The Jihadi Crime Blotter

We've got a full jihadi crime blotter today, given the Moussaoui trial going to the jury and Abu Ali's sentencing. Moussaoui's sentencing trial has gone to the jury. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether the jury will find that the prosecution has put on sufficient proof that would invoke the death penalty. I'm not sure that the prosecutors have done a sufficient job in proving their case, which was hampered by missteps that led to witnesses being prohibited from testifying. However, Moussaoui's testimony may throw a monkey wrench into any predictions, although experts, including Steve Emerson note that there is no evidence supporting Moussaoui's claims of being involved as a fifth plane hijacker on 9/11 along with Richard Reid. He may simply be attempting suicide by court.

Others commenting on Moussaoui's statements and the ongoing trial: Decision 08, California Conservative, and Secular Blasphemy.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, who plotted to assassinate President Bush, was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Prosecutors had asked for the maximum — a life sentence — for Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen who was born to a Jordanian father and raised in Falls Church, Va.

"The facts of this case are still astonishing," prosecutor David Laufman said. "Barely a year after Sept. 11 the defendant joined the organization responsible for 3,000 deaths."

But U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee said 30 years was sufficient punishment. He compared the Abu Ali case to "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh, who received a 20-year sentence.

Abu Ali's actions "did not result in one single actual victim. That fact must be taken into account," the judge said.

The judge's line of reasoning is not exactly sound. Ali intended to assassinate the President, and it was a combination of luck and skill that he was caught before he could engage in his plan.

LGF has more.