Saddam Hussein's defense team walked out of the courtroom Monday shortly after the former leader's trial resumed because the judge refused to allow former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark to challenge the tribunal's legitimacy in an address to the court. After the lawyers walked out, Saddam told the judge: "You are imposing lawyers on us. They are imposed lawyers. The court is imposed by itself. We reject that." Clark said he needed only two minutes to present his argument. But Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin said the tribunal had been established under the law by an elected Iraqi government and that only Saddam's chief lawyer could address the hearing. Amin said the defense should submit its motion in writing and warned that if the defense walked out then the court would appoint replacement lawyers. "We reject the appointment of court employees to defend us," Saddam was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.
