In July 2002, “…two days before [American Taliban member John Walker] Lindh’s lawyers planned to challenge the legitimacy of his FBI confession in court…the prosecutors offered them a surprise deal. …the Justice Department had dropped nine out of ten counts against Lindh. ‘The Defense Department was really worried about the claims of mistreatment,’ said [Lindh’s defense lawyer] George Harris. …The military’s mistreatment of him proved a huge liability to prosecutors once he finally faced trial. …the case provided a first glimpse into high-level intrigue by Bush political appointees…that would eventually claim the job of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. …What John Walker Lindh taught the Bush Administration was that open criminal trials under the strict rules of the American legal system were not worth the risk. Clearly Lindh’s attorneys also thought there were risks, since they accepted a guilty plea and a twenty-year sentence.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Jane Mayer, The Dark Side, Pages 97-98