NewsMine — 9-11 — suspects — moussaoui — government-case-success-2004-2006 — Viewing Item

Airlines coached moussaoui witnesses to remove culpibility Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14116728.htm http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14116728.htm Posted on Fri, Mar. 17, 2006 Lawyers: witness coaching aids 9/11 suit MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN Associated Press WASHINGTON - Lawyers for two airlines being sued by 9/11 victims prompted a federal attorney to coach witnesses in the Zacarias Moussaoui death penalty trial so the government's case against the al-Qaida conspirator would not undercut their defense, victims' lawyers allege. A United Airlines lawyer received a transcript of the first day of the Moussaoui trial from an American Airlines lawyer and forwarded it to Carla J. Martin, a Transportation Security Administration lawyer, the victims' lawyers, Robert Clifford and Gregory Joseph, claim. Martin forwarded that day's transcript to seven federal aviation officials scheduled to testify later in the sentencing trial of the 37-year-old Frenchman, in violation of an order by Moussaoui trial judge Leonie Brinkema. Martin's e-mailing of the transcript and her efforts to shape their testimony prompted Brinkema to toss out half the government's case against Moussaoui as contaminated beyond repair. American Airlines attorneys denied on Friday that the government position in the Moussaoui case would have undercut their defense in the civil suit and said that none of their attorneys had any direct contact with Martin about the Moussaoui trial. The contacts between Martin and airline lawyers were detailed in a legal brief filed on Moussaoui's behalf Thursday. That brief contained a March 15 letter from Clifford and Joseph complaining about Martin's actions to U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is presiding over the civil damage case in New York. They wrote Hellerstein that the government's opening statement in the Moussaoui case "took the position that the hijackings were completely preventable and that gate security measures could have been implemented to prevent the 9/11 hijackers from boarding the planes had security been on the look out for short-bladed knives and boxcutters." "This stands in stark contrast to the position that has been repeatedly articulated by counsel to the aviation defendants in the September 11 actions." Because that government position could have a "devastating" impact on the airlines' defense in the civil suit, American Airlines' lawyer forwarded the transcript to a United Air Lines lawyer who forwarded it to Martin, Clifford and Joseph wrote. As proof, they cited March 7 e-mails that they provided to Hellerstein but which were not immediately available here. "The TSA lawyer then forwarded the transcripts and sent multiple e-mails to government witnesses in a clear effort to shape their testimony in a manner that would be beneficial to the aviation defendants" in the civil suit, they wrote. They then quoted a March 8 e-mail Martin sent to one of the government's Moussaoui witnesses that said: "My friends Jeff Ellis and Chris Christenson, NY lawyers rep. UAL and AAL respectively in the 9/11 civil litigation ... all of us aviation lawyers, were stunned by the opening. The opening has created a credibility gap that the defense can drive a truck through. There is no way anyone could say that the carriers could have prevented all short-bladed knives from going through - (Prosecutor) Dave (Novak) MUST elicit that from you and the airline witnesses on direct...." Clifford and Joseph said the developments represent "far more than appearance of impropriety" and asked Hellerstein to investigate "the mutual back-scratching relationship that appears to exist between the (airline) defendants and the TSA." Asked about the allegations by Clifford and Joseph, United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said, "Our actions have been entirely appropriate as have those of our outside counsel." In a letter dated Thursday to Hellerstein, American Airlines' attorneys Desmond Barry and Roger Podesta wrote that the "assertion that a government admission of devastating significance to the defense of this case has somehow been made in the Moussaoui trial is just plain wrong." They said the airlines have always maintained that their actions on 9/11 should be measured against whatever security standard federal aviation authorities imposed. They said the government position in the Moussaoui trial - that security standards would have been tightened if Moussaoui had not lied about his terrorist connections when arrested in August, 2001 - is irrelevant to their defense because the standards they were supposed to meet were not changed. They added, "There have been no communications between any counsel for American Airlines and Carla Martin or anyone else at the TSA regarding the Moussaoui trial." And they said Christensen specifically had no communications with her at all "in approximately one year." They noted Martin had misspelled Christensen's name as Christenson. Martin's attorney, Roscoe Howard, said Friday he had just become aware of the New York lawsuit and the letter from Clifford and Joseph and wanted to discuss it with Martin before commenting. TSA spokeswoman Yolanda Clark said she was unfamiliar with the allegations made by Clifford and Joseph. Earlier Thursday, Clark confirmed that TSA had put Martin on administrative leave. In court on Tuesday, Brinkema said Martin violated federal witness rules when she sent trial transcripts to seven aviation witnesses, coached them on how to deflect defense attacks and lied to defense lawyers to prevent them from interviewing witnesses they wanted to call. Brinkema warned her that she could face civil or criminal charges and that she appeared to have violated rules of legal ethics. Martin was assigned to be a government lawyer for the aviation witnesses called by both sides and to be a liaison between prosecutors and defense attorneys. Beyond that, she co-signed one government brief submitted in the case, attended closed hearings on classified documents and worked closely with prosecutors on preparing their exhibits. Efforts to reach her for comment were unsuccessful, but her lawyer said she was preparing a response. ON THE NET Transportation Security Administration: http://www.tsa.gov

Airlines coached moussaoui witnesses to remove culpibility Alqaeda figures deny Moussaoui role { June 17 2004 } Angry judge questions death case against moussaoui { March 13 2006 } Bush says moussaoui case over war goes on Court lets moussaoui prosecution go forward { April 23 2004 } Documents cast doubts over moussaoui 911 claim { April 21 2006 } Electronic shocks on Moussaoui back during trial { April 17 2006 } Families subject to horror recordings during Moussaoui trial { April 12 2006 } Fbi agent says superiors ignored moussaoui warnings { March 20 2006 } Fbi says no moussaoui reid evidence Fbi supervisor admits never read moussaoui memo { March 22 2006 } Judge raises possibility of mistrial in moussaoui sentence { March 13 2006 } Lawyer emailed court transcripts to seven witnesses { March 15 2006 } Lone juror jkept moussaoui alive { May 13 2006 } Moussaoui 2005 planning to admit 911 role { April 19 2005 } Moussaoui changes with testimony { March 30 2006 } Moussaoui confession contradicts previous confession Moussaoui disrupts sentencing declaring himself alqaeda Moussaoui link to 911 in doubt Moussaoui loses right to represent himself { November 15 2003 } Moussaoui may get inmate access { September 14 2004 } Moussaoui motions Moussaoui now says binladen gave him approval { March 2005 } Moussaoui roommate warned fbi { March 21 2006 } Moussaoui says 911 confession was complete fabrication { May 8 2006 } Moussaoui wants to recant guilty plea { May 9 2006 } Moussaoui yelled god curse you all to jury { March 30 2006 } Moussaui says rather die than spend life in jail { April 13 2006 } New court blow to moussaoui { November 14 2003 } No evidence of moussaoui reid hijack plot jury told Prosecutor rivets courtroom with 911 transcript { February 2006 } Terror suspects contradict moussaoui confession Too many pretrial motions deemed insulting { November 15 2003 } Trial of moussaoui to focus on 911 foreknowledge { November 14 2005 } Us appeals ban on death penalty moussaoui case { December 3 2003 } Why moussaoui confession doesnt add up { March 28 2006 } Witness coached by prosecution in moussaoui trial { March 13 2006 } Files Listed: 37

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