MIAMI, Florida (AP) — For a star defendant whose name is known around the world, Jose Padilla has become almost a bit player in his terrorism support trial — and some observers say the federal government may not have proved its case against him.

Former Chicago gang member Jose Padilla is accused of providing material support to al Qaeda.

Prosecutors rested their case Friday after nine weeks, 22 witnesses and dozens of FBI wiretap intercepts played at trial, most of them in Arabic with written translations for jurors.

Defense lawyers for Padilla and his two co-defendants begin presenting their case next week.

Much is at stake for the government, which once heralded Padilla’s arrest as a success in the country’s war on terror, accused him in an al Qaeda “dirty bomb” plot, and held him for 3½ years as an enemy combatant.

Padilla’s voice was heard on only seven intercepts, a tiny fraction of the 300,000 collected by the FBI during the nearly decade-long investigation.

Padilla was never linked to any specific acts of terrorism or murder and, unlike his co-defendants, he was not accused of using purported code words like “tourism” for “jihad” or “eggplant” for “rocket-propelled grenade.”

“Although everyone has been referring to this case as the Padilla trial, the government’s case against Padilla has been pretty thin,” said David O. Markus, a Miami defense attorney who has frequently written about the case on his legal blog. “I’m sure the government lawyers are sweating quite a bit right now.”

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