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Confessed al Qaeda operative asks to withdraw plea
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Iyman Faris, the only operative who has confessed to working for al Qaeda in the United States since the September 11 attacks, is asking a court to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea. In court papers filed Wednesday but made public Thursday, Faris' lawyer, Frederick Sinclair, said, "Mr. Faris has stated to counsel he wishes to withdraw his plea of guilty for reasons not yet fully explained to counsel by Mr. Faris and for reasons that he intends to communicate to the court on the date set for a hearing on his motion to withdraw his plea of guilty." It is not known when that hearing will be scheduled. In the court documents, Sinclair said, "There is a chance that a conflict may arise between counsel and defendant with respect to the reasons Mr. Faris will state in open court as to why he wishes to withdraw his plea." Paul McNulty, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, whose office oversaw the plea deal, told reporters withdrawal of the plea is hardly automatic. "The plea has been properly taken by the court," he said. "That is a very significant development. It is not set aside easily." Faris, who was born in Kashmir but is a naturalized U.S. citizen who lived in Columbus, Ohio, is undergoing a mental competency evaluation, which has not been completed. Faris was scheduled to be sentenced Friday, but that was indefinitely postponed pending the completion of a mental report. His ex-wife and lawyer said Faris attempted suicide either in 1997 or 1998, and he was subsequently briefly placed in a mental hospital. In court papers, the lawyer said he had been put on suicide watch at the jail where he was being housed. On May 1, Faris, a truck driver with a license to carry hazardous material, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to al Qaeda. That plea agreement was kept under seal until June 20. Attorney General John Ashcroft hailed the plea agreement at the time as a victory in the war on terror. Prosecutors said Faris had admitted to scouting the Brooklyn Bridge and sent a message in early 2003 to an al Qaeda operative overseas saying an attack on it would not work, warning that "the weather is too hot." The federal government said Faris admitted to working with al Qaeda from late 2000 to March 2003. Sources have told CNN that investigators were led to Faris by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the al Qaeda operations chief arrested in Pakistan in March of this year, and was identified as one of the group's agents working covertly in the United States. After his guilty plea, he faced a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $500,00 fine although his lawyer has requested a reduction in the time served. Sources previously told CNN federal agents had Faris under surveillance for "a time" before they approached him in March about possibly cooperating with the government. One official told CNN it was determined that Faris was "a good candidate to flip," though sources would not detail exactly what led to that conclusion.
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