Rather than participate in the Sept. 11 attacks, Zacarias Moussaoui contends he was prepping for a later al-Qaida operation outside the United States, according to newly released defense documents. The lone U.S. defendant charged as a conspirator with the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers “contemplated living past that date,” according to a pleading released Tuesday by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. The legal brief did not describe the operation. In a separate development in the case, a three-judge panel of the court ordered that the public and news media be admitted to portions of a June 3 court session to consider whether Moussaoui may interview a senior al-Qaida captive. The unanimous decision by the judicial panel essentially agreed with 11 news organizations that had sought greater openness. Full Story