THE LATEST: Last week's proceedings were cut short, with only two days of testimony so that presiding U.S. District Judge S. James Moody Jr. could attend a conference.
On Monday, defense attorneys questioned an FBI witness about financial transactions that showed hundreds of thousands of dollars going into and out of the defendants' bank accounts - shifting to and from the Middle East and circulating through more than a dozen Tampa accounts related to Islamic organizations.
The judge has said prosecutors must show that the defendants did more than take money from PIJ or give money to the organization's charitable arm. They must show the defendants raised money for future violent acts of the PIJ.
The FBI agent on the witness stand has testified that Al-Arian sent $8,000 to the four families of PIJ members convicted of killing several Israeli soldiers in 1992. Ultimately, Al-Arian's conviction or acquittal may hinge on whether jurors view this contribution as charitable assistance or a way of fomenting terrorism. Under cross-examination Monday, the agent testified that Al-Arian did nothing to hide the contributions. On Monday, the sister of a 22-year-old Israeli woman killed by the PIJ testified about her sister's death on March 4, 1996. It was not clear how the attack, which killed 14 people, related to the four defendants in the courtroom.
Tuesday, the FBI case agent in charge of the investigation and Al-Arian's lawyer, William Moffitt, got into a screaming match after the judge and jury left the courtroom for their lunch break. The incident was prompted by an angry exchange between Moffitt and one of the prosecutors over the government's failure to provide translations of documents in Hebrew that a witness was testifying about. Also Tuesday, an FBI agent testified about the activities and financial affairs of defendants Ghassan Ballut and Hatem Fariz. With that, court adjourned for the rest of the week.
WHAT'S NEXT: When the trial resumes today, defense attorneys will cross-examine the FBI agent who testified about Ballut and Fariz.
