Still frustrated by the elusive grail, the Feds are now considering whether they will file an appeal.
If you think the Kurtz case is some kind of aberration, consider the so-called Liberty City Seven.
In 2006, the FBI arrested seven Miami men for plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and several buildings in Miami. The seven were unemployed, semi-employed and sometimes homeless, and seemed the most unlikely subjects imaginable to charge as terrorists.
But the then U.S. Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, declared, "these men were prepared to wage a full ground war against the U.S." He said the men were “as dangerous as al Qaeda." When indictments were handed down, the FBI said it was "yet another important victory in the war on terrorism."
Another top Justice Department official, however, described the alleged terrorist plot as more "aspirational than operational." And police were unable to find explosives or other materiel that would indicate that the defendants were serious about carrying out the plot.
In court, prosecutor Richard Gregorie told the jury this case was about jihad, saying the seven men had the "sole purpose of creating a holy war against the United States."
The suspects, dubbed the Liberty City Seven for the impoverished section of Miami where they lived, were charged after a lengthy investigation in which an FBI informant posed as an al-Qaida member and led the seven in a pledge to the terrorist group and Osama bin Laden.
After a long trial and nine days of deliberation, the jury found the alleged ringleader of the seven not guilty on all four terror conspiracy counts and said they could not reach a verdict on the other six. The judge declared a mistrial.
So then came the second trial of the renamed Liberty City Six. And it ended the same way – jurors could not agree and the judge declared a mistrial.
End of story?
Not so fast. This week a patently over-zealous Miami federal prosecutor announced he would put on the six defendants on trial for a third time.
As the Washington Post pointed out in an editorial, “It is not unusual for prosecutors to retry a case once if a jury deadlocks. But a second retrial is exceedingly rare and is usually reserved for murder cases. A third trial on terrorism-related charges appears to be unprecedented and raises serious questions about whether prosecutors are more concerned with saving facethan seeking justice.”
Saving face indeed! And hoping against hope they will finally find the Holy Grail. Which will legitimate the hero's worth or raise the dead or decide who the next king should be.
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