Prosecutor Accused of ‘Personal Animus’ in Muslim Terrorism Cases
A college professor who pleaded guilty to raising money for a group that supported terrorism is now targeting a federal prosecutor who obtained a new indictment against him.
The prosecutor, Gordon Kromberg, is accused of making intemperate statements that displayed “personal animus” in several terrorism prosecutions and investigations of Muslims, the New York Sun reports.
Lawyers for the Florida professor, Sami Al-Arian, are seeking a hearing on whether anti-Muslim bias influenced the decision to prosecute him for refusing to testify in investigations of Muslim groups in Virginia, the story says.
“Defense attorneys have objected for years that Mr. Kromberg, the lead counsel in many of these cases, has been using the Eastern District of Virginia to mete out his own brand of justice for Muslim terrorism subjects, often openly displaying his personal animus,” says the motion by Al-Arian’s lead lawyer, Jonathan Turley. “This long and controversial record forms the backdrop for the allegation of selective and malicious prosecution in this case.”
The motion cites one case in which Kromberg “became agitated” after a defense lawyer sought to delay testimony until after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“They can kill each other during Ramadan. They can appear before the grand jury; all they can’t do is eat before sunset,” Kromberg reportedly said. He is accused of saying the requested delay is “all part of the attempted Islamization of the American justice system.”
U.S. Attorney Charles “Chuck” Rosenberg issued a statement denying any bias and supporting Kromberg as “a dedicated, talented, and scrupulously fair prosecutor.”
