"Underwear bomber" changes plea to guilty
Updated at 2:10 p.m. ET
DETROIT - A Nigerian man pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempting to bring down an international flight over Detroit with a bomb in his underwear, telling a surprised courtroom on the second day of his trial that the failed attack was retaliation for the killing of Muslims worldwide.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who had never denied the accusations against him, calmly answered questions from U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds before pleading guilty to all eight charges he faced, including conspiracy to commit terrorism and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.
He then told the court that the underwear bomb was a "blessed weapon to save the lives of innocent Muslims."
"The United States should be warned that if they continue to persist and promote the blasphemy of Mohammed and the prophets ... the United States should await a great calamity that will befall them through the hands of the mujahedeen soon," said Abdulmutallab, who faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
"If you laugh with us now we will laugh with you later on the day of judgment," he said.
CBS Radio News chief legal analyst Andrew Cohen reports that Abdulmutallab joins another al Qaeda defendant, Zacarias Moussaoui, to have entered a guilty plea in federal court.
9/11 conspirator Moussaoui's appeal nixed
"This isn't a terrible surprise because he had no legitimate legal defense," Cohen said. "All those witnesses on the plane saw what he did, and there was a confession as well. And the judge clearly wasn't going to let him put on a political defense."
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Outside court, defense attorney Anthony Chambers said Abdulmutallab, who had chosen to represent himself and was being assisted by Chambers, pleaded guilty against the lawyer's wishes.
"We wanted to continue the trial but we respect his decision," Chambers said.
Abdulmutallab, 25, said he carried a bomb in his underwear onto Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas 2009 with the intention of killing the nearly 300 people on board. The bomb didn't work, and passengers jumped on Abdulmutallab when they saw smoke and fire.
The evidence was stacked high. Abdulmutallab was badly burned on a plane full of witnesses. The government said he told FBI agents he was working for al Qaeda and directed by Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical, American-born Muslim cleric recently killed by the U.S. in Yemen. There were also photos of his scorched shorts as well as video of Abdulmutallab explaining his suicide mission before departing for the U.S.
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In September 2010, Abdulmutallab suggested he wanted to plead guilty to some charges. But he didn't, and instead dropped his four-lawyer, publicly financed defense team and decided to represent himself. He said relying on others wasn't in his best interest.
Xmas Day bomber fires lawyers, hints at pleading
His lawyers at the time said they had talked to prosecutors about a possible plea deal. Abdulmutallab had asked the judge what he needed to do to plead guilty to some charges but nothing happened and a trial was set.
"Contrary to what some have claimed, today's plea removes any doubt that our courts are one of the most effective tools we have to fight terrorism and keep the American people safe," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a Wednesday statement. "We will continue to be aggressive in our fight against terrorism and those who target us, and we will let results, not rhetoric, guide our actions."
Passenger Lori Haskell, 34, of Newport, Mich., watched Abdulmutallab's plea by video in an overflow room Wednesday. She called his statement in court "chilling" but not surprising.
"I'm just really relieved that it's done with," Haskell said.
Abdulmutallab had written a few court filings in his own hand, including a request to be judged by Islamic law. He at times appeared agitated in court, declaring that Osama bin Laden and al-Awlaki are alive. He also objected to trial testimony from experts who would have discussed al Qaeda and martyrdom.
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On Tuesday, a passenger on Flight 253 testified that Abdulmutallab took a long bathroom break in the plane, during which prosecutors say he was preparing for death.
"I thought he was freshening up for arrival in Detroit. ... We had less than an hour to go," said passenger Mike Zantow of Madison, Wis.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Tukel said the son of a wealthy Nigerian banker believed his calling that day was martyrdom.
"He was preparing to die and enter heaven," Tukel said. "He purified himself. He washed. He brushed his teeth. He put on perfume."
After returning to his seat, Abdulmutallab pushed a syringe plunger into the chemical bomb, an action that produced a loud "pop" sound, then flames and smoke, the prosecutor said.
"Then all hell broke loose. While the fireball was on him, the defendant sat there. He didn't move. He was expressionless. He was completely blank," Tukel said.
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I can only say that I look forward to the day that happens, as I share seats with some sexy women....lol
Toss this loser in prison for the rest of his life. It's one thing to have a criminal mastermind in lock-up knowing that they could be executed, but this guy's so pathetically stupid it's hardly sporting. To him, death would be a favor.
At least he took himself out of the gene pool before he did this. The two things he did right were to fry his gonads off and plead guilty so we don't have to waste any more time with him. I'd like to see every guilty criminal be that accommodating.
That after all this airport security, x-rays, and shoe removing, this f***** still got through the incompetent-ass TSA.