Al-Arian’s lawyers ask to leave case
The attorneys that headed Sami Al-Arian’s defense asked a federal judge Tuesday to let them off the case if the federal government decides to retry the former USF professor on the nine counts remaining against him.
Al-Arian’s lawyers, Bill Moffitt, who works at a Washington law firm, and Linda Moreno, who does civil litigation in Tampa, will attend a hearing Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas B. McCoun III to explain why they want to leave the case.
“We gave everything we had and I’m too exhausted to give anymore,” Moffitt told the St. Petersburg Times on Tuesday.
This request comes one day after a spokesman of Tampa-based U.S. Attorney Paul Perez said the government is “weeks, not months” away from making a decision.
Al-Arian’s wife, Nahla, said her husband was looking for other attorneys but had yet to find replacements.
“Moreno and Moffitt were excellent, and we will miss them a lot,” she told the Times.After six months of the trial, jurors failed to return a single guilty verdict against Al-Arian and three co-defendants. Al-Arian was found not guilty on eight counts, but the jury deadlocked on the nine others. Two of the defendants were acquitted of all the charges.
The four were charged with raising money for the militant wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.Federal prosecutor Terry Zitek told the court that if the case is retried, his team would need until June to present “a streamlined case,” which should take about two months to present to a jury. He has also said “it would be correct to assume that we’re going to continue.”
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
More Stories
Meet the Team
Oracle EditorProfile
USF gives it away in Memphis 34-33
At the half, a 14-point lead meant USF was on track to win its first conference game in over a calendar year. That energy was kept up even with under five minutes to go when the Bulls were up 33-20. Then USF watched as its lead went from comfortable, to slim, to nonexistent in the […]
Club teams missing competition, friendship due to COVID-19
Under normal circumstances, Grant Nolder, president of the USF flag football team would be preparing for the club’s biggest competition of the year, the Swamp Bowl. The annual tournament, hosted at UF, typically takes place during the fall semester and features some of the best club flag football teams in the country. Winners of the […]
Bulls battle with ECU in OT win
Coach Brian Gregory said Tuesday the Bulls didn’t play complete, 40-minute games in their two losses last week. It’s debatable if they did Wednesday night against East Carolina (11-18, 5-11) at the Yuengling Center, but it was more than enough to put up a 73-68 overtime win. “It’s funny. There were stretches where we played […]
First SG scholarship rewards student leaders
Student Government (SG) launched the first-of-its-kind, merit-based scholarship to students Nov. 5 on USF’s Tampa campus. As a part of Student Body President Britney Deas and Student Body Vice President Travis McCloskey’s platform, Bull S.H.I.F.T., — Success, Health, Innovation, Finance and Tradition — the SG’s Student Leadership Scholarship consists of two merit-based scholarships which will […]
On-campus Jabil institute sparks anticipation from students
A plan drafted on a bar napkin two years ago has now become the USF Jabil Innovation Institute, a multi-million dollar institute combining the College of Engineering and the Muma College of Business. Senior Vice President of Advancement and CEO of the USF Foundation Joel Momberg and Jabil CEO Mark Mondello jotted the idea down […]