Judge Deals Blow to US in Big Terror Trial

The first civilian trial of a Gitmo detainee has hit a serious snag, one that could crimp future cases. A federal judge ruled that testimony from a key witness is off limits—because the government learned about him during CIA interrogations at a secret prison overseas. The case, in which Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani is accused of conspiring with al-Qaeda to bomb two US embassies in Africa in 1998, has been delayed a week while the government figures out its next step, reports the New York Times.

“The court has not reached this conclusion lightly,” said Judge Lewis A Kaplan. “It is acutely aware of the perilous nature of the world in which we live. But the Constitution is the rock upon which our nation rests. We must follow it not only when it is convenient, but when fear and danger beckon in a different direction. To do less would diminish us and undermine the foundation upon which we stand.” (More al-Qaeda stories.)