[Leon Harris, Cnn Anchor:] The father of an American man who fought alongside the Taliban says that he hopes his son will be able to come home soon. Twenty-year-old John Walker was captured by U.S. special forces after a bloody uprising at an Afghan prison. Walker's father, Frank Lindh, describes his son as a devout Muslim, who was on a religious journey.
[Frank Lindh, John Walker's Father:] He was very idealistic, and I guess was taken in by a philosophy that suggested that the Taliban were trying to build some form of ideal Islamic government there in Afghanistan. And in May, I guess, from what we understand, he went to Afghanistan, unbeknownst to his family to try to help the Taliban to help establish the government there. I think he used bad judgment in going to Afghanistan. But he has not a traitor. He's a good boy. He did not do anything against the United States. He went there to help the Taliban, not a good choice but he did go to help the Taliban at a time when the United States was not involved. The United States came in later and did getting involve supporting the Northern Alliance, and I'm glad we did. I hope we can get bin Laden and root him out there. John was there before the United States got involved. And he got caught in something he shouldn't have been caught up in. He didn't do anything wrong. He didn't go to make war against his own country.
[Harris:] Walker is now in the hands of the U.S. military, and he may face prosecution. But there are a lot of questions about what, if anything, the government will do. For a little legal perspective, we're joined by CNN legal analyst Roger Cossack, who is in Washington. Good to see you, again, Roger. Long time no see.
[Roger Cossack, Cnn Legal Analyst:] How have you been, Leon.
[Harris:] not bad, man, good to see you. First of all, any precedent, any case like this before that you're aware of?
[Cossack:] Well, I guess the closest crime that we think of off the top of our head that he may have committed would be that John Walker may have committed is treason. And treason is defined in the Constitution as anybody who fights against the United States or paraphrasing a little bit or gives aid to an enemy that fights against the United States is guilty of treason. The justices of the Supreme Court Justice Jackson in 1945 said those two circumstances are the most complex you can have. In 1807 Aaron Burr was tried for treason. He claimed he was trying to set up own republic, but acquitted after a long trial, because to prove treason, you have to two independent witnesses that say the individual was there for every single overt act, or the defendant has to confess. So there's really been very no almost no exact precedent like this. We've had Tokyo Rose in World War II. I think she ended up getting seven years. And Esra Pound, who trying to give comfort to the Nazis in WWII, but he was judged insane and sent to an insane asylum. So there has been nothing that has been directly on point.
[Harris:] And one other thing that jumps out. We have a comment from his father, who makes the distinction about the fact that Walker went over to Pakistan in that area and he got hooked with the Taliban well before any war activities broken out, therefore, he seem to be ahead of curve.
[Cossack:] You know, obviously you have to feel sorry for father. That doesn't help out too much here. It's true that he was a member of the Taliban at a time when the United States was not having any hostilities toward the Taliban. But once the United States began attacking the Taliban, he is still a United States citizen, and once our planes started dropping bombs, and we were while not at the clear state of war, we were at war with the Taliban. He is certainly fighting against the United States, and I think that certainly comes within the definition of treason. Whether or not provable, obviously things have to be shown down the line. I'm afraid the fact he started before the war doesn't help him. On the other hand, we've talked about President Bush's military tribunals, but remember, they're only limited to people who are non- American citizens. This young man is an American citizen, so he could never be tried in a military tribunal.
[Harris:] Let me ask you one last question about another wrinkle that just occurred to me while you were talking there. There is another American citizen I recall that went through some things like that, with the religious angle being the biggest determination, that being Muhammed Ali. Here's a case where this young man did what he did based upon his religious beliefs. Do you see any sort of loophole there for him?
[Cossack:] You know, what Muhammed Ali did was refused to be drafted. There was a statute that he was in violation of, at least, the government claimed, and they tried him for being in violation of the statute having to do with the draft. He was eventually acquitted because of religious beliefs. This is a different story entirely. Muhammed Ali didn't take up arms against the United States. That is what this person allegedly did. That is defined in the Constitution, article 3, section 3. If you take up arms against the United States and give aid or comfort to those who do. that is, at least under the Constitution, treason.
[Harris:] Well, this will get some lawyer a chance to earn his way. We will talk about this later on. Roger, take care.
[Cossack:] Thank you. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com