Prometheus 6   

Justice Dept. Asks Court to Reconsider Ruling on 9/11 Suspect
By NEIL A. LEWIS

WASHINGTON, July 2 � The Justice Department has asked a federal appeals court to reconsider its decision declining to prevent Zacarias Moussaoui from interviewing captured people linked to Al Qaeda to support his defense that he was not involved in the Sept. 11 terrorist plot.

In a brief filed late on Tuesday, prosecutors argued that the three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit had erred when it ruled on June 26 that it could not yet intervene in the case. The panel said that a lower court's order to allow Mr. Moussaoui's lawyers to interview one captured Qaeda figure had not yet reached the stage at which it could be reviewed.

But Justice Department officials argued that the court had misinterpreted a statute used to allow the government to go forward in cases involving national security secrets. The appeals panel said that the law was designed to limit disclosure to the public of classified information at a trial and did not apply to information being given solely to a defendant.

"The provision is not limited to disclosure to 'the public,' " the Justice Department said, "but rather permits an appeal of any decision by a district court authorizing disclosure of classified information."

The government said that the panel's interpretation "would have a profound impact on the ability of the United States to prosecute not only this case but other international terrorism cases and even traditional espionage cases."