Witness tampering cited in Moussaoui case

MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN and LESLIE MILLER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Lawyers for two airlines being sued for damages by 9/11 victims prompted
a federal lawyer to coach witnesses in the trial of al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui
so the government's death penalty case would not undercut their defense, victims' lawyers allege.

The victims' lawyers, Robert Clifford and Gregory Joseph, claim that one of the airline lawyers
forwarded a transcript from the first day of the Moussaoui trial to Transportation Security
Administration lawyer Carla J. Martin.

In violation of an order by Moussaoui trial judge Leonie Brinkema, Martin forwarded that day's
transcript to seven federal aviation officials scheduled to testify later in the sentencing trial
of the 37-year-old Frenchman.

The contacts between lawyers for United and American Airlines and Martin were detailed in a legal brief filed on Moussaoui's behalf Thursday. That brief contained a March 15 letter from Clifford and Joseph complaining about Martin's actions to U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is presiding over the civil damage case in New York.

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