No, not the Alito circus. This one will involve enemy combatant turned regular defendant Jose Padilla (he apparently prounounces it Pah dilla). He pleaded not guilty in federal court today and a judge set a trial date of September 9 (2006 we assume). That's just in time to make some waves before the Congressional elections enter the homestretch. His lawyers will probably turn the case into an attack on civil rights and racial discrimination with Bush in the bullseye, happily assisted by the Dems and media. And hey, there should be plenty of time to get Ramsey Clark to help out. Surely Saddam's trial will be over by then. Surely.
The new charges against Padilla are weaker than the dirty bomb stuff. Depending on the jury and prosecutor it's no slam dunk he'll be found guilty, which is why it's amazing the administration would risk the chance of him walking just to avoid fetching super terrorist and 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed out of his secret prison to testify. Is KSM still dangerous? Or, deferring to lefty conspiracists, are they afraid KSM will spill the beans that 9/11 was an inside job (trying to be fair and balanced in presenting conspiracies).
We'll see. In the meantime, Padilla's lawyer gave hints of the grandstanding to come. When asked for a plea, he answered, "absolutely not guilty".
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