[AP]
A Columbus, Ohio man has essentially admitted in federal court to being an al-Qaida sleeper agent by pleading guilty to charges that he planned terrorist attacks on behalf of the terror organization.
According to the AP story:
Christopher Paul, 44, pleaded guilty to a count that carries a maximum life prison sentence, but entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors that calls for a 20-year term.
U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Frost accepted the plea but said he would not give final approval to the deal until he sees the government's pre-sentence report, which is not expected for several months.
No sentencing date was set.
Paul pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction — specifically bombs — in terrorist attacks. Prosecutors agreed to drop charges of providing material support to terrorists and conspiracy to provide support to terrorists.
Paul, a U.S. citizen born and raised in Ohio, didn't make a statement; his attorneys left the court without commenting and did not immediately return messages. Paul was indicted in April 2007 and had been set to go to trial early next year.
The plea doesn't specify where Paul planned to use bombs. But the charge corresponds with a statement prosecutors presented in court Tuesday that Paul plotted with a German terror group to bomb Americans at home and abroad. Paul agreed in court to the accuracy of the statement.
The statement, read by FBI agent Tisha Hartsough, said Paul traveled to Germany in 1999 and trained members of an alleged terrorist cell knowing the group planned to make bombs and car bombs to use against Americans vacationing at overseas tourist resorts.
The statement said the German group also planned to use bombs against Americans in the United States and against overseas U.S. facilities such as embassies, military bases and consular premises. The government didn't say if any attacks were carried out.
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