Convertino's lawyer said he believes that his client made the right decision in not disclosing the letter because it wouldn't have affected the trial's outcome.
The star witness, Hmimssa, "a self-described scam artist," was a defendant in the case until he struck a cooperation deal with the prosecution. His credibility was a key issue in the trial. Here's what the Government withheld:
Months after the trial, prosecutors turned over the December 2001 jailhouse letter from drug gang leader Milton "Butch" Jones, who claimed he had discussions with Hmimssa while both were being held in the Wayne County Jail in Detroit. Hmimssa "get to telling me how he lied to the FBI, how he fool'd the Secret Service agent on his case," Jones said in the three-page letter. "Youssef get to telling me the roll he played with the terrorists of Sept. 11, 2001 and how he made ID and documents for them to get around any where in the world."
Another former defendant testified for the defense at trial. He said that that he had been in jail with Hmimssa and Hmimssa told him he wanted revenge on the defendants for ruining his life. We don't know how Mr. Sullivan can say the verdicts would not have been different if the jury heard the evidence from Jones. Had the jury known Hmimssa told two witnesses instead of just one that he fabricated his testimony, it easily could have decided to disbelieve Hmimssa.
This case was plagued by misconduct from the get-go. Attorney General John Ashcroft got in trouble early on by vouching for the credibility of Hmimssa during the trial. Not only were his comments improper, (ethical rules prohibit prosecutors from giving their opinion on the quality of evidence in an ongoing case--see, for example, rules 3.6 and 3.8 of the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct ), but it was the second time, according to defense counsel, Ashcroft violated a gag order in the case. The Judge stated at the time:
I was distressed to see the attorney general commenting in the middle of a trial about the credibility of a witness who had just gotten off the stand," [Judge]Rosen said. Later, Rosen added, "The attorney general is subject to the orders of this court. ... The attorney general has specifically been put on notice about the scope of its gag order."
The defense filed a motion to hold Ashcroft in contempt. The motion was held in abeyance until after the trial.
Hmimssa's credibility was a key issue at trial. Jurors weigh the credibility of witnesses and strength of evidence, not prosecutors. We don't see how the Court can let these convictions stand.
This was the first post-9/11 terror case to be tried to a jury. It resulted in a split verdict. Details of the Government's allegations against the defendants are here. Most of our coverage can be accessed here.
