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| AMERICAN TALIBAN | |
 February 6, 2002  | |
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A federal judge denied bail and ordered John Walker Lindh to remain in jail pending trial.
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GWEN IFILL: Today's bail hearing took place at a federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia. Katharine Seelye of The New York Times was there, and she joins us now from the paper's Washington bureau. GWEN IFILL: Katharine, are you with us? KATHARINE SEELYE: Yes, Gwen, hi. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Today in court | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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GWEN IFILL: Great. Take us inside what happened today at the courthouse. What was the argument that John Walker Lindh's attorneys were making in favor of granting bail?
GWEN IFILL: What the government's response to that? KATHARINE SEELYE: The government said this guy is extremely dangerous; at every option he had a choice he took the option to join the Taliban, to join terrorists fighters. They said he is a committed terrorist. |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The evidence | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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GWEN IFILL: Tell us about the evidence or whatever they used to back up this case. They introduced some e-mails? KATHARINE SEELYE: Yeah. This was interesting Gwen. We didn't actually see the e-mail. This is evidence that will be introduced in the trial that there's no need to put it out now, but there are papers filed this morning, the government referred to a number of e-mails. I have a copy a couple of the them, the charges I want to read to you, to give you a flavor of what the government was arguing today.
GWEN IFILL: Now these two letters show some skepticism toward America and Americans on the part of John Walker Lindh but what do his attorneys say about what else they show? KATHARINE SEELYE: Well, they also show that he has not just a hostility toward America but a hostility toward his parents. I think there's an undercurrent here that the parents are probably the most sympathetic aspect of John Walker Lindh, and I think these e-mails show that in fact he was somewhat defiant of his parents and would not be able to obey them and so if the judge released John Walker Lindh into their custody, there would be no guarantee that he would be kept safe at home and without getting involved with anything. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lindh's parents and lawyers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GWEN IFILL: Were his parents in court today? KATHARINE SEELYE: Yes, they were. They were in the second row. Again, he came into court just as he did a couple weeks ago -- same olive drab jumpsuit. He's very thin, pale; his hair had grown out a little bit. And he just sat at the defense table for most of the hearing. When he left the courtroom, he seemed to kind of glance at his parents very briefly, but there was no emotion or gestures or any expression on his face. He and his parents have visited a number of times, however in the detention center where he is being held and they visited him this afternoon.
KATHARINE SEELYE: This is still a mystery. We don't have a clue. Well, we know that the government says he orally and in writing waived his rights. His defense lawyers say that's not the case. So we're going have to let a... A federal judge will have to decide that. GWEN IFILL: Was there any indication sitting the courtroom today that this judge, this federal judge ever had any plan even for a second to let John Walker Lindh walk today? KATHARINE SEELYE: It really didn't seem like it, Gwen. He listened to the arguments for 45 minutes and then without taking a breath said no. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The role of the attorney general | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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GWEN IFILL: Also the defense lawyer, the one defending Lindh also came outside the courtroom and kind of went on the attack against the attorney general -- kind of unusual. KATHARINE SEELYE: He did. He did. I think he was taking advantage of the fact that the attorney general has made some statements very prejudicial against John Walker Lindh. And he said the government is it taking a cannon to a mouse in this case. And he said he thinks the government is really just acting out its frustration that Osama bin Laden has not been caught.
KATHARINE SEELYE: Right. He was pretty curt this time. He just said, you know, we're glad for the ruling. GWEN IFILL: And there will be an arraignment Monday? KATHARINE SEELYE: That's the plan. It's possible it will be put off, but it will be at least next week. And in that arraignment John Walker Lindh will plead innocent his lawyers told me today and they expect a court schedule... a trial schedule to be set. GWEN IFILL: Okay. Kit Seelye thank you very much for joining us. KATHARINE SEELYE: Thank you Gwen. |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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KATHARINE
SEELYE: This was a plea by John Walker Lindh's attorneys and his family to release
him pending the trial. We don't have a date for the trial, but they said essentially
he has not been charged with any violent actions himself, that he doesn't done
anything against any United States military organizations or against any civilians.
They
said in... actually this was a letter he had written his mother after the bombings
of the embassies in East Africa. He said in the letter to his mother that these
bombings seemed far more likely to have been carried out by the American government
than by any Muslims. In an e-mail later to his mother he was trying to convince
her to move to England, he wrote to you "I really don't know what your big
attachment to America is all about. What has America ever done for anybody?".
GWEN
IFILL: Are his lawyers... More than just about bail, are his lawyers attempting
to make any kind of case about the kind of representation he was able to get while
in custody -- whether he really waived his right to counsel, for instance?
GWEN
IFILL: The attorney general responded by going out having another press conference.
