Who is responsible for blowing the search warrant for Zacarias Moussaoui's computer? According to the congressional committee hearing evidence on intelligence gathering, it was the lawyers for the FBI .

"The frantic efforts of Minnesota FBI agents to search the computer and belongings of suspected terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui in August 2001 were thwarted by lawyers at FBI headquarters who misunderstood the law on foreign intelligence surveillance warrants, a congressional committee was told yesterday."

"Had the agents succeeded in obtaining a special intelligence warrant in the weeks leading up to the Sept. 11 attacks, they would have found materials that could have led them to al Qaeda members -- including hijackers Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi -- who had gathered for a key meeting in Malaysia in January 2000, Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), a member of the panel, said yesterday."

The lawyers worked for the F.B.I.'s National Security Law Center. The Congressional committee report says that they "advised FBI counterterrorism officials that agents did not have enough evidence to seek an FISA warrant. One of the lawyers said that Moussaoui would have to be linked to a "recognized" foreign power, which the committee staff's report called "a misunderstanding of FISA."

What does this all point to? "A serious deficiency in the FBI's knowledge and understanding of the radical fundamentalist network in the United States."

In a document filing today in support of the government's request to admit two tapes of cockpit recordings pertaining to Flight 93 against Zacarias Moussaoui at trial, federal prosecutors allege a link between Moussaoui to Flight 93 Hijacker Ziad Jarrah

The Government said the voice of one of the hijackers on the tape has been identified as Zaid Jarrah. "They said they could link Jarrah to Moussaoui because they found one of Jarrah's business cards in the rubble in Pennsylvania with a phone number written on back. Phone records showed Moussaoui had called that number, they said."

Moussaoui and his lawyers argue that playing the recording in court would be "highly inflammatory."

The issue will be ruled upon by Judge Leonie Brinkema who previously has indicated that she thinks the recordings are of marginal value and are highly prejudicial.

Altercation today features an exchange between Eric Alterman and Michael Moore on Lynne Stewart. Eric says he didn't know much about Lynne Stewart before the profile of her in the Sunday New York Times Magazine.

Lynne Stewart is a 62 year old New York lawyer whose conversations with her client, the blind Sheik Abdel Rahman, serving a 65 year sentence for conspiring to blow up New York landmarks, were recorded by prison officials during their attorney-client visits.

Stewart has been charged with conspiring to aid terrorists, lying and breaking an agreement with the Bureau of Prisons.

She is being represented by legendary lawyer and American University Law School dean Michael Tigar, who defended Terry Nichols in the Oklahoma City Bombing trial.

Last month, a federal judge issued an adverse pre-trial ruling in her case, here are the details.

Monitoring attorney-client conversations in jail is one of the unacceptable practices instituted by Ashcroft after September 11. Here are the reasons why, from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The American Bar Association also strongly objects to the practice and Senator Patrick Leahy sent off a fiery letter opposing the practice last November.

[Ashcroft's regulation, 66 Fed. Reg. 55062 (Oct. 31, 2001)]

Seymour Hersh writes a very long profile on Zacarias Moussaoui in the new issue of The New Yorker available here. Hersh tackles the question, "Has the Justice Department mishandled the case against Zacarias Moussaoui?" In other words, would we have been better off if we had made a deal with Moussaoui to spare his life in exchange for his information on Al Qaeda rather than bring him to a public trial where some of our sensitive information gets broadcast to the world?

In answering, Hersh begins by outlining the differences in conduct between Moussaoui and the 19 hijackers:

Newsweek reports on the Buffalo Six investigation in The Hunt for Sleeper Cells.

"Not surprisingly, civil libertarians are troubled by the Buffalo case, and worry it could erode a basic constitutional right: freedom of association. But the courtroom drama playing out in Buffalo may be just a hint of things to come. "

"Justice Department officials fear that dozens of sleeper cells, with hundreds of members, may be quietly plotting the next attack from within our borders, and Attorney General John Ashcroft has vowed to root them out even if that means stretching the limits of the law. 'We don't have the luxury to take chances,' a source close to Ashcroft told NEWSWEEK. 'If we could have locked up Mohamed Atta before 9-11, do you think people would criticize us? We're going to do whatever we have to do to hold them until we find out who they really are'".

