'Rush to Judgment': Gov't Lawyer in Moussaoui Case Defended
March 16, 2006 — -- U.S. government attorney Carla Martin has been at the center of a political firestorm since it was revealed she had improperly coached witnesses in the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person indicted in connection to the 9/11 attacks.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said that Martin, an attorney with the Transportation Security Administration, violated federal witness rules by sending trial transcripts to witnesses and coaching them on how to respond to defense attorneys' questions.
Brinkema said Martin appeared to have violated rules of legal ethics and could face civil or criminal charges. The controversy may undermine the U.S. case for the death penalty for Moussaoui.
Martin's attorney, Roscoe Howard, defended Martin in an interview with ABC News' Pierre Thomas. Following are excerpts from his comments.
"There is no doubt that there is more to the story than has been presented in the courtroom and has been reported in the press. There's a lot more. We are not prepared to talk about it now, but part of what we are doing and we will do, so that everybody understands exactly what happened.
...
"I think that once we are able to demonstrate that, the true picture of what happened here will be proven and the government picture, which is inaccurate, will be disproven.
...
"I think that their efforts to portray my client as criminal, her acts as reprehensible, I think are not only premature, since she has not had what we consider a fair hearing,
...
"The representation we see in the news, the representations that the court has been acting on have all come from the government. No other side. No other perspective, no balance, no cross examination, and most importantly, no presence by counsel.
...
"Keep in mind where we are, this is the United States. We are dealing with one of the most heinous acts the world has ever known, ever. Especially here in this country, it is supposed to be the hallmark of fairness. But it is the hallmark of fairness and if we are going to prosecute somebody, if you are going to convict him, and sentence him to capital murder, it is going to be with the government and everybody else having clean hands. We will do it right.
...
"She has done this sort of work for years. And she really wants to make sure, she wanted to make sure, her job is to make sure, that whatever the record was, and whatever the decision was, was made on complete truthful information.
...
"I believe what the public will find when we finally have our day in court, finally have a chance to explain it is that there is a larger picture. And there is more to say, unfortunately today and certainly here, we just don't believe it is the proper time.
...
"There's no doubt there is a rush to judgment, and they want to make sure people are drawing conclusions before anybody hears the other side."