Nearly two years ago, Attorney General John Ashcroft personally announced to Congress that federal prosecutors had filed terrorism-financing charges against a Yemeni sheik and his aide. Law enforcement officials indicated that the sheik, Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Moayad, had used a Brooklyn mosque to help funnel millions of dollars to Al Qaeda and had boasted that he had personally delivered $20 million to Osama bin Laden. But as a federal judge in Brooklyn began questioning jurors yesterday for the scheduled start of testimony next week, pretrial filings suggest the prosecutors are pursuing a somewhat different, and even pared-down, case.The allegations about Al Qaeda and ties to Mr. bin Laden have faded in importance to the case, the filings from lawyers on both sides have indicated. It now appears that the prosecutors will not even mention the supposed $20 million delivery to Mr. bin Laden. The trial is expected to focus far more than had been expected on the sheik's ties to Hamas, a group that has been labeled a terrorist organization by the United States government, but that also has charitable operations. The connection to Hamas was mentioned when the charges were filed, but it drew far less attention. Though it seems clear that the prosecutors still believe the sheik had Al Qaeda connections, some practical problems appear to be at play, stemming from the nettlesome art of fitting a complex case that was announced in a burst of publicity to the sober realities of the courtroom, and limiting the amount of proof they can introduce on the issue of Al Qaeda.
Hampering the prosecutors especially is the fact that their main informer, Mohamed Alanssi, a Yemeni man with a troubled history, set himself on fire outside the White House in November. That strange act drew attention to a history that included legal troubles and bad debts. It meant that he would be a troublesome witness, and the prosecutors have suggested that they may not call him. It was Mr. Alanssi who told federal agents about some of the allegations about the sheik's supposed ties to Al Qaeda, including the claim about the delivery of $20 million, and those claims may not be admissible if he does not testify. The apparent change in emphasis has opened a door for the defense to argue that the case is an effort by prosecutors to make it appear that they have an Al Qaeda operative in the dock in Brooklyn who was a direct threat to the United States.