海角大神

According to the New York Police Department, Jose Pimentel was a 鈥渓one wolf鈥� terrorist intent on bombing Post Offices and banks and assassinating US soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. And, when he was arrested last Saturday night, the police say he was within an hour of having a working bomb.

So, why did the Federal Bureau of Investigation decide Mr. Pimentel was not a credible threat, according to various press reports, and will that make any difference if his case goes to trial?

According to criminal defense attorneys and others not involved with the case, Mr. Pimentel, who has pleaded not guilty, will have a hard time trying to find a way to mount a defense based on the fact the FBI was not involved.

And, say lawyers who follow terrorism cases, it will be difficult 鈥� though not impossible 鈥� to mount a case that Mr. Pimentel was entrapped by the government.

鈥淢ore and more we are seeing the defense claim entrapment,鈥� says Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School in New York, referring to recent terrorism cases.聽 鈥淏ut, it is very rare for them to take it to court.鈥�

The reason it鈥檚 so hard for defendants to mount an entrapment defense is because the burden of proof shifts from the prosecutor to the defense, she says.

鈥淚n a normal trial, the prosecutor 鈥� the government 鈥� has to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt to the jury,鈥� explains Ms. Greenberg. 鈥淚n an entrapment case the defense has to prove entrapment, versus poking holes in the government鈥檚 case, and that鈥檚 a very hard defense to mount.鈥�

From the documents, there is no doubt the district attorney will be counting on a 鈥渃onfidential informant鈥� who was deeply involved with Pimentel, aka Muhammad Yusuf. So far that individual has remained anonymous.

鈥淭hese conversations, most of which were audio recorded, involved the defendant discussing his plans with a confidential informant under the control of the NYPD,鈥� said Detective Robert Roloph, in court documents.

According to the complaint, the NYPD also recorded phone calls, videotaped efforts to make bombs, and read blogs and postings by the defendant, who had established a website, www.trueislam1.com. On the site, according to the filings, was a link to an article entitled, 鈥淢ake a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Home.鈥�

Terrorism experts say those Internet postings may make it difficult for his defense.

鈥淗e left聽muddy footprints on the Internet. He made his intentions clear,鈥� says Frank Cilluffo, director of the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University in Washington. 鈥淗is intent was to cause harm.鈥�

However, if Pimentel鈥檚 website is more about religion or philosophy then terrorism, it will be harder for the government to show a predisposition to commit violence, says Frederick Sosinsky, a criminal defense attorney in New York.

鈥淭he fact that he may have an intellectual or religious curiosity about certain things does not in and of itself establish predisposition,鈥� says Mr. Sosinsky, who has defended people accused of terrorism. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 generally seek to punish individuals for their thoughts, however uncomfortable those thoughts may make us.鈥�

Sosinsky says Pimentel鈥檚 attorney might want to try to discover why federal law enforcement officials had doubts about the sincerity of Pimentel鈥檚 beliefs or his inclination to act. 鈥淭he legal justification for seeking such information and documentation is that they would exculpate the defendant by casting doubt on his actual intentions,鈥� he says.

Getting that information won鈥檛 be easy, says Stanley Twardy, a former federal prosecutor and now a defense attorney at Day Pitney in Stamford, Ct. 鈥淭he FBI may have said this guy鈥檚 a bad guy but not a terrorist,鈥� says Mr. Twardy. 鈥淏ut, you just can鈥檛 call the FBI and ask them why did you not find this guy credible.鈥�

Twardy says Pimentel鈥檚 lawyer might want to try to ask for a subpoena for any documents from the FBI, such as emails. 鈥淲hether anything would be admissible is another question,鈥� he says, 鈥渋t must be relevant to the charges.鈥�

Fordham鈥檚 Greenberg says she would want to ask the FBI at what point it passed on pursuing a case against Pimentel. Did the FBI decide the confidential informant was too actively involved?

鈥淚 would want to know who suggested the weapons, who suggested the targets,鈥� she says.

However, some lawyers believe it will be difficult to get a state judge to allow the defense to question the FBI.

鈥淚 think that a judge will not be inclined to allow the defense to introduce questions about the FBI since it is in the nature of opinion,鈥� says Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor now with the law firm McCarter & English in Newark. 鈥淭here can be many reasons why the federal government deferred to the state to prosecute a case, it does not necessarily imply they did not believe the case had merit.鈥�

If the Pimentel case goes to trial, it will focus more attention on the issue of 鈥渓one wolves,鈥� individuals acting alone to cause harm.

鈥淧eople with the scariest plans for destroying the world tend to be lone wolves,鈥� says Jessica Stern, a Harvard professor and author of 鈥淒enial: a Memoir of Terror.鈥�

鈥淭hey often have elaborate and horrifying fantasies about what they would like to do.鈥�

She says she found especially troubling the article that Pimentel is alleged to have linked to. 鈥淚t was designed to boost and excite those individuals who live on the edge and have these destructive fantasies,鈥� says Ms. Stern. 鈥淭he whole issue was inspiring this kind of behavior.鈥