Trump tweets unlikely to slow terror case
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s tweets calling for the death penalty for the man charged in the New York truck rampage could be seized on by defense attorneys as evidence of bias, but they are unlikely to amount to even a speed bump in the case, legal experts said Thursday.
In a highly unusual instance of a president weighing in on the fate of a defendant awaiting trial, Trump said on Twitter that 29-year-old Sayfully Saipov “SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!” in the attack that left eight people dead. In another tweet, Trump said prosecutors “Should move fast. DEATH PENALTY!”
Some legal experts said judges in Manhattan’s federal courts will not let the president’s remarks slow the case or throw it off track, especially in a courthouse with a quarter-century record of swift terrorism prosecutions with mostly airtight outcomes.
“Nothing slows down the train,” said James Cohen, a professor at Fordham Law School. He said the yet-to-be-assigned judge will question prospective jurors to ensure they can be fair despite anything they might have heard or read.
Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School and a frequent observer at terrorism trials, said: “Because this is in federal court, this will happen both speedily and without it interfering with the normal process of the trial.”
In bringing terrorism charges against Saipov that could bring the death penalty, federal prosecutors Wednesday said the Uzbek immigrant used a rental truck to mow down people along a bike path after being inspired by Islamic State propaganda videos.
Investigators continued poring over Saipov’s phone records and online contacts and combing surveillance footage to reconstruct his movements in the weeks before the rampage. They also interviewed friends and family, including his wife.
At one point, the FBI put out a bulletin seeking any information on a fellow Uzbek immigrant, Mukhammadzoir Kadirov, but quickly canceled it after locating him.
A law enforcement official who was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity said Kadirov was a friend of Saipov’s and may not have a role in the case at all, but authorities got suspicious because he “went off the radar” when they went to speak with him. He was questioned and released.
John Miller, the New York Police Department’s deputy commissioner for counterterrorism and intelligence, told CBS that authorities so far believe Saipov acted alone.
Also Thursday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions told members of law enforcement in New York in a visit scheduled before the attack that the U.S. justice system can handle suspects like Szaipov.
He noted over 500 defendants have been convicted of terrorism-related crimes since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Saipov is being held without bail at a Manhattan federal lockup next to the courthouse. His attorney, David Patton, has said he hopes “everyone lets the judicial process play out.” He did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.