Fort Hood, Texas (CNN) -- A military judge on Monday excluded e-mails between an Army psychiatrist and a key member of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula from being used in the death penalty case, evidence the prosecution contends goes to the heart of the motive of the shooting rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead.
The judge, Col. Tara Osborn, also refused to allow prosecutors to use materials they maintain show Maj. Nidal Hasan's interest in the actions of Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar, the American soldier sentenced to death for killing two soldiers and wounding more than a dozen others at the start of the Iraq war -- an attack he said he carried out to stop soldiers from killing Muslims.
"The court believes Sgt. Akbar is not on trial in this case," Osborn said. "It would only open the door to a mini-trial" and confuse the issue.
The rulings came at the start of the third week of the court-martial of Hasan, who is defending himself against 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder in connection with the November 5, 2009, attack.
Hasan has left no doubt about his role, telling a panel of 13 officers during a brief opening statement: "The evidence will clearly show that I am the shooter."
Hasan trial: A suicide mission? 
Nidal Hasan: 'I am the shooter' He's also left little question about why he did it, repeatedly saying before the trial started that he was acting to protect Taliban leaders in Afghanistan from the U.S. military.
Prosecutors hope to show that the devout Muslim had undergone a "progressive radicalization," going so far as to give academic presentations in defense of suicide bombings.
But Osborn declined to allow the prosecution to allow much of the evidence that prosecutors say goes to motive, saying "motive is not an element of the crime."
She also said the evidence, particularly the e-mails with Anwar al-Awlaki of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, would create undue prejudice.
The judge previously ruled that prosecutors may use evidence of Hasan's Internet searches on jihad and the Taliban in the days and hours before the attack.
Investigations after the shooting rampage found he had been communicating via e-mail with al-Awlaki, the U.S. born cleric who officials say became a key member of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. He was killed in U.S. drone strike in 2011.
Hasan, who was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan, did not want to fight against other Muslims and believed "that he had a jihad duty to kill as many soldiers as possible," said lead prosecutor Col. Michael Mulligan.
Hasan has listened impassively as survivors and investigators have testified, painting a horrific picture of what unfolded during the shooting inside the Soldier Readiness Processing Center as soldiers and civilians prepared to leave for Afghanistan and Iraq.
This article is taken from CNN.com
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