‘Light on facts’ Padilla trial begins.
‘Light on facts’ Padilla trial begins.
U.S. citizen Jose Padilla, “once accused as a ‘dirty bomber’ and confined for more than three years in a Navy jail as an ‘enemy combatant,’ finally goes to trial here today on less sensational charges.”
The scenario federal prosecutors plan to present has nothing to do with the accusations in 2002 by then-attorney general John Ashcroft and President Bush that turned a former Chicago gang member into one of the most notorious terrorism suspects since the 9/11 attacks.
Instead, prosecutors…contend that Padilla, who converted to Islam after serving time in prison as a juvenile, left the USA in 1998 and trained in Afghanistan for ‘violent jihad,’ court papers say. Padilla, 36, is not charged with participating in a specific attack.
U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke warned prosecutors last summer that the indictment was “light on facts.”
Veteran investigative journalist Lew Koch will be covering the trial for FireDogLake. Rick Perlstein has more.
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I was told that this couldn’t happen here. So I choose to believe that he must be a terorist. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been arrested. Right?
May 14th, 2007 at 4:15 pmWEAK!
This guy was supposed to be the 20 high jacker and was ready to detonate a nuclear weapon. Now, there is a chance he might have hung around some bad guys.
WEAK
WEAK
WEAK
WEAK
WEAK
WEAK
WEAK
WEAK
WEAK
WEAK
May 14th, 2007 at 4:16 pmYes, “light on facts” seems to be why Bush/Gonzales prefer secret prisons and kangaroo courts. Consider the Ft Dix Six: they appear to have lacked motivation and the means to do what they are charged with and I have a funny feeling the FBI informant will turn out to be the leader. And I bet they really weren’t about to do anything either –I mean, these guys were being watched for over a year and did nothing– and it’s likely that case will be “light on facts” as well.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:17 pmONce again, the GOP dip$hits focus on the wrong threats. “oh, it’s critically important that we remove habeas corpus and torture restrictions because JACK BAUER!!!”
the best defenses against terrorism are removing its appeal and having good intelligence. The GOP policies have alienated and radicalized Muslims, making fundamentalist anti-American pro-terrorism jihadism more appealing (while making America seem more racist, fascist, and evil), while eliminating our ability to anticipate attacks.
Lest we forget, Bush was warned at the highest levels about 9/11. We had the intelligence to prevent 9/11. But Bush ignored this all. So of course instead of learning the obvious lesson that maybe Bush should stop ignoring future threats, the GOP dimwits decide that sullying America’s great reputation was the way to go, launching a war of aggression, thereby tarnishing our good name; launching it incompetently, thereby reducing the grandeur of our great military; and completely botching the “democratization” of Iraq by confusing capitalism with democracy.
Good job, ‘tards.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:18 pmcourt security officers are enforcing an unusual rule for the trial, They are prepared to prevent members of the media from asking questions of defense lawyers or federal prosecutors at the trial.
The ban on media questions also extends to the lobby outside US District Judge Marcia Cooke’s courtroom and chambers.
I approached one of the prosecutors and asked who at the US Attorney’s Office was handling questions from the press. He gave me the name of a spokesperson and a telephone number. When I lifted my notebook to jot these down, a court security officer confronted me. He accused me of conducting an interview and asked me to step out of the courtroom.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/usa/~3/116415460/p25s02-usju.html
May 14th, 2007 at 4:18 pmThe trial begins Monday in US court for the American – and alleged terror conspirator – held for five years. not only 3 years TP
May 14th, 2007 at 4:19 pmthe fact of the matter is clear – unless every single person can exercise every single right in the Bill of Rights, we’ll never be safe, free, peaceful, prosperous, etc….
After years of violating Padilla’s rights, will anyone in the government be held accountable? I hope so, but doubt it.
Some reading:
“To Whom Does the Bill of Rights Apply?”
May 14th, 2007 at 4:22 pmhttp://www.populistamerica.com/to_whom_does_the_bill_of_rights_apply
Just hand him $100 million and say sorry – 5 years to get his day in court – PATHETIC
May 14th, 2007 at 4:23 pmAnd another blow to freedom of speech.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:24 pm3401
US says five Americans died today in Iraq and a Danish troop
May 14th, 2007 at 4:26 pmJose Padilla is a US Citizen who was kidnapped and held incommunicado ILLEGALLY by the US Government for YEARS.
