Holy Land defendants' long wait ends as U.S. vows to retry case

Dallas Morning News | Jason Trahan:

“Counterterrorism expert Fred Burton ... said it's best to view the prosecution as part of a disruption strategy. The verdict didn't come out as hoped, but 'you have in essence tied this organization up in knots for a long time. Even though it may not be viewed as a success on the front page of the paper, behind the doors in Washington it will be.'”

Ed Cognoski responds:

In other words, Fred Burton believes that the government views legal harassment via criminal prosecutions against political enemies as an end in itself. The government has unlimited resources to tie people up in legal proceedings. The government wins regardless of the outcome of the trial. A conviction and the target goes to jail. An acquittal and their names are smeared, their fortunes are bankrupted, their lives are ruined. And the government can go after their target on some other trumped up charge. Endlessly. There's no downside for the government.

Many Americans may side with the government this time, sharing the government's prejudice that the defendants in this case are enemies of the United States. They'd better hope that the government is always led by people who share their own political views. The old notion that the United States is a nation of laws, not of men, is a little less believable if Fred Burton is right about the attitude in Washington.