Bump and Update: The New York Defendant, Iman Ahmad Afzali, has been ordered released on 1.5 million bail. His friends and relatives will be posting real property.

Najibullah Zazi has been indicted for conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction in New York. He will be transferred imminently. CBS' Rick Sallinger called this the other day.

The new charge carries a possible life sentence, and the sentencing guidelines provide for a life sentence. The one-count Indictment is here and the Memorandum Suppporting Detention is here.

It contains new details alleging Zazi purchased large amounts of chemicals in Aurora, CO, rented a hotel suite on two occasions where they believe he tested them and made phone calls inquiring about instructions. [More...]

The Denver Post reports the apartment complex where Najiboullah Zazi and his family live have started eviction proceedings against the family.

An apartment worker driving a golf cart, who identified himself only as Jim, said he posted the notice Tuesday afternoon due, in part, to concerns that people whose names were not on the lease have been living in the Zazi apartment.

Mohammed Zazi, was ordered released on Monday subject to electronic home monitoring. The U.S. Marshal's Service today said Mohammed Zazi is unlikely to be released before tomorrow's hearing. It's unknown if the eviction order will affect the release order. Arthur Folsom, Najibullah's attorney and PR spokesperson were unaware of the eviction notice when contacted.

Rutabaga Ridgepole at TPM Muckraker today writes "Did Zazi's Lawyer Sell Him Out To The FBI?", in part quoting my earlier post, Najibullah Zazi's Legal Representation (many thanks to Rutabaga for the compliments.) Other lawyers (including three of our best) have been weighing in with similar thoughts. [More...]

We have vague terror threats guaranteed to strike fear in the heart of every American because they reference football stadiums, hotels, and mass transit. We have President Obama today calling for a renewal of expiring Patriot Provisions.

The FBI says:

"Nothing in the bulletins references the current investigation," a Federal Bureau of Investigation issued spokesman said Tuesday. Investigators still don't have specific evidence indicating an imminent threat to particular targets in the alleged plot, federal officials said.

That hasn't stopped Republicans from claiming: [More...]

Denver CBS reporter Rick Sallinger, who usually has good information and sources, just reported on TV that Najibullah Zazi's terror case may be moved to New York, while his father's false statements case would remain here.

If that's true, I'd expect new charges to be filed against Zazi since venue isn't proper in New York on the false statements charges. (He made the statements in Colorado.)

Zazi undoubtedly will not be happy to trade the FDC in Englewood, CO for MCC Manhattan or MDC Brooklyn. But it makes sense for the Government to prosecute this "plot" as a single case in a single jurisdiction. And it makes even more sense for the Government to do it now. [More...]

I have only scanned the news reports on Gen. Stanley McChrystal's assessment of the war in Afghanistan, and at first blush, I think he has it right on the strategy. But it is NEVER acceptable for a subordinate to threaten resignation if his superior (in this case, the Commander in Chief, the President of the United States) does not follow his recommendations. But that is apparently what McChrystal may be willing to do:

Three officers at the Pentagon and in Kabul told McClatchy that the McChrystal they know would resign before he'd stand behind a faltering policy that he thought would endanger his forces or the strategy. "Yes, he'll be a good soldier, but he will only go so far," a senior official in Kabul said. "He'll hold his ground. He's not going to bend to political pressure."

In my mind, that is NOT what good soldiers do. Good soldiers follow legal orders issued to them. If this report is correct, then General McChrystal should be removed from his command. This threat would seriously weaken the concept enshrined in our Constitution of civilian control of the military. If McArthur can be fired, certainly a McChrystal can be fired.

Speaking for me only

Mohammed Zazi, father of Najibullah Zazi, is now represented by the Federal Defender's office in Colorado. Colorado has excellent federal defenders and he will get quality representation.

What about Najibullah? He told the court today he wanted to stay with Arthur Folsom, the lawyer he met for the first time on Tuesday of last week, who took him to the FBI office on Wednesday, had him waive his right to remain silent, provide fingerprint, DNA and handwriting samples and for the next three days released personal details about his client's life and activities to the media. Folsom and the PR rep he (presumably) hired didn't stop talking until Saturday, when things went south. As a result of the chain of events Folsom set in motion, Zazi, his father and a third man in New York are now charged with making false statements to federal officials, an offense that carries up to 8 years in prison. And the feds have a wealth of information about Zazi, his family and a lot of other people it would have taken them months or years, if ever, to gather. [More...]

