Prosecution argues Moussaoui `lied With lethal intent'

WASHINGTON -- Zacarias Moussaoui should be put to death because he "lied with lethal intent" resulting in 3,000 people being killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, the prosecution asserted in closing arguments at his trial Wednesday.

 "If the defendant hadn't lied, the government would have had that valuable information to prevent the acts or at least part of the acts," Assistant U.S. Attorney David Raskin told jurors during his 40-minutes statement, which began at 1 p.m. 



 The case was expected to go to the jury at about 4 p.m., following closing arguments by the defense and a rebuttal by the prosecution. 



 Moussaoui, 37, pleaded guilty last year to conspiring with al-Qaida in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and is the only person convicted in the United States on charges stemming from Sept. 11. 



 His sentencing hearing, which began Feb. 6, is divided into two parts. Jurors first must vote on whether Moussaoui is eligible for the death penalty. If they find he is, a second phase would include testimony from family members of Sept. 11 victims. Jurors then would determine whether Moussaoui should be executed. 



 Prosecutors have argued that Moussaoui is eligible for the death penalty because, even though he was in jail on Sept. 11, his lies to the FBI prevented agents from stopping the attacks. 



 Raskin told the jurors that in order for them to find Moussaoui eligible for the death penalty, the government must provide that he "lied with lethal intent" and that "his lies led to death." Raskin said that when Moussaoui was arrested in August 2001, he had the right to remain silent. But once he started talking to authorities, he gave up that right and was obligated to tell the truth. 



 "If the defendant had just told the truth, the leadership of this country would have turned everything loose to find the al-Qaida operatives," Raskin said, arguing that some, if not all, of the attacks could have been prevented. 



 Moussaoui's defense attorneys have argued that their client's cooperation would not have prevented the attacks, and until a dramatic appearance on the witness stand earlier this week, the al-Qaida member had denied involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks. 



 But on Monday Moussaoui testified that he was supposed to hijack a fifth plane on Sept. 11 and attack the White House with a crew that included Richard Reid, the British man arrested for trying to blow up an aircraft with a bomb in his shoe. He also admitted to a key part of the government's case: that he had lied to the FBI when arrested in August 2001 to allow the Sept. 11 plot to go forward. 



 Defense attorneys spent much of Tuesday trying to overcome the damage Moussaoui had done to his case with his testimony. Even if Moussaoui was telling the truth about his role, his admissions did not address a fundamental part of the government's case -- that Sept. 11 could have been thwarted if Moussaoui had told the truth. Defense lawyers tried to hammer that point home -- that the government had plenty of warnings but could not stop it.