Who was in control?

As lead defense attorney David Nevin continues his cross-examination of key prosecution witness John Pulcastro this afternoon, Nevin has focused for the past hour on questioning the FBI analyst’s contention that Sami Al-Hussayen controlled an array of Islamic web sites. He pointed to numerous instances in the prosecution’s own evidence, mainly intercepted email and telephone conversations, in which Al-Hussayen complained about how the sites were being operated, and about people posting inappropriate items on them without any approval from the Islamic Assembly of North America.

In one case, an email showed Al-Hussayen suggesting to the manager of the Alasr.ws site that he subscribe to a British daily news report about Palestine, Al Quds. “If you see fit to subscribe to it, this will strengthen the news section of the site,” Al-Hussayen wrote in the intercepted email.

“It’s not an order, is it?” Nevin asked Pulcastro. He responded, “No, sir, it is not. There are many things involved in a web site. You cannot control every single thing.”

But Pulcastro maintained that Al-Hussayen was in charge of the sites because his name is found on domain registration and similar records stretching back several years.