KSM Trial

Gitmo Detainee Trial Starts In NYC With Little Fanfare Despite Initial Opposition

Ryan J. Reilly | October 6, 2010, 10:13AM

Opponents of trying terrorism suspects in a federal court in New York City openly anticipated a disaster last November after Attorney General Eric Holder announced that Sept. 11 so-called mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other terrorism suspects would be tried in the Big Apple. The civilian court system just wasn't capable of handling these type of issues, they said. The terrorists could get off scot-free, they added, on some technicality and be roaming the streets in no time.

But this week, admitted Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad -- whose case was handled entirely in the domestic courts despite calls for him to be tried in a military tribunal -- was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. And, today, another accused terrorist, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, faces the start of his trial in New York City with virtually no fanfare.

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Faisal Shahzad

Would-Be Times Square Bomber Sentenced To Life In Prison

Rachel Slajda | October 5, 2010, 12:28PM

Faisal Shahzad

Faisal Shahzad, who pleaded guilty in June to terrorism charges after attempting to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to life in prison without parole.

In May, Shahzad drove an SUV packed with propane tanks, fireworks and fertilizer into Times Square. His makeshift bomb was an attempt to kill a large number of civilians, but the bomb fizzled, and a nearby T-shirt vendor alerted police to the smoking SUV.

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Faisal Shahzad

Attempted Times Square Bomber Pleads Guilty, Denounces U.S. Wars

Justin Elliott | June 21, 2010, 6:25PM

Faisal Shahzad

Faisal Shahzad, the man who tried to set off a crude bomb in Times Square in May, pleaded guilty in federal court in Manhattan today to weapons and terrorism counts.

The AP reports from the courtroom:

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Times Square

Indictment: Failed Times Square Bomber Had Help From Pakistan

Justin Elliott | June 18, 2010, 9:12AM

Faisal Shahzad

On Thursday alleged Times Square would-be bomber Faisal Shahzad, who was previously charged with the attempted car bombing, was indicted by a grand jury on ten new charges in New York. And the indictment alleges that Shahzad had operational help from an unnamed person in Pakistan.

Check out this section from the indictment:

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Terrorism

Obama Administration Turns Focus To Homegrown Terrorism

Justin Elliott | June 1, 2010, 3:20PM

Nidal Hasan and Faisal Shahzad

The White House last week declared a new focus on the threat of homegrown terrorism, warning that "several recent incidences of violent extremists in the United States who are committed to fighting here and abroad have underscored the threat to the United States and our interests posed by individuals radicalized at home."

That language is from the Obama Administration's new National Security Strategy, a document (.pdf) that comes out every few years (the last was in 2006) and serves as a broad statement of policy. The document continues: "Our best defenses against this threat are well informed and equipped families, local communities, and institutions."

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Times Square Bomb

Ex-ATF Agent: Shahzad 'Was Not The Valedictorian Of The Bomb School'

Justin Elliott | May 11, 2010, 8:34AM

A timer clock used on the failed Times Square bomb and Faisal Shahzad.

With top Obama Administration officials now saying that alleged Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad was trained in Pakistan, the natural next question is: what kind of terrorist training results in what was by all accounts an extremely crude bomb that not only failed to go off, but also included 250 pounds of nonexplosive fertilizer?

TPMmuckraker put the question to explosives expert James Cavanaugh, who recently retired after more than three decades with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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Obama Administration

Experts: Obama Admin Pioneering Robust Use Of Miranda Exception In Terrorism Cases (VIDEO)

Justin Elliott | May 7, 2010, 5:52PM

Attorney General Eric Holder

The Obama Administration is applying an old exception to the Miranda rule in a new way in order to interrogate terrorism suspects before reading them their rights, several experts tell TPMmuckraker, finding what one law professor calls a "middle ground" between those who want suspects put through the criminal justice system and those who believe they should be classified as "enemy combatants."

Federal agents questioned both Faisal Shahzad, the man accused of planting a makeshift bomb in Times Square, and Umar Abdulmutallab, the failed Christmas Day bomber, under the so-called public safety exception to the Miranda rule for substantial periods before informing the men of their right to remain silent, and to an attorney.

Information gleaned during questioning under the public safety exception -- in which police "ask questions reasonably prompted by a concern for the public safety," according to the 1984 Supreme Court case that recognized the exception -- is admissible at trial.

