‘20th Hijacker’ Suspect Tries Guilty Plea

Zacarias Moussaoui, the alleged “20th hijacker,” told a stunned federal courtroom Thursday that he wants to plead guilty to terrorism charges because he is a member of Al Qaeda and pledges his loyalty to Osama bin Laden.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, startled by the unusual maneuver, refused to accept the plea at what was supposed to be a routine hearing. Instead, she told the French-Moroccan defendant that she will give him a week to contemplate whether he really wants to admit guilt to capital charges that could result in his execution.

“Bet on me,” an enraged Moussaoui responded. “I will.”

The exchange capped a hearing that was tumultuous even compared to past standards set by the unpredictable Moussaoui. He shouted at the judge, interrupted her repeatedly, mocked her instructions and raised his arm in a prolonged gesture of defiance as she tried to settle him down.

Legal observers have predicted for weeks that Moussaoui’s prosecution would turn into a legal circus once the defendant won the right to defend himself, and many said Thursday’s hearing confirmed their fears.

“This is the nightmare we all anticipated once he decided he wanted to represent himself,” said former Deputy Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr.

Even before his surprise attempt to plead guilty, Brinkema warned Moussaoui that he was hurting his own case by filing dozens of often repetitive motions since the judge granted him the right to defend himself.

On an almost daily basis in recent weeks, Moussaoui has filed handwritten pleadings with the court that proclaim his innocence, condemn America, Jews and the judicial system, and accuse Brinkema, U.S. prosecutors and his former defense attorneys of conspiring to have him killed.

“It is a waste of your time ... and the court’s resources for you to keep raising the same issues again and again.... I’m putting you on notice that I don’t expect any more of these motions to be filed,” Brinkema said.

She said the motions call into question his competence and, if they continue, she may be forced to reconsider her decision to let him act as his own attorney.

Moussaoui predicted that the judge will end up doing just that in an effort to railroad him. “I will be gagged, and you will carry out your so-called justice,” he said.

Moussaoui faces the death penalty if he is convicted on charges of taking part in the Sept. 11 conspiracy. He was imprisoned in Minnesota on an immigration violation at the time of the terrorist attacks, but authorities say his activities--accepting a $14,000 wire transfer from a terrorist suspect and taking flight training in Minnesota--mirrored those of the hijackers. Authorities allege that he was destined to be the 20th hijacker had he not been incarcerated.

Moussaoui offered a wildly contradictory defense Thursday, declaring on the one hand that he had nothing to do with Sept. 11 and proclaiming his terrorist allegiances on the other.

When asked by Brinkema at the start of Thursday’s hearing how he wished to plead to a new indictment that lays out more detailed death penalty allegations against him, Moussaoui said he would offer “an affirmative plea,” offering a definition he had found in Black’s Law Dictionary.

Brinkema said such a plea is not recognized in federal criminal courts, and she entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. But the hearing became more contentious, and later Moussaoui shouted out: “I didn’t make this plea!”

Then he proclaimed his guilt.

“I, Moussaoui Zacarias, with full knowledge, enter a plea of guilty. I am a member of Al Qaeda. I pledge bayat [loyalty] to Osama bin Laden,” he said as Brinkema cut him off, warning that he was making incriminating statements that could be used in court.

He said he was not involved in the hijackings but that he knew who was. And he said he wants to skip the guilt phase of his trial, now scheduled to start Sept. 30, and go straight to the penalty phase to determine whether he should be executed.

“Now I’m saying for the guilt phase, I’m guilty, but for the death penalty, we will see,” he said. “I am guilty. Now the question is how much.”

His declaration left the courtroom abuzz as his former defense attorneys--now appointed by the court as “stand-by counsel” to assist in his defense, even though Moussaoui won’t speak to them--shook their heads.

Stand-by counsel Gerald Zerkin, asked by a reporter what he thought of Moussaoui’s attempted plea, said: “He’s insane. You haven’t figured out yet that he’s crazy?”

Brinkema said she expects to question Moussaoui in court next week to determine whether he understands the nature of the charges and whether you “absolutely want to enter a guilty plea.”

Alan H. Yamamoto, also appointed as a stand-by counsel, said he believes it will be difficult for the judge to accept a guilty plea.

“She’s not obligated to take the plea. She’s going to be hard-pressed to accept it, based on all of the contradictory statements he’s made,” he said.

Holder, the No. 2 deputy to former Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, said: “The judge and the Justice Department have a lot of tough choices to make.”

The judge must weigh whether to reverse herself and prevent Moussaoui from representing himself, which she can do by declaring him incapable of adequately defending himself. Such a decision could prompt appeals and questions as to whether Brinkema deprived Moussaoui of his right to represent himself.

“The baseline is competency, but beyond that, not every sane person is capable of conducting a defense,” said Holder. “What the judge really has to decide here is, given the way he has conducted himself, whether he has the capability to mount a defense. She doesn’t have to let him legally commit suicide in court.

“The toughest choice is with the judge. How does she handle this? I would not be surprised if after their next interaction, she decides he is mentally competent but is not capable of defending himself and forces him to accept counsel,” said Holder. The Justice Department also has a dilemma: whether to allow Moussaoui to essentially convict himself or to try to negotiate a deal with him to find out what he knows about the conspiracy and as-yet-unidentified accomplices in the Sept. 11 attacks, Holder said.

“If this guy pleads guilty, certainly you [agree to] do that and you go through the penalty phase. But what if he wants to negotiate a deal?” Holder asked. “He is the one guy we have in our custody who is a co-conspirator, who clearly has dealt with other people involved in this. In that regard, he is very valuable. But you have to contrast that with the fact that he was involved in a conspiracy that killed 3,000 people.”

Indeed, Brinkema told Moussaoui that by declaring he wants to plead guilty, he may be compromising his ability to strike a plea bargain and get a lighter sentence if he were willing to give up important information.

Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft has stated publicly that he wants Moussaoui executed.

Randall Hamud, a lawyer for Moussaoui’s mother, said Thursday’s developments proved that Moussaoui cannot get a fair trial unless he is prevented from representing himself.

“I think it shows he is not rational, that he is delusional and that he needs to be reevaluated psychologically,” said Hamud of San Diego. “Islam prohibits suicide, and if he pleads guilty it is tantamount to an act of suicide and goes against his religion. He contends he is a very devout Muslim, so it is another indication of his delusional state.”

Moussaoui’s mother has been waging a campaign to try to get her son to accept a government-appointed legal team, Hamud said.