U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that terrorism...

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui is entitled to see a top secret government plan for giving him access to information from a senior al-Qaida captive. The government attempted to submit the material to the court and keep it from Moussaoui for the time being. Classified as "Top Secret/Codeword," the information was provided as a substitute for allowing Moussaoui to interview the prisoner, Ramzi Binalshibh, via video hookup. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who ordered the hookup in January, said Moussaoui must see the substitute proposal now. Moussaoui, charged as a conspirator with the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers, has contended that Binalshibh could demonstrate that he was not part of the attack plot. Brinkema said Moussaoui has the right to potentially helpful information, but prosecutors vigorously protested any direct access between the defendant--an acknowledged al-Qaida loyalist--and a suspected coordinator of the attacks. The government had appealed Brinkema's earlier order for the hookup to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., arguing that judges should not disturb a sensitive national security interrogation.