The Key Captives: Zacarias Moussaoui

By Mitch Frank

Zacarias Moussaoui is almost enough to make the most fervent civil libertarian come out in favor of secret military tribunals. The French national was arrested in August 2001 after arousing suspicion at a Minnesota flight school and was indicted last December as a Sept. 11 co-conspirator, though his precise role in the plot has never been clear. Many Americans hoped his trial would prove that even in wartime, U.S. courts could do their job. But the scales of justice tip wildly when a defendant keeps turning his own proceedings upside down.

Moussaoui stood in a federal courtroom in Virginia last Thursday and told Judge Leonie M. Brinkema that he was a "member of al-Qaeda" and wanted "to enter a plea today of guilty, because this will ensure to save my life." But since he had not cut a deal to avoid the death penalty, Brinkema told him to think it over and recessed proceedings for a week. Such antics have dominated the trial ever since Brinkema ruled Moussaoui could represent himself--after he claimed his court-appointed lawyers were trying to kill him. He has filed more than 60 petitions, such as a "motion to Stipulate My Right and Duty to Live on this Earth a Long and Happy Life (with four wives)." In one, he told the judge she was doing a good job so far--but with the caveat "don't forget, it's the landing that is difficult. (Trust me, I am a pilot.)"

All that may push Brinkema to reconsider his competency, a move his former lawyers urge. If she doesn't, says lawyer Edward MacMahon, "this case is heading to Ringling Bros." After Moussaoui boasted that he might open up about the plot--"I know which group, who participated, when it was decided"--some U.S. officials hinted that they might want to make a deal. But others doubted that he could be trusted. Says one: "I've never heard anybody say anything except 'He's off his bean.'"

With reporting by Elaine Shannon/Washington