Padilla was drugged, tortured and abused and now has mental problems from the strain of being illegally detained for years.
Not only should he be exonerated and released by the judge, but he should be compensated by the government for their abuse.
This guy may be a terrorist wannabe, and that’s about it.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:28 pmWhat happened to the Miami 5, 6,7,or 8 that was ready to Southern Fla off the face of the earth?
May 14th, 2007 at 4:28 pmAnd I’m sure you librals want all the terrorists to go free, right? Blow up and kill, that’s all you want, isn’t it? You’re all terrorists, and you know it, you closet-gay libbys.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:30 pmThe handling of this case brings shame on this country.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:31 pm#13 Pathetic deadender alert.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:33 pmHopefully he goes the way of Saddam to the gallows.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:34 pmAnd I’m sure you librals want all the terrorists to go free, right? Blow up and kill, that’s all you want, isn’t it? You’re all terrorists, and you know it, you closet-gay libbys.
Comment by J Scott
Funny dimwit, I am looking at all the comments and not once – not once – did any blogger indicate they wanted ‘terrorists’ to go free. Where did you read this? Simple question, no? Where did you read libs want terrorists to go free? Thoughtfull people will consider you an idiot. Correction: Thoughtfull people DO consider you an idiot.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:35 pmM12,
“Hopefully he goes the way of Saddam to the gallows.”
Guilty until proven innocent eh?
May 14th, 2007 at 4:36 pmSouthern Fla would be missed?
May 14th, 2007 at 4:36 pmI don’t want terrorists to go free.
I want Chimpy and Cheney and Gonzo locked up. They are the biggest terrorists on the planet right now.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:37 pm#18
No, hopefully he is found guilty.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:40 pmThe problem is that Chimpy’s goons are not catching the real terrorists.
At least 1/4 of Gitmo detainees were innocent and eventually cut loose. About 80 innocent detainees are still being held at Gitmo.
Padilla was a minor-leaguer as suspected terrorists go. He never participated in an attack and obviously didn’t have the means or the expertise to plan and conduct one.
You Repukes always reply with shrill emotional accusations instead of discussing the facts of the case. Maybe that’s because you know you lose on the facts of the case.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:41 pmThere is zero evidence Padilla is a terrorist, chicken little.
You guys believe you are the “war party.” Not us.
Project much?
Comment by A. D!ckhead
May 14th, 2007 at 4:42 pm#5 – Tobey Tall, are you a journalist?
May 14th, 2007 at 4:43 pmIf so, thanks…
If he is guilty then he should get the death penalty. There isn’t one person here that doesn’t believe that, excluding the whole death penalty thing. Some here would rather he rots in jail. I see that as a waste of tax payer money, but that is another thread.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:44 pmnobody on earth would want a terrorist to go free, there needs to be a safeguard to make sure innocent people dont get made out to be a terrorist just to appease the fear monger supporters
Put yourself in his position – how would you like it ???
May 14th, 2007 at 4:48 pmM12,
“No, hopefully he is found guilty.”
What if he IS innocent. Wouldn’t you rather he be innocent?
Why do you hope he is guilty?
May 14th, 2007 at 4:48 pmHopefully he goes the way of Saddam to the gallows.
Yup. And Bush and Cheney, too.
See YOU in hell m12 (cause I’LL be THERE),
May 14th, 2007 at 4:52 pmMr. Bush
MURDEROUS WAR CRIMINAL
COWARDLY TRAITOR TO THE USA (TM–BushCrimeCo, Inc.)
if hes guilty of being in possession of his own personal nuclear bomb then WOW THATS INCREDIBLE – if not let him go
May 14th, 2007 at 4:52 pm#27
I would rather he not have aided our enemies, but since he has fraternized with Al Qaeda, he must be dealt with.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:54 pmSKdeA – no Im just a normal guy like Dennis Hopper in Flashback
May 14th, 2007 at 4:55 pmI would rather he not have aided our enemies, but since he has fraternized with Al Qaeda, he must be dealt with. Comment by m12 — May 14, 2007 @ 4:54 pm
So you’re advocating both President Bush’s be dealt with? Since Bush I supported Al Qaeda in Afghanistan? And even Bush Jr. was sending money to them in 2001 before we were attacked?
