FBI under fire for missing e-mail account of Moussaoui

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The judge in the case against Sept. 11 conspiracy defendant Zacarias Moussaoui is demanding an explanation from the FBI about how it could have missed evidence of an e-mail account that Moussaoui said he used in the weeks before the attacks.

U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema expressed skepticism toward the government's arguments that no such e-mail account exists.

"We do not understand why an immediate and thorough investigation into the defendant's e-mail and computer activities did not lead investigators to the ... account, if it existed," the judge said in an order made public Wednesday.

Brinkema added that "a more detailed explanation from the United States is warranted."

Moussaoui currently is scheduled to go on trial next January in connection with federal charges that he conspired with the Sept. 11 terrorists. Moussaoui has sought to defend himself and has turned aside court-appointed lawyers.

Moussaoui had claimed in a sealed request to Brinkema that he used the e-mail account on several computers, including the University of Oklahoma, a Kinko's Inc. copy store in Eagan, Minn., and an acquaintance, Ali Mukaram.

The FBI had said previously that its experts examined all those computers, although prosecutors said that Kinko's, each day, "scrubs" the computers it rents to the public and so "the Kinko's computers used by the defendant were cleaned by Kinko's before the FBI.

Prosecutors earlier this month produced a sworn statement by a Microsoft Corp. employee, Catherine Taelor, saying the company could find no records of the disputed e-mail account on its Hotmail service. But Taelor noted that Hotmail accounts expire after 90 days of inactivity, and Microsoft does not keep any records of expired accounts.

But Brinkema said the government's scrutiny of Moussaoui meant investigators should have uncovered evidence of the e-mail account before it was allowed to expire.