Alexandria, Va. ? In a stark warning to prosecutors, a trial judge declared Friday she was disturbed by the government’s “shroud of secrecy” in the case of accused terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui and questioned whether his trial could proceed.

U.S. District Judge Leona Brinkema’s written comments could increase pressure on the government to move Moussaoui’s case out of civilian court and into a military tribunal, where greater secrecy would be allowed.

Brinkema said the U.S. intelligence community had classified so many of the case’s pleadings that she agreed with Moussaoui’s skepticism about whether he could receive a fair trial in open court. He is the lone defendant in the United States accused of conspiring with the Sept. 11 hijackers and could face execution if convicted.

The court is “disturbed by the extent to which the United States’ intelligence officials have classified the pleadings, orders and memorandum opinions in this case; and further agrees with the defendant’s skepticism of the government’s ability to prosecute this case in open court in light of the shroud of secrecy under which it seeks to proceed,” Brinkema said.

Her two-page order directed the government to respond to Moussaoui’s motion for more information from a Jan. 30 hearing he was not allowed to attend as well as a secret court opinion of March 10.

Justice Department spokeswoman Barbara Comstock said: “We regularly hold terrorists and spies accountable in court while safeguarding both national security and due process. We are confident in the ability of our system of justice to try these cases under the procedures adopted by Congress and regularly upheld by the courts.”

While Brinkema has kept virtually everything secret in the case for months, a judge normally doesn’t second-guess the government’s designation of classified information. However, when the need for secrecy conflicts with a defendant’s ability to receive a fair trial, the matter can become a legal issue.

“It seems the judge has become skeptical about some of the national security concerns being presented to her,” said defense attorney Frank Dunham Jr. Dunham, a federal public defender, is the lead lawyer on a team appointed by the court to represent Moussaoui’s interests as he defends himself.

“The question is whether they can live with less secrecy,” Dunham said. “Moussaoui is complaining he’s being shut out, when he’s the lawyer.”