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American Morning
Al Qaeda Plots
Aired June 20, 2003 - 09:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us now, "Newsweek" magazine's investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff. He's in our Washington bureau.
Good morning, Michael.
First off, the question comes up, we understand Faris has actually been in custody since March 1st. How is it that he was tipped off, or the government was tipped off about him and what he was planning?
MICHAEL ISIKOFF, "NEWSWEEK" MAGAZINE: Well, I don't know about the March 1st date, because this really does stem from the capture of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in March. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed being the September 11th mastermind. And from the records that were seized in Khalid Shaikh Mohammed's safehouse in Pakistan, cell phones, computer records, authorities were able to identify a number of Al Qaeda operatives who he was in touch with inside the United States. That's the subject of our cover story this week in "Newsweek," Al Qaeda in America. And Iyman Faris was one of them.
And then confronted with these records, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was then forced to and eventually did confirm that this was one of -- that Mr. Faris was an operative who had visited him in Afghanistan, and who he had been discussing, even after September 11th, terrorist attacks in the United States, including the attack on the Brooklyn Bridge.
HARRIS: You just said a number of operatives.
ISIKOFF: Yes.
HARRIS: How many? Any idea? And are they all under arrest right now?
ISIKOFF: Well, again, I'd refer to you our cover story this week, where we identify a number of them. There's one in Peoria, one in Baltimore. And needless to say, the FBI has scrambled quickly and, in some cases, has -- have detained these people. They've confronted some of them on the streets and essentially cut deals with them.
There's a lot we don't know about precisely the handling of the Faris case. It is known that he did sign this plea agreement on April 17th that was just unsealed yesterday.
But what happened between March when they first got wind of him and April is still a little unclear. He does appear to have been operating in some way, as we reported yesterday on our Web site, as an informant for the government, helping them -- or at least attempting to help them identify other Al Qaeda operatives in the United States.
HARRIS: Did he sign a plea deal with the object in mind of him actually turning over some information that might be useful? What do the feds think he might have?
ISIKOFF: Well, of course. That's the only reason you would sign a -- the government would accept a plea deal in this case.
And it is worth noting that in spite of the quite serious rhetorical charges that the attorney general leveled yesterday against Mr. Faris, the actual charges he pled to were not all that stringent. It's two counts of providing material support to Al Qaeda, maximum sentence of 20 years. Given that this is somebody who was in touch with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was plotting terrorist acts inside the United States after September 11th, that does at first blush seem quite light, and it suggests either the level of cooperation that he is providing and assistance he's providing the government, or perhaps the charges may not be backed up by quite as much evidence as was suggested in yesterday's indictment.
HARRIS: Very interesting.
ISIKOFF: Or a plea agreement.
HARRIS: Appreciate that. Michael Isikoff, "Newsweek" magazine. That is the cover story, and there you the cover. Sounds very interesting. Good luck.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 20, 2003 - 09:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us now, "Newsweek" magazine's investigative correspondent Michael Isikoff. He's in our Washington bureau.
Good morning, Michael.
First off, the question comes up, we understand Faris has actually been in custody since March 1st. How is it that he was tipped off, or the government was tipped off about him and what he was planning?
MICHAEL ISIKOFF, "NEWSWEEK" MAGAZINE: Well, I don't know about the March 1st date, because this really does stem from the capture of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in March. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed being the September 11th mastermind. And from the records that were seized in Khalid Shaikh Mohammed's safehouse in Pakistan, cell phones, computer records, authorities were able to identify a number of Al Qaeda operatives who he was in touch with inside the United States. That's the subject of our cover story this week in "Newsweek," Al Qaeda in America. And Iyman Faris was one of them.
And then confronted with these records, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was then forced to and eventually did confirm that this was one of -- that Mr. Faris was an operative who had visited him in Afghanistan, and who he had been discussing, even after September 11th, terrorist attacks in the United States, including the attack on the Brooklyn Bridge.
HARRIS: You just said a number of operatives.
ISIKOFF: Yes.
HARRIS: How many? Any idea? And are they all under arrest right now?
ISIKOFF: Well, again, I'd refer to you our cover story this week, where we identify a number of them. There's one in Peoria, one in Baltimore. And needless to say, the FBI has scrambled quickly and, in some cases, has -- have detained these people. They've confronted some of them on the streets and essentially cut deals with them.
There's a lot we don't know about precisely the handling of the Faris case. It is known that he did sign this plea agreement on April 17th that was just unsealed yesterday.
But what happened between March when they first got wind of him and April is still a little unclear. He does appear to have been operating in some way, as we reported yesterday on our Web site, as an informant for the government, helping them -- or at least attempting to help them identify other Al Qaeda operatives in the United States.
HARRIS: Did he sign a plea deal with the object in mind of him actually turning over some information that might be useful? What do the feds think he might have?
ISIKOFF: Well, of course. That's the only reason you would sign a -- the government would accept a plea deal in this case.
And it is worth noting that in spite of the quite serious rhetorical charges that the attorney general leveled yesterday against Mr. Faris, the actual charges he pled to were not all that stringent. It's two counts of providing material support to Al Qaeda, maximum sentence of 20 years. Given that this is somebody who was in touch with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was plotting terrorist acts inside the United States after September 11th, that does at first blush seem quite light, and it suggests either the level of cooperation that he is providing and assistance he's providing the government, or perhaps the charges may not be backed up by quite as much evidence as was suggested in yesterday's indictment.
HARRIS: Very interesting.
ISIKOFF: Or a plea agreement.
HARRIS: Appreciate that. Michael Isikoff, "Newsweek" magazine. That is the cover story, and there you the cover. Sounds very interesting. Good luck.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
