Prosecutors Dismiss Complaints of Accused 9/11 Conspirator

U.S. prosecutors rejected complaints by accused Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui that the government had changed its theory about his role in the terrorist attacks and said Monday that they still believe he was preparing to fly an airliner into a building in this country.

They also rejected concerns by Moussaoui and the judge overseeing his case about the ability to prosecute the case in open court because of the high level of secrecy under which the government seeks to proceed.

“The evidence the government intends to introduce against the defendant will be unclassified,” prosecutors said in papers filed in court. “The existence of classified information in this case, however, is neither unique nor cause for alarm.”

Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, faces a possible death sentence if convicted on charges of conspiring to carry out the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

Moussaoui, who was being held on immigration charges when the hijacked airliner attacks occurred, has denied being part of the Sept. 11 plot but has admitted belonging to the Al Qaeda network that the United States blames for the attacks.

Moussaoui contended in court papers that the government has changed its theory about his role in the attacks.

He said that the government initially suspected he was supposed to have been the 20th hijacker, but that it changed its theory and adopted the “fifth pilot” theory. There was no elaboration on what Moussaoui meant by that.

Prosecutors dismissed Moussaoui’s comments as irrelevant and inaccurate. They said they never referred to him in court documents as the 20th hijacker, but he always has been alleged to be part of a conspiracy to kill Americans by flying hijacked airliners into buildings.

Prosecutors said the government has provided evidence that demonstrates Moussaoui “followed the same method as the other hijackers in preparing himself to use hijacked airliners to commit mass murder.”

On the use of classified information, prosectors responded to Moussaoui’s requests for documents that have been partially or completely censored. They said Moussaoui knew when he decided to act as his own lawyer that he would not get access to classified information.

“The defendant does not have, and never will have, the requisite security clearance to review classified information,” the prosecutors said.

The case has been postponed indefinitely while prosecutors appeal a ruling giving Moussaoui’s lawyers access to at least one key Al Qaeda operative in U.S. custody.

Sources close to the case have said that if the government is forced to give the defense access to the Al Qaeda operative and others, it may decide to drop the criminal charges against Moussaoui and put him on trial before a military tribunal.

But prosecutors said the government was “fully confident” the case can be tried in court before a judge.