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9/11 architect says bin Laden aide had no role in Al Qaeda military

NEW YORK — Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said that a former top associate of Osama bin Laden who is on trial in Manhattan had no role in military operations for Al Qaeda and, he suggested, was enlisted to make fiery speeches because he was “an eloquent, spellbinding speaker.”

Mohammed’s assertions are contained in a newly filed statement in US District Court in Manhattan, where the former associate, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, is being tried on charges that he conspired to kill Americans and provided support to Al Qaeda.

Lawyers for Abu Ghaith have long sought to obtain testimony from Mohammed, who is detained at the US naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

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They have said that Mohammed’s knowledge of Al Qaeda operations is unsurpassed and that his testimony “may very well exculpate” Abu Ghaith.

On Sunday, Abu Ghaith’s lawyers filed Mohammed’s statement, in which he responded to 451 questions they had posed to him through a complicated process that involved reviews of the questions and answers by the US Defense and Justice departments.

In a motion filed with the statement, Abu Ghaith’s lead lawyer Stanley L. Cohen asked Judge Lewis A. Kaplan to allow him to use Mohammed’s testimony at trial. The government rested its case Friday, and the defense is set to begin its presentation before the jury Monday.

Prosecutors had no comment Sunday on Cohen’s filing.

New York Times