Major Terrorism Trial Postponed

Photo: Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani. Federal Bureau of Investigtion, via Reuters

Judge Bars Major Witness From Civilian Terrorism Trial -- New York Times

Minutes before a major terrorism trial was about to begin, a federal judge barred prosecutors in Manhattan on Wednesday from using a key witness.

The government had acknowledged it learned about the witness from the defendant, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, while he was being interrogated and held in a secret overseas jail run by the Central Intelligence Agency.

The ruling by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan would seem to be a setback for the Obama administration’s goal of trying former detainees in civilian courts, because it would limit the kinds of evidence that prosecutors could introduce. Mr. Ghailani became the first former detainee to be moved into the civilian court system for trial.

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More News On The Terror Trial Of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani

US judge nixes star government witness in terror trial -- AFP
Ghailani Embassy Bombing Trial Witness Barred by Judge From Testifying -- Bloomberg
U.S. Terror Trial Postponed After Witness Barred -- Radio Free Europe
First Guantánamo civilian trial in disarray as judge blocks key witness -- The Telegraph
Gov. Witness Barred From Testifying in Tanzania Bombing Case -- Wall Street Journal
Prosecutors dealt blow as star witness can't testify against alleged Al Qaeda thug Ahmed Ghailani -- New York Daily News
AG confident of Guantanamo detainee's prosecution -- AP
Judge Excludes Damning Testimony Against Al Qaeda Terrorist, Ahmed Ghailani -- Weekly Standard
In blow to Obama, Guantanamo detainee trial delayed -- Reuters
Ghailani case foreshadows future terror trials -- BBC
Ruling could be setback for civilian terror trials -- Politico
FACTBOX-Guantanamo detainee civilian trial delayed -- Reuters

My Comment: This was entirely predictable. In fact, I have mentioned many times in this blog that taking combatants captured overseas and putting them in front of a US judge under US law .... each case is going to be thrown out, even if the US Attorney General is convinced that a conviction will be obtained.

Four weeks before Congressional elections .... this is news that the Democrats who are running for office will not want to hear.