9-11 Conspirator Seeks to Withdraw Guilty Plea; Moussaoui Says He Lied On the Witness Stand

Summary

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At sentencing, [Leonie Brinkema] told [Zacarias Moussaoui], "You do not have a right to appeal your convictions, as was explained to you" when he pleaded guilty in April 2005. "You waived that right," she said.

Moussaoui's court-appointed lawyers told the court they filed the motion even though a federal rule "prohibits a defendant from withdrawing a guilty plea after imposition of sentence." They did so anyway, they said, because of their "problematic relationship with Moussaoui" and the fact that new lawyers have yet to be appointed to replace them.

"I wish to withdraw my guilty plea and ask the court for a new trial to prove my innocence of the Sept. 11 plot," Moussaoui wrote. "I have never met (lead 9-11 hijacker) Mohammed Atta and, while I may have seen a few of the other hijackers ... (in Afghanistan), I never knew them or anything about their operation."

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Extract

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9-11 Conspirator Seeks to Withdraw Guilty Plea; Moussaoui Says He Lied On the Witness Stand

ALEXANDRIA, Va. Convicted 9-11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui says he lied on the witness stand about being involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, plot an...

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