What Moussauri said

pms laflame at aaahawk.com
Tue Jul 2 22:44:17 PDT 2002


Suspect seeks Congress hearing
>From Larry Margasak in Alexandria, Virginia
July 03, 2002 THE only person indicted as a September 11 conspirator has said he wants to tell the US Congress that the FBI had him and the 19 hijackers under surveillance before the attacks.

Zacarias Moussaoui requested the unlikely appearance in one of five handwritten motions released today by US District Judge Leonie Brinkema.

The French citizen, 34, is acting as his own lawyer in his trial in Alexandria, Virginia.

He sought to appear "in front of Congress hearing on FBI knowledge and responsibility on the September 11 attack".

The government has denied Moussaoui's repeated contention that the United States was watching him and the attackers before September 11.

Moussaoui was arrested in mid-August after his conduct at a Minnesota flight school caused employees to contact the FBI.

Moussaoui said the US government chose not to arrest hijacker Hani Hanjour last year because that would have tipped off the attackers that the FBI was watching them.

"They arrested me and not Hanjour who was a few week before me at Pan Am Flight School (and has been reported was a danger) because they knew that I was not with the 19 hijackers and therefore they will not be alerted ... by my arrest," the motion said.

He said the US government "cynically allow September 11 in order to destroy Afghanistan".

Hanjour attended a JetTech flight school in Phoenix owned by the Pan Am International Flight Academy early in 2001.

He is believed to have piloted the plane that crashed into the Pentagon on September 11.

The manager for the now-defunct JetTech said she called the Federal Aviation Administration inspector who oversaw her school three times in January and February 2001 to express her concerns about Hanjour's flying skills.

Moussaoui began lessons at the Pan Am academy in Minneapolis on August 13, just three days before his arrest, according to his indictment.

Moussaoui also asked to present his story to a federal grand jury, and said he would "stipulate to be chain, handcuff, leg cuff, stun belt, 20 or 30 marshals as long as I can say what I know about September 11 attack".

Moussaoui also repeated allegations that the judge is conspiring to have him executed and filed a motion "to stop Leonie Brinkema, DJ (district judge) playing games with my life".

"You must get out of this case now!" he wrote.

Brinkema entered a plea of innocent on behalf of Moussaoui at his June 25 arraignment on a revised indictment.

Moussaoui had tried to plead no contest to charges that he conspired to commit acts of terrorism, commit aircraft piracy, destroy aircraft, use weapons of mass destruction, murder US employees and destroy property.

The government has said it will seek the death penalty if he is convicted.

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http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,4627884%255E17 02,00.html



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