Court Hears Appeal of Moussaoui Ruling

Lawyers for Zacarias Moussaoui on Tuesday told an appeals court that the accused Sept. 11 conspirator has a constitutional right to question a captured Al Qaeda operative, but the U.S. government said such access could cause irreparable damage to the country.

In a hearing that could determine whether the trial continues in civilian court, government lawyers who brought the case to the federal appeals court here squared off against attorneys representing Moussaoui over access to the Al Qaeda operative being held by U.S. forces.

The government wants the appeals court to overturn a January ruling by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema that said Moussaoui and his lawyers can question via video conference Ramzi Binalshibh, a key Al Qaeda member who is suspected of coordinating the Sept. 11 attacks.

Moussaoui says Binalshibh can prove he was not involved in the attacks.

Although Moussaoui is representing himself in the district court, Frank Dunham, his court-appointed standby lawyer, represented Moussaoui at the appeals court. Moussaoui listened in from jail.

Dunham said his client, who faces the death penalty on charges of conspiring in the attacks, has constitutional rights to question Binalshibh.

“The 6th Amendment is the essence of being able to put on a defense,” Dunham said after the arguments. “If you can’t call witnesses in your own defense, how can you defend yourself?”

But Assistant Atty. Gen. Michael Chertoff told the three-judge panel that the 6th Amendment right did not extend to questioning foreign enemy combatants held by the military overseas. Even if Moussaoui did have the right, he said, the request should be denied on security grounds.

“When that [questioning] takes place, the damage to the United States will be immediate and irreparable,” he said.

Chertoff, head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, said questioning Binalshibh could interrupt an interrogation that is crucial to fighting the war on terrorism.

The appeals court ruling could take weeks and the case could then be appealed to the Supreme Court.