Trump tweets: Possible life saver for Manhattan attacker

In November 2017, ten men gathered to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation by organizing a cycling race along the Hudson River in one of the most upscale neighborhoods of New York City, Manhattan. During the race, they were surprised by a truck that broke into the pedestrian and cyclist road with its driver deliberately running over everyone in his way.

At least eight people were killed and 12 others were injured. Police opened fire on the 29-year-old bomber. He then got out of the truck carrying a machine gun and shouted hysterically "Allahu Akbar". The police arrested him.

"We must not allow the organization to come back or enter our country after their defeat in the Middle East and elsewhere," said Donald Trump, the president of the United States, in a tweet. "Trump's cry came after learning of the message the attacker left behind near his truck declaring his loyalty to the terrorist organization.

The police revealed that the bomber is an immigrant from Uzbekistan who arrived in the United States in 2010. Saifullah Saipov lives in Florida, Ohio and New Jersey since he was employed in the United States.

Saibov was brought to justice on several terrorism-related charges, but his trial took a new turn with his lawyer asking the judge last Thursday, to prevent the government from seeking the death penalty against him. The US prosecutor general is the one responsible for presenting this demand to the jury, saying that the Saipov case had become highly politicized.

The lawyers cited Trump's trivia, in which he called for the execution of their client, including a recent tweet, in which he spoke of the need for the court to observe political considerations when issuing a judgment in the Saipov case.

"The public prosecutor and congressman, Jeff Sessions, is working for President Trump, which means that he may recommend a death sentence to preserve his job," the lawyers wrote in a letter to Judge Vernon S. Broderick, who is reviewing the case. Some media reports also highlighted Trump's intention to expel him if he did not call for applying the death sentence in the case.

They called on Judge Broderick to appoint an independent prosecutor to decide whether or not the death penalty for Saipov was warranted.

"What President Trump is doing is confusing the jury and influencing their final decision on Saipov," US attorney Mark Zed said in a telephone interview with CBS on Friday, September 7, 2018.

"This opens the door to his lawyer to appeal to the court that their client does not have a fair trial, and the head of the executive branch (Trump) intervenes and tries to influence judicial rulings," Zaid said.

Saipov's attack is the deadliest in New York City since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and President Trump published a tweet in the wake of it. "He must be sentenced to death. We have to move quickly."

Death penalty

Saipov told the authorities that he was inspired by the attack he carried out from videos posted by Daesh online and that he used a truck in the attack to kill as many civilians as possible.

"The accusations of the poor performance of two well-known Republican congressmen may make their chances of re-election questionable," Trump said last Monday.

Steibov's lawyers used this chant in their speech to the court to demonstrate the political impact that the president's comments might have on the judicial decisions against Saipov.