Lawyers for a Somali-born teen charged in a plot to blow up a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Portland want Atty. Gen. Eric Holder Jr. to keep his mouth zipped.
Reuters news service reported that the lawyer for Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, filed a seven-page motion Monday saying Holder’s comments about the case could prejudice the potential jurors. Holder defended the FBI’s tactic in the sting and said the teen was not entrapped.
Reuters reported that the motion sought a court order “prohibiting the attorney general from engaging in inappropriate pretrial comment.”
“The attorney general’s remarks go far beyond the fact of the indictment and any legitimate policy issues, instead discussing the merits of Mr. Mohamud’s case,” the motion states, according to Reuters.
The Justice Department in Washington said in a statement Tuesday, according to Reuters, that the agency’s “comments have been appropriate and entirely consistent with our filings in court. We will answer the motion in court and look forward to trying the case there.”
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