NIDAL HASAN SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO REPRESENT HIMSELF AT TRIAL

The jihadist murderer at Fort Hood has until now been allowed to represent himself as lawyer at his impending trial:

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A military judge is expected to rule on Friday on whether to grant accused Fort Hood gunman Major Nidal Hasan more time to prepare as he represents himself in a murder trial for a 2009 Texas shooting rampage that killed 13 people.

The judge, Colonel Tara Osborn, could also decide whether to order Hasan's legal team to stay in place despite its objections as he leads his own defense - the latest wrinkle in a case that has seen myriad delays and legal tangles. [...]

Hasan, a U.S.-born Muslim, wants to argue that he was defending the Afghan Taliban when he opened fire, and may get a ruling from Osborn on whether he will be allowed to pursue that argument at trial. [...]

Osborn appointed three military lawyers to serve as standby counsel. They have said it would be unethical to advise Hasan on his proposed argument that he was protecting the Taliban and have asked Osborn not to require them to participate in that defense.

While it's become typical in some cases for creeps like Hasan to represent themselves, when I thought about it, the idea of Hasan speaking as a lawyer to the very people whose lives he destroyed smells repugnant. But at the same time, the army lawyers appointed have a good point that it wouldn't be ethical to defend Hasan based on such a sick defense tactic. This really is turning out to be a very frustrating case, and the worst part is that Hasan is no doubt hoping to aggravate everybody involved.