded in confiscating a large supply of outlawed weapons and ammunition. However, troops attempting to seize arms and ammunition in Lexington met with resistance from heavily-armed extremists who had been tipped off regarding the government's plans.
During a tense standoff in Lexington's town park, National Guard Colonel Francis Smith, commander of the government operation, ordered the armed group to surrender and return to their homes. The impasse was broken by a single shot, which was reportedly fired by one of the right-wing extremists. Eight civilians were killed in the ensuing exchange. Ironically, the local citizenry blamed government forces rather than the extremists for the civilian deaths.
Before order could be restored, armed citizens from the surrounding areas had descended upon the guard units. Colonel Smith, finding his forces overmatched by the armed mob, ordered a retreat.
Governor Gage has called upon citizens to support the state national joint task force in its effort to restore law and order. The governor has also demanded the surrender of those responsible for planning and leading the attack against the government troops. Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock, who have been identified as "ringleaders" of the extremist faction, remain at large.
First reported on April 20, 1775
Nathan,
Remote evidence must be when the chances of the accused escaping without conviction, if the evidence in question is presented, are very, very,remote.
Another judge on the House of Saud oil payroll.
This miscarriage of justice is the exact reason why places like Gitmo and Abu Ghraib are essential.
Excessive torture of course reduces us to the level of the sub-evolved primates that torture and behead westerners live on the net, but it doesn't mean to say that some form of torture, or agressive interrogation isn't imperative.
When we see that the courts are letting these leeches off scot-free (when it's blatantly obvious that they have some connection to terrorism), it stands to sense that other measures are called for to extract evidence from the captured terrorists so the is undisputable evidence, or a confession , when the case arrives in court that no judge on Earth could ignore.
Posted by: Nathan
That's a little extreme, Chuck. But it does boggle the mind as to why these "judges" are allowed to remain on th bench. They should be removed when they show signs of incompetence (mental retardation). their job is to enforce the laws of the nation, not make up their own insane determination of what law, or evidence is.
Would you not agree that those extreme meausures taken by those men at that time gave you what you have today?........those measures were in regard to taxes and disarmament, imagine their actions if they were faced with todays choices.
Here is one for a flyer that should be a big hit:
WHAT WOULD PAUL REVERE DO?INSTEAD OF WHAT WOULD JESUS DO.
Now I am a Christian so that is said without MALICE
We are fighting extremists..hello...extreme methods need to be used and again if our government should fail our second defence is the Second Amendment.....how ironic those numbers play out...hmmmmmmm......
"The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality". Dante