The bond hearing continued today in the case of the six men from the Buffalo area charged with providing material support to Al Qaeda.

The Magistrate Judge hearing the case questioned the Government's assertion that the men pose an immediate danger.

"I haven't heard of any act of violence or propensity of violence in the history of these individuals," said U.S. Magistrate H. Kenneth Schroeder Jr. He said he would rule on bail requests by Oct. 3."

Two of the men claim they never went to Afganistan. One says he left after 10 days when he realized the nature of the camp. Another two of the men say that statements made by two of the others to the FBI are unreliable.

One admitted he went to Afganistan but said that a hunting rifle and scope the Government is connecting him to belong to the father of one of the other men and that a seemingly incriminating cassette tape was made in 1980 and refers to Russia's invasion of Afghanistan.

Two other suspected cell members (which would bring the group to eight) have been identified as Jaber Elbaneh and Kamal Derwish. Both are believed to be in Yemen and the Government believes Derwish is the ringleader.

The Judge must decide whether the men pose a risk of flight or a danger to the community if released on bail.

After that, the issue looks like it will be whether participating in terror school at a camp run by Al Qaeda constitutes providing "material support" to Al Qaeda.

In questioning the Government's contention that the men pose an immediate danger, the Judge said:

"I know there are people out there who say if we let these people out and we have another 9-11 God forbid but that's a risk I would be taking," Schroeder said near the end of Friday's hearing. "I'm not concerned with what other people think."

"He said his aim is to protect the Constitution, which he called "probably the most valuable aspect of all."

Abd Samad, the brother of terror trial defendant Zacharias Moussoui, has written a book. In it, he says Moussoui grew up without religion and could not speak Arabic. Up until eight years ago, Moussoui would not enter a Mosque.

A teacher, Abd Samad said he wrote his book "to denounce religious extremism and discourage deprived youngsters from following in his brother's footsteps."

``I don't see in what way I could be of any usefulness to my brother,'' he said, adding that his family was ``saddened to see how stubbornly Zacarias persists in declarations of hate.''

Moussaoui has denied taking part in the September 11 attacks but has admitted to being a member of Al Qaeda.

The Washington Post outlines the factual defense of the six men from the Buffalo area charged with providing material support to Al Qaeda:

"Bin Laden allegedly visited the camp during their training and delivered a speech lacerating the United States and Israel. Several of the defendants cut short their visit to the camp after bin Laden's speech."

"And that, in essence, forms the defendants' defense. Relatives and their attorneys say that religious leaders duped the men into coming to Pakistan, and then funneled them into the al Qaeda camps."

"The defendants' friends and families have noted that the men left the camps before they completed the training, and that the men returned to the United States in June 2001, months ahead of schedule."

This is a good reminder of why we shouldn't make our minds up before hearing from both sides.

There was no ruling today on whether the six men from the Buffalo area charged with providing material assistance to Al Qaeda will be be released on bond or detained pending trial. The hearing will continue tomorrow.

The Government presented its evidence today:

"Investigators have said that evidence indicated the suspects were at the al Qaeda training camp of al Farooq, near Kandahar, at the same time as John Walker Lindh, a U.S. citizen captured in Afghanistan as a Taliban fighter."

"While in Kandahar, the six allegedly were lectured on holy war, prayers and the use of suicide as a weapon. Investigators also allege that the six were trained at the camp to use assault rifles, handguns and long range rifles and that bin Laden visited the camp and they heard him give an anti-U.S. and anti-Israel speech."

"The FBI has said that it had no information the men were planning any attacks in the United States."

The burden is on the prosecution to establish that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the men at future proceedings or the safety of other persons in the community. 18 U.S.C. Section 3142 (e), (f).

The Chicago Tribune is reporting that captured Al Qaeda suspect Binalshibh is a likely candidate for the first miltary tribunal trial.

"Experts said that in the Bush administration's view Binalshibh is the ideal type to be tried by tribunal because of his potential value as an intelligence source and the government's desire to subject him to lawyer-free interrogation. They said complications arising from other prosecutions influence the matter too."

