Word: lindh
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Things have taken a distinctly downward turn for John Walker Lindh...
...short, Brosnahan and the prosecutors appear to be digging in. But both sides have their weaknesses. The most glaring for the prosecution is that it didn't have enough goods on Lindh to charge him with treason. Instead Lindh is charged with conspiring to kill Americans outside the U.S. and with providing aid to terrorist groups. The government has not revealed evidence to refute Brosnahan's claim that his client never actually hurt Americans. Even the FBI affidavit notes that Lindh declined the al-Qaeda offer to work against...
...other major prosecution problem is that Brosnahan can argue that Lindh was in such bad shape during the interrogations--he had been shot, appeared malnourished, and may have been doped on morphine--that the poor kid thought he was talking to Big Bird. On Friday MSNBC began running a videotape of Lindh that was apparently filmed on Dec. 14. Even then--four days after his FBI interview--he had chills and could barely keep his eyes open...
Even so, Brosnahan may have a worse hand. Lindh signed a formal waiver of his right to an attorney, according to Attorney General John Ashcroft, and also verbally waived that right. "That Miranda [waiver] is likely to be very hard for [Lindh] to overcome," says Robert Weisberg, a Stanford law professor. Also, before he spoke with the FBI, Lindh voluntarily told CNN much the same story. Finally, the legal standard required to prove conspiracy "is kind of broad and vague," says Weisberg, and thus gives the edge to the prosecution. Top officials at the Justice Department are betting the matter...
...though, Lindh has bathed and visited a barber. If he is planning to take the stand, he may also want to drop the faux-Middle East accent. "Oh, boy, I wouldn't let him testify with that," says Richard Uviller, a Columbia law professor. And "it may be that he's still militant, in which case he's not going to help himself...