9/11 hearing on skids following Senate report, FBI spying claims

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE – It is “highly unlikely” that the 9/11 military hearings scheduled to resume this week will do so amid new revelations in a report about treatment of detainees released by Senate Democrats last week and more recent accusations that the FBI enlisted a mole to spy on defense lawyers representing the accused terrorists, according to sources familiar with internal deliberations.

Hearings scheduled to take place on Monday were canceled Sunday evening, and it remains unlikely they will take place on Tuesday, meaning that the hearings would not resume again until February.

Following two closed-door sessions with Judge James Pohl, defense lawyers for the five accused 9/11 terrorists told reporters Sunday evening that a range of issues make it “highly unlikely” that the court will go into session—yet another delay to hearings that have already been beset by a range of difficulties.

These latest roadblocks include a hold-up in the investigation into accusations of FBI spying, as well as the detainees’ opposition to being handled by female guards as they are transferred to the courtroom.

While the issue of a newly released Senate Intelligence Committee report claiming that the CIA abused key detainees imprisoned here is certain to cast a cloud over future proceedings, the court had originally planned to discuss an alleged plot by the FBI to spy on the defense team.

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