It's complicated though, because Moussaoui's lawyers want to call Binalshibh as a witness in his trial--they think it could affect the life or death decision the jury will have to make if it convicts Moussoui.

The Bush administration of course wants Binalshibh held incommunicado--and that could create "an unprecedented clash for the American justice system."

Others "believe trying Binalshibh in a civil court would ensure a fair trial and help America's image abroad." We agree.

"Justice Department officials would not comment publicly Tuesday on whether they would push to try Binalshibh before a traditional jury, though others indicated privately that the debate within the administration was already settled in favor of a tribunal."

Intelligence officials certainly are pressing to keep Binalshibh away from the federal court system so they can subject him "to whatever kind of interrogation they see fit without giving him the right to a lawyer or other legal protections."

Binalshibh is a crucial witness for Moussaoui. The Indictment against Moussaoui alleges that it was Binalshibh who wired money to the hijackers and to Moussaoui for flight lessons. We think the Courts would agree.

Which brings us back to where we were a few days ago, what if the Government has to choose between Moussaoui and Binalshibh? Binalshibh seems to be far more critical to the Government in terms of his being able to supply information about the attacks. Moussaoui has been nothing but a thorn in the Government's side since his case started.

Maybe a compromise could be worked out where the Government drops the death penalty request against Moussaoui if Moussaoui pleads and agrees to a life sentence thereby avoiding the need to call Binalshibh at all.

Whatever happens, it should occur publicly. The Government should not be allowed to hide behind a veil of secrecy in this case as it has with Padilla and Hamdi and the other detainees.

The Buffalo News today reports that relatives and lawyers of those arrested on terror charges insist the men were duped.

"Relatives of the Lackawanna men accused of forming a terrorist sleeper cell say the young men never intended to train with al-Qaida forces and think they were strung along by those who recruited them for religious studies in Pakistan."

"Defense lawyers, who stop short of admitting their clients trained at the al-Farooq camp in Afghanistan, said the young men left friends and family in Lackawanna in the spring and summer of 2001 for religious studies, not military training. Or at least intended to. "

Bail hearings are scheduled for later today.

Two other men are being sought. One, Kamal Derwish, 29 is believed to be the leader of the alleged cell and is now the subject of a world-wide manhunt.

Josh Marshall makes an excellent point today in Talking Points Memo about the way decisions are being made on how to treat those arrested or captured in the Terror War.

"John Walker Lindh, a US citizen, gets a straightforward civilian trial. Zacarias Moussaoui, a French citizen, gets a straightforward civilian trial. Jose Padilla, a US citizen, is held indefinitely and without counsel as an enemy combatant. Yasir Hamdi, another US citizen, is also an enemy combatant being held indefinitely, but he may get a lawyer. The folks down in Guantanamo, well, who knows? "

"A military tribunal, civilian trials, various sorts of detention -- cases can be made for each method of proceeding. But the essence of the rule of law is having rules in place for how you're going to deal with people before you catch them, not making them up afterwards."

Atrios/Eschaton takes the argument one step further:

"We can debate about what the rules should be and when, but most importantly there should be rules. When talking heads get on TV and say with a straight face that the government should choose this system of justice over another one because it would be easier to get a conviction that way, our justice system has become a complete farce. If only it were funny."

It's not just tv-talking heads. Check out the options and reasons set out by "legal and government experts" in this Washington Post article today:

"In the Moussaoui case, the government also may balk at calling Binalshibh as a courtroom witness because of concerns over disclosure of classified information and the need to provide him with counsel, several officials and legal experts said yesterday."

According to one legal expert, "Bringing him here as a witness raises real complications...The government's best scenario is to get information from Binalshibh that helps them gather evidence to be used against Moussaoui and others."

A senior law enforcement official agreed: "He will be most useful as a way to gather leads that could lead us to more evidence. Direct testimony might not be the best option."

A law professor at the University of Maryland's Center for Health and Homeland Security "noted that the government repeatedly has invoked the need for interrogation in arguing for the detention of foreign prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and American prisoners in U.S. jails. That argument is particularly strong in the case of Binalshibh. They're not going to be putting him in a situation where he will be subject to [legal] process or subpoena or anything of that nature."

So the choices at this juncture seem to be: