| Posted by fluffy ® , Sep 17,2003,10:46 | MetroBlab |
He asks judge to deny contempt charge in terror case
By David Shepardson / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Attorney General John Ashcroft has asked a federal judge to quash an effort to force him to come to Detroit to face a charge of contempt of court.
Lawyers for four men accused of providing material support to terrorists asked U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen to hold Ashcroft in contempt for violating a gag order because of a "pattern of flagrant, ethical violations and disobedience to this court's order."
The response, submitted to the court by U.S. Attorney Jeffrey G. Collins, was a forceful defense of Ashcroft's statements, which he argued had no impact on the criminal case and were inadvertent.
Rosen should dismiss the request without holding a hearing, the government said.
"Compelling the attorney general's appearance to address the defendants' allegations -- where he has not sought to influence the jury's deliberations or the outcome of the defendants' trial -- is inadvisable because it would likely serve only to chill legitimate public briefings in the future," said the 16-page statement filed Friday.
But Ashcroft's response acknowledged that the attorney general's statements were "unfortunate to the extent they diverted the court's attention from the merits of this case."
On June 3, Karim Koubriti and Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi were convicted of providing material support to terrorists and are awaiting sentencing. Ahmed Hannan was acquitted on terrorism charges but was found guilty of possession of false immigration documents. A fourth man, Farouk Ali-Haimoud, was cleared.
The case arose after federal agents went to a flat in southwest Detroit on Sept. 17, 2001, looking for Nabil al-Marabh, a man high on the FBI's terror-watch list. Instead, they found three men with airport badges, phony IDs and drawings the government said plotted attacks in Jordan and Turkey.
On Oct. 23, 2001, Rosen imposed a gag order on the parties, acknowledging the heavy public interest in the first terrorism case to go to trial stemming from the investigation of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Eight days later, Ashcroft said "three Michigan men suspected of having knowledge of the September 11 attacks, for example, were arrested on charges of possessing false documents."
Ashcroft quickly retracted the remark.
During the trial, Ashcroft held a news conference on April 17, where he praised government informant Youssef Hmimssa's cooperation. "His testimony has been of value, substantial value," Ashcroft said.
Hmimssa testified for five days during the Detroit terrorism trial and was originally indicted with Koubriti and Hannan.
The government's legal brief argued that Ashcroft wasn't vouching for Hmimssa's credibility, as defense lawyers said, but merely articulating what the jury could infer on its own.