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Faisal Shahzad

FBI Releases Diagram Of Alleged Times Square Bomber's Car

Jillian Rayfield | May 5, 2010, 3:57PM

'93 Nissan Pathfinder

The FBI has released a diagram of the vehicle Faisal Shahzad allegedly used in his attempt to bomb Times Square, and it explains where the explosives were placed in the 1993 Nissan Pathfinder.

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Faisal Shahzad

Times Square Bomb Suspect Jogged, Slammed Bush, Defaulted On Mortgage

Zachary Roth | May 5, 2010, 2:03PM

Faisal Shahzad

A day and a half after his arrest, a portrait is starting to emerge of Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-born American citizen who was pulled off a flight to Dubai at JFK Airport Monday night and arrested in connection with Saturday's attempted Times Square bombing.

That portrait, compiled based on accounts in several news outlets, is notable for the way in which Shahzad -- like so many of the young men behind Islamic terror attacks on the U.S. and Europe -- seems to have been simultaneously alien from, and embedded within, western culture. Born in Pakistan's remote and tribal Northwest Frontier Province, Shahzad, 30, grew up in a country that banned alcohol and taught Islam in school, and he maintained close ties to family members in the region. But he also went jogging in his suburban Connecticut neighborhood, and perused used car websites to find the Nissan Pathfinder that he's charged with using in the bomb plot. And he seems to have gone over the edge not long after participating in that archetypal American ritual of recent years -- defaulting on his mortgage.

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Times Square Bomb

The One That Almost Got Away: How The FBI Nearly Lost Faisal Shahzad

Ben Frumin | May 5, 2010, 10:17AM

An Emirates airplane with Faisal Shahzad (inset)

Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad was put on the U.S government's no-fly list at approximately 12:30 p.m. Monday, and airlines were notified of the change three minutes later. At about 3 p.m. the FBI began surveilling Shahzad at his Connecticut apartment. And yet, several hours later -- after somehow eluding the FBI surveillance team -- he received a boarding pass for a flight from JFK to Dubai and made it on board before he was stopped. How'd that happen?

While details are still coming to light, it seems to be a failure at two levels: the FBI surveillance team tracking Shahzad somehow lost track of him, and the United Arab Emirates' national airline apparently didn't catch his name on an updated no-fly list until it was nearly too late.

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Barack Obama

Obama First Briefed On Attempted Bomb At 10:50 Saturday Night

Rachel Slajda | May 4, 2010, 6:50PM

John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, briefs President Obama on the attempted Times Square car bombing in the Oval Office on May 3, 2010

President Obama was first briefed on the attempted Times Square bombing -- which was discovered about 6:30 p.m. Saturday -- at 10:50 that night, according to a White House official.

Administration officials, who today detailed the president's involvement in the attempted attack over the past few days, said White House officials, National Security Staff and the NYPD were in touch before the president was notified.

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Peter King

Rep. Peter King Uses Times Square Bomber To Go Back On The Attack

Zachary Roth | May 4, 2010, 5:35PM

Rep. Peter King (R-NY)

Another attempted terror attack, another chance for Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) to try to gain a political advantage.

In recent years, the New York Republican has gained a reputation for demagoguing every terror incident by hyping the threat of radical Islam and suggesting that Democrats' policies are putting Americans' lives at risk. And now he's back at it.

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Faisal Shahzad

Did Times Square Bomb Suspect Almost Get Away?

Zachary Roth | May 4, 2010, 2:06PM

Faisal Shahzad

Did the suspect in Saturday night's failed Times Square bombing attempt come close to getting out of the country before he could be apprehended?

The Washington Post reported that according to "a source close to the United Arab Emirates," Faisal Shahzad's name was put on the U.S. government's no-fly list around midday Monday. But despite that, the source added, Shahzad was able to buy a ticket to Dubai through Emirates Airlines, check in at JFK Airport, pass through security, and get on a plane. Shahzad was taken into custody last night by U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement officials, after being pulled off Emirates Airlines Flight 201, which had just left the gate, government officials have said. It appears that Shahzad bought his ticket while driving to the airport. A loaded handgun was found in the car he drove, which was parked in the airport parking lot.

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