Defense Takes Hits in Oklahoma City Case

A year and a half after Timothy J. McVeigh and Terry L. Nichols were arrested in the Oklahoma City bombing case, their chief nemesis--prosecutor Joseph Hartzler and his band of government attorneys--will appear in U.S. District Court here this morning, riding a wave of recent successes.

After several initial disappointments, the government team quietly scored a series of victories this summer that will greatly aid their cases against McVeigh and Nichols, who are charged in the truck bombing that killed 168 people and injured hundreds more on April 19, 1995.

Today, the most crucial pretrial test of all begins: Prosecutors will ask the court to order McVeigh and Nichols to be tried together as co-conspirators, and the defense, arguing that the evidence against each defendant damages the other, will ask to have the ex-Army pals tried separately.

Hartzler, in his first interview since becoming the lead prosecutor, said he is keenly aware of the pressure on his small team of lawyers.

“It is a very serious crime,” he said, speaking haltingly and carefully. “And you can be sure that everyone involved in law enforcement wants to make sure that the case is investigated thoroughly and prosecuted properly.

“I expect to present our evidence in court and for justice to prevail. But I am not going to engage in a conversation about the consequences of this for America.”

Hartzler did not come easily to the interview table. He worried that he might be criticized for trying to curry public favor, much as McVeigh’s attorney, Stephen Jones, has been chastised for planning a series of media interviews with his client. “I’m not trying to spin things,” Hartzler said.

But some in the prosecution’s team have been bothered by the media profiles of the defense lawyers. Jones has appeared relentlessly in the press; Michael E. Tigar, who represents Nichols, was the subject of a flattering article in New Yorker magazine last week.

The 46-year-old prosecutor was assigned the bombing case after a 16-year career in criminal law, most of it fighting white-collar crime in Chicago and Springfield, Ill. He was chosen, Washington officials said, because of his quick legal mind and calm courtroom demeanor.

Defense attorneys, particularly Jones, repeatedly have accused the prosecution of not playing fair. Jones has charged that the government continues to hold back crucial evidence, making it tough if not impossible for the defense to prepare for trial.

Hartzler scoffed at such talk. “We are not in any way abusing our power. We are respecting our power.”

These days, the power is clearly with the prosecution.

The government has beaten back attempts by the defense to toss out the indictments against McVeigh and Nichols and to scrap the death penalty as a possible punishment.

They managed to persuade the court to allow them to present evidence of bomb residue allegedly found on McVeigh’s clothing, as well as incriminating statements that Nichols made after his arrest.