You really are an idiot.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:57 pmM12
That’s not what you said. You said you hoped he was guilty. I still want to know why you Hope is guilty. Why would you want that?
And apparently from your last statement I must deduce that you have some evidence that the Judge has not yet seen. I say this because according to the post “U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke warned prosecutors last summer that the indictment was “light on facts.—
Do you know something the rest do not? How do you KNOW that he had dealings with Al Qaeda? As faulty as our Justice System can be, I will trust the judgement of an informed jury over your, what I must define as, completely uniformed opinion.
May 14th, 2007 at 4:59 pmMORE American Padillas in…
…5, 4, 3…
May 14th, 2007 at 5:00 pmComment by m12 — May 14, 2007 @ 4:40 pm
May you meet the same fate you hope for others.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:01 pmThere is no evidence of that other than some DoD person saying it. Have you reviewed the evidence? No, you haven’t, because zero pieces of evidence has been produced in 5 years.
So, what you are saying is you support guilty until proven innocent?
Good little brown shirt.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:03 pmMr. Bush Goes To Hell = Nancy-boy
May 14th, 2007 at 5:05 pm#32
The 2001 budget sent some money to the Taliban, who at the time had not helped Al Qaeda launch an assault on our nation.
That was quickly rectified.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:11 pmThe most underdiscussed fact, imo, which immediately causes GOP losers to shut up or shrilly try to change the subject, is that W was warned about 9/11, and did nothing! He was given not one, but two high profile and urgent warnings about an impending attempted terrorist attack on airplanes. And he did jack$hit.
(and of course then after 9/11 happened, W and his band of tards attacked the wrong country, cuz of a Daddy complex.) W and the GOP have done more to further the goals of the jihadists than Osama could have ever done on his own. the GOP, in addition to being the party of fascists, is also the party of terrorist supporters.
waiting for ad hominem attack…
May 14th, 2007 at 5:17 pmEven if he is gulty as charged, he has been arrested and held under false pretences.
Sure he can be tried for training as a terrorist, although there would have to be some evidential linkage to the intent to cause material harm. But that isn’t why he was arrested or held, and it isn’t why his transfer to civil justice was fought tooth and nail.
So there is an accounting that should follow, on the perversion of the justice system to incarcerate this man and smear his name with unrelated deeds. Otherwise, friends, it could be you next that’s held on charges that have no footing in reality.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:20 pmIf he is guilty then he should get the death penalty. There isn’t one person here that doesn’t believe that, excluding the whole death penalty thing. Some here would rather he rots in jail. I see that as a waste of tax payer money, but that is another thread.
Comment by Spudge_Boy — May 14, 2007 @ 4:44 pm
Study after study shows that it is more EXPENSIVE to give the death penalty than to give life in prison. It is true, that much of the added cost is the cost of legal appeals. But then so many of those appeals are needed because people are convicted and sentenced to die without evidence, without a fair trial, and many are later found innocent by better evidence, such as DNA. Or by suppressed evidence. In this case, there is likely to be a paucity of evidence because the government under the Bush administration has not been interested in facts, just association. Even thin association. This is not a war on terror, but a war on our own system of justice waged by our government against us. It is using the BIG LIE tactics of the Fasciasts of last Century. Ah, well, they were due for a come back.
Previous posts have indicated that 1/4 of the internees at Gitmo are innocent. It is unlikely that even 1/4 have any link to terrorism. The story that these people were “picked up on the battlefield” is untrue. There are some truely dangerous people there, but only a small identified group. Many have been cruelly tortured by us (this is America, our Government is us, remember).
May 14th, 2007 at 5:23 pm#38, the 2001 budget was a marked change from the 2000 budget under Clinton, in which no aid was given to the Taliban.
This was because the Taliban was seen as hostile to America and democracy. Bush came in and changed all that.
In addition, Bush also dropped Islamic terrorism from being the top foreign policy and national security issue, to being a 3rd tier issue, behind missile defense, the deratification of Kyoto, North Korea, Iraq, Iran (those 3 sound familiar?), China, Latin American leftists, etc. Bush stopped hunting Osama bin Laden, since, after all, according to you republican traitors, Osama was an overblown threat propped up to divert attention from Lewinsky.
