Padilla case called flimsy

Prosecutors rest after presenting a "pretty thin" case.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 14, 2007

MIAMI - For a star defendant whose name is known around the world, Jose Padilla has become almost a bit player in his terrorism support trial - and some observers say the federal government may not have proved its case against him.

Prosecutors rested their case Friday after nine weeks, 22 witnesses and dozens of FBI wiretap intercepts played at trial, most of them in Arabic with written translations for jurors. Defense lawyers for Padilla and his two co-defendants begin presenting their case next week.

Much is at stake for the government, which once heralded Padilla's arrest as a success in the country's war on terror, accused him in an al-Qaida "dirty bomb" plot and held him for 3 1/2 years as an enemy combatant.

Padilla's voice was heard on only seven intercepts, a tiny fraction of the 300,000 collected by the FBI during the nearly decadelong investigation.

Padilla was never linked to any specific acts of terrorism or murder and, unlike his co-defendants, he was not accused of using purported code words like "tourism" for "jihad" or "eggplant" for "rocket-propelled grenade."

"Although everyone has been referring to this case as the Padilla trial, the government's case against Padilla has been pretty thin," said David O. Markus, a Miami defense attorney who has frequently written about the case on his legal blog. "I'm sure the government lawyers are sweating quite a bit right now."

Padilla, a 36-year-old Muslim convert, was arrested in 2002 as he got off a plane in Chicago, returning from Pakistan. He was carrying $10,526 and e-mail addresses for al-Qaida operatives.

The key to the case against Padilla, according to attorneys and legal experts, is how much weight jurors give to the five-page "mujahedeen data form" he allegedly filled out in July 2000 to attend an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan. Seven of Padilla's fingerprints are on the form, which was recovered by the CIA in Afghanistan in December 2001.

The defense says its case will focus on expert witnesses who can provide an alternate view of history, Islamic principles and global politics for the jury. The trial is scheduled to continue into August.

[Last modified July 14, 2007, 01:57:51]