In Newsweek, a report of a study showing torture can actually impair a person's ability to tell the truth.

[N]eurobiologist Shane O'Mara of the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience in Dublin explains in a paper in the journal Trends in Cognitive Science called "Torturing the Brain," "the use of such techniques appears motivated by a folk psychology that is demonstrably incorrect.

[More...]

Update: 2:00 pm: Mohammed Zazi is ordered released on bond, he will be on home detention and can go home as soon as it's installed in the house (could take a few days.) The Government did not seek to detain him. A detention hearing is set for Thursday at 9:00 a.m. for Najibullah Zazi. He will remain in custody until then. His lawyer Arthur Folsom will continue to represent him.

Bump and Update 1:30 pm MT: The Government has filed notices in both the cases of Najibullah Zazi his father Mohammed Zazi that it will be introducing and/or using evidence obtained from FISA electronic surveillance and searches. The notices read:

.... the United States intends to offer into evidence, or otherwise use or disclose in any proceedings in the above-captioned matter, information obtained and derived from electronic surveillance and physical search conducted pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (“FISA”), as amended, 50 U.S.C. §§ 1801-1812 and 1821-1829.

Their initial appearances in court were at 1:30 p.m. Zazi's lawyer, Arthur Folsom, arrived at 9:45 a.m. (I ran into him in the clerk's office, he was getting a "green card" that allows lawyers to bring phones with cameras into the building.)

Mohammed Zazi has asked to have the public defender appointed for him. [More...]

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado has released the arrest warrants and complaints for Najibullah Zazi, his father Mohammed Zazi and a third individual, Ahmad Wais Afzali, charged in the Eastern District of New York, along with a press release. They are charged with making false statements related to international or domestic terrorism, which carries a maximum penalty of 8 years. (See 18 USC 1001 (a)(2). Here are the documents:

• Najibullah Zazi Warrant and Complaint
• Mohammed Zazi Warrant and Complaint
• Ahmad Wais Afzali Warrant and Complaint
• Press Release

Interestingly, the Afzali complaint has more details about Najibullah than the Najibullah complaint. The Afzali complaint says that Najibullah had a proffer agreement with the feds for his interviews. And, it says Najibullah told the feds he took courses at an al-Qaida training facility in Pakistan and received instruction from al-Qaida operatives in weapons and explosives. [More...]

Update 9:45 pm: The FBI has descended on Najibullah Zazi's apartment.

At 9:30 p.m. 15-20 law enforcement cars swarmed into the parking lot of Zazi's Aurora apartment near E. Smokey hill road and E-470.

Both Zazi and his father have been arrested and taken away in handcuffs. The third individual is not Naiz Khan, as I thought, but Ahmad Wais Afzali of Flushing. The charges, as the New York Times and NBC reported earlier, are making false statements to investigators. If only they had exercised their right to remain silent.

The Zazis should get a bond hearing set Monday. No word yet on who will represent Mohamed Zazi. Will the Government move to detain them without bond? I assume so, but there's no presumption of detention for the crime of making false statements to federal officials. The Government will have to show a serious risk they would flee, attempt to obstruct justice, or threaten, intimidate or injure a prospective witness or juror.

Given how they volunteered for interviews and stayed at home tonight even knowing they would be arrested, I don't think they are a risk of flight. I hope they get bond. (Update: The warrants says the Government will seek to detain Zazi but not his father. '[More...]

Najibullah Zazi and his attorney "abruptly broke off talks with FBI agents this morning."

"Mr. Zazi and Mr. Folsom will not be meeting with the FBI today," Folsom's spokeswoman Wendy Aiello told The Denver Post Saturday morning. She said they've decided that it is in his best interest given the progress of negotiations so far, Aiello said.

Zazi did give a phone interview to the Denver Post this morning in which he denied the media accounts which say he confessed to anything: [More...]

Najibullah Zazi will return for more questioning by the FBI today. Late Friday night, Zazi's attorney again spoke to the media:

But Zazi's attorney, Art Folsom, told 9New late Friday that "no, he did not admit to having ties to al-Qaeda" and "no, he did not admit to going to a terrorist training camp" or admit to playing a key role in a plot.

"Some of the information in the news report was not true," he said. He told 9News he would "clarify many things tomorrow." Folsom said there have been no plea negotiations.

Stay tuned.