Wiretapping may void Va. terror case

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 26 (UPI) -- The Bush administration's use of warrantless wiretaps may have backfired, with the reversal by an appellate court of a Virginia terror conviction.

The case involves prominent Muslim cleric Ali al-Timimi, a U.S. citizen who was convicted last year of inciting his Northern Virginia followers to train for violent jihad against the United States. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Tuesday, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond sent the case back to the convicting judge, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, in Alexandria, the Washington Post reported.

Al-Timimi's attorneys argued the controversial National Security Agency program President George Bush authorized may have resulted in "undisclosed intercepts" that would be a violation of his rights and could void the conviction.

Al-Timimi's attorney, Jonathan Turley, said Timimi often made the type of overseas calls that were monitored and that "there was considerable overlap in the dates and details of the investigation of al-Timimi and the NSA operation."