Gorbey cites conspiracy at start of his gun trial

Michael Gorbey made his debut Tuesday representing himself against federal gun and explosives charges, drawing more than 25 objections from prosecutors  and a stern warning from the judge as his trial began in D.C. Superior Court.

Many of the objections came in response to how Gorbey cross-examined the five U.S. Capitol Police officers called to testify about his arrest. At one point, Judge Gregory Jackson called a series of questions “inappropriate.”

{mosads}A number of the objections were raised during Gorbey’s opening statements, when he cited a government conspiracy against him – an argument that he has made since his arrest – and several lawsuits he has filed against federal agencies, including the FBI and the CIA.

The government pleaded with Jackson to intervene on its behalf, saying that Gorbey’s statements and questions should remain on the subject of the current case. Prosecutors also said that if they were compelled to raise more objections throughout the day it could damage their case by making the jury more sympathetic to Gorbey.

“It could leave [the jury] with the notion that the government’s trying to hide something with all these objections,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff. On the other hand, by not raising the objections, Gorbey could set the tone for the trial and gain an advantage.

Gorbey was arrested on Jan. 18 while walking toward the Supreme Court allegedly with a loaded shotgun, a sword and more than two-dozen rounds of ammunition. He said he was on his way to a meeting with Chief Justice John Roberts, according to the government.

Police have charged him with 14 counts, including manufacturing explosives and possessing a weapon of mass destruction. The latter two charges each could yield a maximum prison term of 30 years.

Jackson sustained the majority of the federal prosecutors’ objections, though he did rule in Gorbey’s favor several times, overruling the government’s objections. Gorbey, apparently frustrated, asked Jackson how he was supposed to conduct his line of questioning if the government repeatedly stopped him with its objections.

“You’re either not asking the question in a proper format or you’re not asking proper questions,” Jackson responded.

Jackson later reminded Gorbey that he has repeatedly advised the West Virginia native of the potential pitfalls in self-representation – one being that Gorbey, who has represented himself before in federal court, may not be as familiar with how to  question a witness appropriately.

An unreported portion of the case against Gorbey arose in the prosecution’s opening statement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Cummings said that the numbers “13” and “7” were etched in gold on the rear bumper of the truck police say Gorbey drove to Capitol Hill that contained the explosive device. The same numbers appear on the sword and the flak jacket taken from Gorbey at the time of his arrest, he said.

“Ladies and gentleman, I won’t keep you in suspense,” Cummings said to the jury. “The 13th letter of the alphabet is ‘M.’The seventh letter of the alphabet is ‘G.’ Michael Gorbey.”

The public defender’s office, which has appointed Gorbey a standby attorney, refused Tuesday to appoint an investigator to locate Gorbey’s alleged girlfriend, Amy Toothman, in West Virginia. With 25 percent of their attorneys in trial this week, they said, they do not have enough resources to devote to Gorbey’s request.

Gorbey said Toothman could testify on his behalf that the government has fabricated the evidence it plans to use against him – namely, the alleged explosive device and more than 750 rounds of ammunition allegedly found in the truck police say is registered to Toothman.

Jackson expressed his concern that if Toothman was not found, the trial could be brought to a standstill and continued indefinitely.

The prosecution said it had knowledge that Gorbey had told Toothman to remain in hiding in the event he was arrested. Gorbey denied the claim.

A moment of humor relieved the tension of the day when the government’s last witness, Capitol Police officer Daniel Nutter, was asked to identify the man he assisted in arresting in January. Nutter pointed to Gorbey and described him as wearing a brown shirt. Jackson then asked Gorbey if he had any objections, at which point Gorbey looked down at his shirt, smirked and said, “I object to the color of the shirt.”

Much of the jury and the lawyers laughed.

The government’s witness examination is expected to continue through the end of the week and possibly into the beginning of next week, after which Gorbey will begin calling his witnesses.

“At the rate we’re going, we’ll be here for some time yet,” Jackson said.