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Pulse gunman's widow seeks to bar testimony from terrorism expert

By Field Sutton and Mark Boxley

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Video: Pulse gunman??€™s widow seeks to bar testimony from terrorism expert Noor Salman remains behind bars more than a year after her husband opened fire at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 and wounding dozens of others.

By Field Sutton and Mark Boxley
Noor Salman remains behind bars more than a year after her husband opened fire at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, killing 49 and wounding dozens of others.
She is accused of helping her husband, Omar Mateen, plan and carry out the June 12, 2016, attack, which he said was carried out in the name of the terrorist organization the Islamic State, or ISIS.
Prosecutors allege she was the one who came up with his cover story.
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Her attorneys filed a motion this week seeking to bar testimony from a prosecution expert witness who has a specialty in terrorism.
In the motion, Salman’s attorneys argue that the expert witness does not have anything pertinent to say about the case, as prosecutors have already admitted they do not consider her terrorist.
“Because it is undisputed that Salman is not an Islamic extremist herself, and because there is no evidence that she heard Mateen discuss these topics, (the expert witness’) testimony about these topics is irrelevant,” the motion said.
WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer said the motion was a move any good attorney would try to make in such a high-profile case.
“The less evidence the jury hears, the better your argument’s going to be,” he said. “The defense attorney’s job is to chip away at the government’s case. If you can keep the government from offering evidence before the jury, it increases the likelihood that you can successfully argue at the end of the case that there’s reasonable doubt.”
A judge may leave it to a jury to decide, though, and it is likely the expert’s testimony will be allowed, Sheaffer said.

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