Posted on 09/09/2005 4:30:56 AM PDT by Leroy S. Mort
McLEAN, Va. (AP) - A man accused of plotting to assassinate President Bush was indicted Thursday on additional charges that could bring life in prison, and prosecutors now say he also planned to establish an al-Qaida cell in the United States.
Prosecutors say Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 24, of Falls Church joined al-Qaida in 2002 while studying in Saudi Arabia and that he discussed possible terrorist operations, including a plot to kill Bush either by shooting or by a suicide bombing.
Prosecutors also allege Abu Ali discussed plans to assassinate members of Congress and to hijack aircraft and fly them into U.S. targets.
The new indictment adds counts of conspiracy to assassinate the president, conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy and conspiracy to destroy aircraft. Previously, those allegations were included in a general charge of conspiracy to support terrorist organizations.
The aircraft piracy charge carries a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison and the count alleging assassination conspiracy carries up to life in prison if convicted.
Abu Ali has denied the charges and says he was tortured into a false confession by Saudi authorities working with the United States.
Prosecutors deny Abu Ali was mistreated in Saudi custody.
Thursday's indictment includes new details, including an alleged plan to smuggle Saudi al-Qaida members into the United States through Mexico, where they would join Abu Ali as part of an al-Qaida cell dedicated to terrorist acts.
Previously, prosecutors had only said Abu Ali wanted to be a planner of terrorist attacks in the mold of Sept. 11 mastermind Mohammed Atta.
According to the indictment, Abu Ali also guarded an al-Qaida safe house in Saudi Arabia in May 2003 and translated materials from English to Arabic for al-Qaida.
Abu Ali was arrested by the Saudis in June 2003 and held for nearly two years before he was brought back to the United States in February to face charges.
His trial is set for October, and prosecutors don't expect the new indictment to delay it. His arraignment on the new charges is expected next week.
A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Sept. 19 to address Abu Ali's claims that he was tortured and that he was arrested by Saudis at the behest of the United States. If U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee rules in favor of Abu Ali on either of those claims, he could dismiss all charges.
Prosecutors filed a motion Thursday asking the judge to bar testimony from two doctors who concluded Abu Ali was tortured. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Laufman said defense lawyers failed to turn over the doctors' reports by a court-imposed deadline, making it impossible for prosecutors' experts to fully review them.
Abu Ali's lawyer, Khurrum Wahid, did not immediately return calls seeking comment Thursday.
Give him a fair trial and then kill him.
This can't be. We've spent hundreds of billions of dollars since 9-11 to make the borders safer.
/sarc
What is the big deal? So what! Yawn!
John Kerry while a member of the Vietnem Veterans Against the War (VVAW), was involved in discussions to kill up to 10 US Senators who supported the Vietnam War.
Members of the VVAW were also involved in plots to blowup US Government buildings.
The VVAW and it's members, including John Kerry were a terrorist group, and John Kerry wasn't indicted!
Ping when when sonmething interesting happens. /*scarasm off
Short and to the point, but that is exactly what I was thinking. This guy is a TERRORIST, not just mentally unbalanced moonbat that wanted to assassinate the President.
He should be tried for treason and then executed if found guilty. But our Politically Correct government would never do that, in this age.
Hope he never sees sees another ray of sunshine on this earth. I hope he never feels another breath of warm air when he is cold. I hope he never feels another breath of cool air when he is hot. He doesn't deserve to live amongst such beauty that God created. He deserves nothing. I will probably have to pay some time outside the gates of Heaven for saying that but...I am human and that is my hope for this degenerate stupid _________.
This is my country and I'm sick and tired of him and his ilk trying to tear us down. I'm also sick and tire of the dem/lib/lefties doing the same. We have one of the greatest Presidents this country has ever had and all the left can do is bash him and then we have this stone age vermin plotting to assinate him.
There are two kinds of people in the world. Decent and the rest of the low life. President Bush is decent. This low life is pond scum and I don't care what they do to him as long as he is punished. How dare he?!!!
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
From Jihad Watch:
American Muslim honor student indicted in plot to kill Bush
Where did he learn that this might be a good idea? Has anyone investigated what he was taught in the Saudi academy he attended and from which he graduated with honors? If not, why not? Ahmed Omar Abu Ali Update. "N.Va. Man Indicted in Plot Against Bush: Torture Allegation Hangs Over Case," from the Washington Post, with thanks to Jeffrey Imm:
An American student was charged yesterday in an al Qaeda plot to kill President Bush, with prosecutors alleging that Ahmed Omar Abu Ali and his confederates planned to use multiple snipers to shoot Bush or to blow him up in a suicide bombing.
The expanded indictment of Abu Ali, returned by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, also claimed for the first time that he proposed a plan to bring members of an al Qaeda cell into the United States through Mexico. They would then link up with Abu Ali to conduct terrorist operations in this country, the indictment said.
Abu Ali, 24, of Falls Church was first charged in February with terrorism counts that included trying to establish an al Qaeda cell in the United States. That indictment referred to the plot to kill Bush, but Abu Ali was not charged with conspiring to assassinate the president until yesterday. The case is among the highest-profile terrorism prosecutions in the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The new nine-count indictment also adds charges of conspiracy to commit aircraft piracy and destroy aircraft, part of the Justice Department's allegations that Abu Ali was plotting with al Qaeda to conduct a Sept. 11-style attack in the United States that would include hijacking planes.
If convicted on the assassination count alone, Abu Ali faces up to life in prison. Earlier, his maximum penalty on all counts had been 80 years in prison.
An attorney for Abu Ali, who has pleaded not guilty, did not return telephone calls late yesterday, and a White House spokesman referred calls to the Justice Department. Prosecutors would not comment beyond the indictment.
Abu Ali was arrested by security officials in June 2003 while studying at a university in Saudi Arabia. His family mounted a highly public campaign in the United States for his release. He was held until he was flown back to the United States in February to face charges.
Defense attorneys and Abu Ali's family have contended that any statements he made in Saudi custody were obtained through torture. Two doctors who examined Abu Ali found evidence that he was tortured in Saudi Arabia, including scars on his back consistent with having been whipped, defense lawyers have said in court papers.
Prosecutors have denied that Abu Ali was tortured. But if a federal judge concludes that he was, much of the evidence against him could be thrown out because it was obtained under duress. The torture allegations are expected to play a key role in a hearing scheduled to start Sept. 19.
Remember: torture allegations are right out of Al-Qaeda's playbook.
"Remember: torture allegations are right out of Al-Qaeda's playbook."
This is an important point to remember.
This terrorist should be executed for treason, plain and simple.
BTTT
What a disgrace for America that the open borders lobby, including our own President, won't allow any of the above.
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