Posted on 09/18/2009 6:44:27 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The Denver shuttle bus driver at the center of a federal terrorism investigation has begun to cooperate with the authorities, admitting that he had perhaps unwittingly crossed paths in Pakistan with extremists allied with Al Qaeda, according to government officials briefed on the case.
The officials did not indicate whether the admissions of the man, Najibullah Zazi, made during three days of intense questioning by F.B.I. agents in Denver, clarified whether he had directly engaged in terrorist activity. And it is not known whether his account could mean he will be charged with any wrongdoing.
But Mr. Zazi’s discussions with the authorities did seem to shed light on the suspicions that led federal and New York counterterrorism officials to begin intensive inquiries and to raid apartments in a suburb of Denver and in Queens, New York, believing he was the central figure in some kind of nascent, if still murky, terrorist activity.
Mr. Zazi’s statements to government officials suggest a somewhat different narrative than the one he presented in interviews with reporters this week when he denied being affiliated with Al Qaeda and said he had no idea why the government would suspect him of wrongdoing. Indeed, there are now some indications that Mr. Zazi underwent training in explosives and bomb-making while overseas.
Government officials said that the interviews with Mr. Zazi were providing federal agents with a volume of new information and the possibility that Mr. Zazi’s statements might lead to an arrest in a case that has so far been highlighted by aggressive searches unaccompanied by the filing of any charges.
The officials said prosecutors might reach some kind of an agreement with Mr. Zazi in exchange for his cooperation, but said such a step would probably not occur until after
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Has he met with the new muslim outreach czar yet?
Important question: Can he properly fill an ice cream cone and keep the magazine rack straight???
The nyt must be sadden that he got caught.
ping
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