With all that, as well as his complete failure to act in any way to the sharp warnings received by the intelligence community that Al Qaeda was threatening an attack on airplanes, on which Bush was twice briefed, it’s pretty amazing that 9/11 happened, eh? We really need habeas corpus removed, and torture instituted, and domestic spying and fascist powers for the Executive branch, eh? We don’t need a competent President, eh?
Numbnuts.
May 14th, 2007 at 5:24 pmMr. Bush Goes To Hell = Nancy-boy
Is THAT the best that you can do, Nazi azzhole-licker?
It’s the GALLOWS for YOU, “mr. president”!!!!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
See YOU in hell “mr. president” (cause I am YOU and I’LL be THERE),
Mr. Bush
May 14th, 2007 at 5:26 pmMURDEROUS WAR CRIMINAL
COXUCKER PUNK TRAITOR TO THE USA (TM–BushCrimeCo, Inc.)
you know it, you closet-gay libbys
comment by J Snott
——————————————
funny, but it seems to me that all of the CLOSETED gays are in the REPUBLICAN PARTY. As Democrats, we tend to “live and let live”….
NOT persecute,hurt,and destroy, which seems to me to be the Republican mantra..
It’s either that(for the GOP)or Givin’ Oral to Pages…
not sure…
May 14th, 2007 at 5:26 pmNo, hopefully he is found guilty.
Comment by m12
Dont worry, there are a lot of scary men you can piss yourself at the thought of…
May 14th, 2007 at 5:41 pmHey, Mr. B.G.t.H., I really like your style. Good presentation.
Say, do you think when we get to hell ya could show me howda get this buttons to actually do something?
May 14th, 2007 at 5:47 pmm12 and J Scott and Mr President, you need to take time out and read or watch the movie of The Ox-Bow Incident. American freedom and democracy is founded upon the due process of law. That means clear charges and the right to a speedy and public trial. It would seem the government didn’t have very good evidence for the more serious charges and, if we can believe the judge, the evidence for the lessor charge is ‘thin’. Why then has this man been in prison so long? What was the delay all about? Was he tortured? Did this torture no reveal any important secrets? Or did it reveal that he was innocent and merely guilty of mischief or perhaps nothing at all.
It is so pathetic that the staff at the DoJ are all resigning, stonewalling, taking the 5th, destroying evidence, or developing amnesia while this man has languished in prison for longer than any sentence for the crime he might be convicted of. For shame.
May 14th, 2007 at 6:50 pmHey david, is that a zucchini in your pocket or are you just happy to see me
May 14th, 2007 at 7:57 pmMake no mistake guys…this entire fiasco was an nothing but an attempt by the Bush regime to get the Supremes stamp of approval to hold american citizens indefinitely without charges or trial. One of padilla’s lawyers came and spoke at our law school when he was still being held as an “enemy combatant”, and while obviously she didnt discuss any case specifics, this is what I gather: The government found some scary looking brown skinned american with a seedy past who made some questionable decisions about who to hang out with, and decided that such a scumbag was the perfect “test case” (a sort of anti-Rosa Parks) to get a favorble supreme court ruling in favor of thier assertion that an american citizen can be held without trial for the length of the war on terror (i.e. forever). Thank god the Supreme Court didnt go along, (see Hamdi v Rumsfeld for precedent that was very damaging to George “we know saddam has WMD’s” Bush attempt to get a court ruling in favor of he and all future executives being allowed to hold people indefinitely simply based on his (possibly untrue) allegations. Now, just to save face, they are throwing some ridiculous ambigious charges at him that are, in all likelyhood, unconstitionally vauge. The 9th circuit has, in the past, had the courage to actually assert that there are unconstitional elements to some of these providing “material aid” to “terrorist organiztions” charges…namely that the definition of “material aid” is overbroad and that trying to define who is in an organization with no official membership roster is also constitionally problematic. The way some of these laws or worded, a guy who delivered pizza to one of 9-11 hijackers could conceivably be charged with a felony.
Apparently, to the flaghumping bush lovers, somewhere in the constitution is says that “innocent until proven guilty” doesnt apply to any accused of involvement with terrorism.
May 15th, 2007 at 1:10 am