James Rubin, on the second day of his testimony at the Specialist Chambers in The Hague, was faced with questions from the prosecution and several statements he had previously made about this trial and the indictment against Hashim Thaçi and others.
Prosecutor James Pace cited a statement Rubin made in July of this year in which he called the Prosecutor's Office a disgrace.
Rubin said it may have been a reckless statement since, as he said, when you're on television, you can also say things.
"I may have used that word that was perhaps not prudent. But, when you're on television, you may also use words that perhaps shouldn't be used. However, I can also withdraw this word," Rubin declared.
The former American official said he had not read the pre-trial file, nor the indictment, nor followed the testimonies of previous witnesses. Prosecutor Peace mentioned to him that Rubin had said that the charges against Thaçi were absurd.
"You said on television that Mr. Thaçi is being prosecuted for completely absurd reasons. Is that what you said," the prosecutor asked.
"Yes, I believe I said that," said James Rubin.
In this interview, James Rubin said that it is a shame that Thaçi is being held in prison while the Kosovo Government itself created this Court.
James Rubin had said that the Serbian army committed 95% of the mass killings and equating this with what the Kosovo Albanians did is absurd and regrettable.
"The fact that they're not even releasing the president on parole and waiting for them to find evidence and find a solution on how to proceed with this trial, I think that's a problem," Rubin said in this interview.
James Rubin was asked about an article in The New York Times, dated June 25, 1999, which stated that senior KLA commanders had committed murders within their ranks.
Rubin said he does not remember this article, but added that he has doubts about its author, Chris Hedges.
"The author of this article has consistently written sentences that were false," he said.
The ZPS prosecution and Thaçi's defense attorney have finished questioning James Rubin, who is being questioned by the judges. /Telegraph/
