Federal prosecutors have linked Ahmed Abu-Ali—the northern Virginia man accused of plotting to assassinate President Bush—with a top Al Qaeda leader who allegedly engineered a major terror bombing in Saudi Arabia under orders from Osama bin Laden, NEWSWEEK has learned. The alleged connection between Abu-Ali and Ali Abd al Rahman al Faqasi al Ghamdi, believed to be an architect of the May 12, 2003, Riyadh bombing—in which 35 people were killed, including nine Americans—has yet to be publicly acknowledged by the Justice Department. But sources close to the case tell NEWSWEEK that al Ghamdi, also known as Abu Bakr al-Azdi, is the mysterious figure identified by an FBI agent Tuesday and in a federal indictment last week as "co-conspirator No. 4"—an Al Qaeda figure who allegedly plotted with Abu-Ali to mount terror attacks against the United States.The link to al Ghamdi, who once served with bin Laden in Afghanistan and is believed to have directed one of the principal Al Qaeda cells inside Saudi Arabia, underscores the significance of the Abu-Ali case in the eyes of some U.S. and Saudi counterterrorism officials. But it also points to the difficulties federal prosecutors are likely to have in ever getting some of their most damning evidence before a federal jury, some legal experts say. Since surrendering to Saudi authorities in June 2003, al Ghamdi has essentially disappeared from sight. Law-enforcement officials acknowledge it is highly unlikely that the Saudis will ever make him available to testify in a U.S. courtroom where the circumstances of his interrogations in a Saudi prison would be central in any cross-examination by Abu-Ali's lawyers. "I'd say the chances are slim to none [that al Ghamdi's testimony] ever gets in," said Edward MacMahon, a former lawyer for Abu-Ali who represents a number of high-profile defendants in terrorism cases.
A 23-year-old who was valedictorian of his Islamic high-school class and a former Boy Scout, Abu-Ali's case has become a cause celebre for many Washington, D.C.-area Muslims, who say he was tortured by the Saudis into making false confessions and is now being railroaded by the U.S. government. His lawyer, John Zwerling, on Tuesday described the government's evidence against his client as "preposterous." In testimony during a detention hearing Tuesday, FBI agent Barry Cole expanded on the U.S. government's allegations against Abu-Ali, who was flown back to the United States last week after spending 20 months in a Saudi prison and indicted on charges he provided material support to a terrorist group. Cole told a federal judge that, during a videotaped confession and in later interviews with FBI agents while he was still in Saudi custody, Abu-Ali admitted discussing plans with an Al Qaeda operative to assassinate President Bush. One idea that Abu-Ali discussed was arranging for three snipers to shoot the president—a level of redundancy that Abu-Ali suggested to make sure the job was successful, Cole testified.