Bush assassination plot investigated

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A Virginia man was charged Tuesday with plotting with al-Qaida to kill President Bush in a conspiracy prosecutors said was hatched while the man studied in Saudi Arabia.

Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23, a U.S. citizen, had been held without charges in Saudi Arabia since June 2003. He was returned to the United States and made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court shortly after his arrival Tuesday morning at Dulles International Airport.

He did not enter a plea but contended he was tortured while detained in Saudi Arabia and offered through his attorney to show the judge his scars.

Before the indictment, a lawsuit filed on behalf of Abu Ali claimed U.S. officials had Saudi authorities detain him so he could be harshly interrogated. Federal prosecutors have been fighting attempts to get the government to disclose why he was being held in Saudi Arabia.

According to the indictment, Abu Ali discussed Bush-assassination plans with an unidentified al-Qaida member in 2002 and 2003, while Abu Ali was attending college in Saudi Arabia.

They discussed two scenarios, the indictment said, one in which Abu Ali "would get close enough to the president to shoot him on the street" and, alternatively, "an operation in which Abu Ali would detonate a car bomb."

While the indictment does not identify the conspirator, it says he was one of 19 people publicly identified by the Saudi government in 2003 as terrorists.

The only other detail of the alleged plot in the indictment states that Abu Ali received a religious blessing from another unidentified conspirator to assassinate the president.

The White House had no comment on the indictment, referring questions to the Justice Department.

U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty said in a statement that "after the devastating terrorist attack ... of Sept. 11, this defendant turned his back on America and joined the cause of al-Qaida. He now stands charged with some of the most serious offenses our nation can bring against supporters of terrorism."

More than 100 friends and family jammed the courthouse to show their support for Abu Ali. Many of them laughed in the courtroom when government lawyers described the alleged assassination plot.

"It's lies. It's all lies," his father Omar Abu Ali, a Falls Church, Va., resident, said after the hearing. "The government lied from the very first day."

Abu Ali's lawyer, Edward MacMahon, said after the hearing that his client will plead innocent. MacMahon said he saw the scars on Abu Ali's back and accused the government of relying on information obtained through torture.

"He expects a fair trial in which he will be vindicated," MacMahon said. "Evidence that comes through torture is the most unreliable evidence."

During the hearing, Abu Ali asked to speak to the judge. U.S. Magistrate Liam O'Grady suggested he consult with his attorney, who then relayed Abu Ali's claims of torture.

When Abu Ali offered to show the judge his back, O'Grady said that he may be able to do so on Thursday at a detention hearing, in which his lawyers will seek his release pending trial.

"I can assure you you will not suffer any torture or humiliation while in the marshals' custody," O'Grady said.

The Abu Alis have fought for nearly two years to have their son returned. They sued the U.S. government, alleging that the Saudis were detaining the young man at the behest of the U.S. government.

The judge dealing with the family's lawsuit against the government never issued an order demanding Abu Ali's return, but had said the family provided "considerable" evidence that the U.S. government orchestrated his arrest.

Abu Ali was born in Houston and moved to Falls Church, a Washington suburb. He was valedictorian of the Islamic Saudi Academy in nearby Alexandria, Va.

"He was very wise, very mature for his age," said Jamal Abdulmoty, who knew Abu Ali through their shared involvement in northern Virginia's Muslim community. "We cannot imagine" that he would be involved in an assassination plot.

According to the indictment, in September 2002 Abu Ali told a friend of his interest in joining al-Qaida, and at one point he decided to fight against the Americans in Afghanistan and unsuccessfully applied for a visa to Iran as a way to get there.

The court papers also allege that an al-Qaida member provided Abu Ali about $1,800 for purchase of a laptop computer, cell phone and books. Abu Ali allegedly discussed with this al-Qaida member ways in which Abu Ali could help al-Qaida's cause, including establishment of an al-Qaida cell in the United States.

Al-Qaida members also provided training in weapons, explosives and document forgery to Abu Ali, according to the indictment.

Abu Ali is charged with six counts and could face a maximum of 80 years in prison if convicted. The charges include conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaida, providing material support to al-Qaida, conspiracy to provide support to terrorists, providing material support to terrorists and contributing service to al-Qaida.

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