Moussaoui to testify in death penalty sentencing hearings on 9/11 charges News
Moussaoui to testify in death penalty sentencing hearings on 9/11 charges

[JURIST] New court documents have been released outlining potential arguments to be made during the penalty phase of proceedings against 9/11 suspect Zacarias Moussaoui [JURIST news archive]. According to the transcript of an October hearing recently unsealed, prosecutors will argue Moussaoui deserves the death penalty because he "lied to federal agents to allow his al Qaeda 'brothers' to go forward with the operation to fly planes into American buildings." Defense attorneys plan to show that Moussaoui knew very little about the September 11th plot and will attack the government, including the Clinton and Bush Administrations, for failing to respond to threat warnings. Moussaoui, who pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to six conspiracy charges [indictment] in April, intends to testify on his own behalf and has vowed to fight against the death penalty. Jury selection for the penalty phase is scheduled to begin on January 9 [JURIST report]. Monday's Washington Post has more. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia maintains a list of case materials.

THIS DAY @ LAW

US Congress passed Gulf of Tonkin resolution

On August 7, 1964, in response to an alleged North Vietnamese attack on the USS Maddox three days earlier, the US Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, approving and supporting "the determination of the President, as Commander in Chief, to take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression." The resolution marked a major escalation in the US role in the Vietnam War. Review the text of the resolution and President Lyndon Johnson's message to Congress.