Najibullah Zazi

An imam charged with lying in the investigation of an alleged terrorism plot against New York says he's a loyal American who was framed. Ahmad Afzali (AKH'-mahd ahf-ZAH'-lee) told reporters before a pretrial hearing in Brooklyn on Friday that he is innocent and hopes "justice will prevail." Afzali is charged with lying to the FBI about the investigation of Najibullah Zazi (nah-jee-BOO'-lah ZAH'-zee). The Colorado airport driver is accused of getting training from al-Qaida to build homemade bombs to attack New York City. Prosecutors say Afzali tipped off Zazi that he was under surveillance. Afzali's attorneys say Afzali called Zazi at the request of ... Read Full Story

A Denver lawyer thrust into the international spotlight while representing a Colorado man accused of plotting a terrorist attack is no longer on the case. Arthur Folsom's spokeswoman, Wendy Aiello, told The Associated Press on Monday that as of last month, Folsom is off Najibullah Zazi's defense team. Folsom didn't return messages. Zazi was arrested in Colorado on Sept. 19 and was later transferred to New York City, where authorities say he plotted to use hydrogen peroxide bombs to possibly attack the city's mass transit system. Denver attorney J. Michael Dowling, whom Folsom tapped to help with the case, and New York City attorney ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. prosecutor said on Thursday the government may seek new charges against an Afghan-born man who has pleaded not guilty to plotting a bombing attack in the United States. Prosecutors revealed their intentions in federal court during a hearing in the case of Najibullah Zazi, 24, who was indicted by a grand jury in September on a charge of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. Zazi, a former coffee vendor from New York who had moved to Colorado, is suspected of attempting to create and detonate a bomb in New York City on the anniversary of the September ... Read Full Story

Federal authorities expect to file more charges in an alleged plot by an al-Qaida associate to attack New York City with homemade bombs, a prosecutor said Thursday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Knox told a judge the charges would be contained in a new indictment against Najibullah Zazi, a Colorado airport van driver arrested earlier this year on charges of conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction. "I think it's likely there will be additional charges," Knox said at a pretrial hearing in federal court in Brooklyn. "The investigation continues." The prosecutor didn't specify the charges, or say whether the indictment would name more defendants. ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York City imam accused of tipping off a suspected al Qaeda-trained militant that he was under investigation pleaded not guilty on Monday to lying to the FBI. Ahmad Wais Afzali was arrested in September as part of a probe in which federal prosecutors allege the prime suspect, Najibullah Zazi, was planning to set off bombs in the United States. Attorney General Eric Holder has called the purported Zazi plot one of the most serious security threats to the United States since the attacks of September 11, 2001, saying it could have killed "scores" of Americans had it been ... Read Full Story