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Suspect in terror plot testifies it was all an act

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 8, 2007

MIAMI -- A man accused of leading a terrorist cell testified Wednesday that he was putting on an act to get money when he spoke approvingly of Islamic extremism and was never serious about plotting violent attacks.

Narseal Batiste told jurors at his trial that comments he made on FBI videotapes about violent Islamic jihad and a "full ground war" against the U.S. government were part of the show that a convenience store operator named Abbas al Saidi was urging him to stage.

Saidi was actually an FBI informant. At meetings in 2005, Batiste said Saidi promised him $10,000 and access to much more if Batiste would play the extremist role for a purported al-Qaida emissary.

"I wanted the money and support," Batiste said. "That's the only reason I was there."

Batiste, 33, is on trial with six others on terrorism conspiracy charges. The "Liberty City Seven" are accused of plotting to destroy Chicago's Sears Tower and bomb FBI offices in hopes of sparking an insurrection to overthrow the U.S. government. Prosecutors say the plot never got past the preliminary stage.

WASHINGTON

National debt reaches $9-trillion

The national debt has hit $9-trillion for the first time. The Treasury Department, which issues a daily accounting of the debt, said Wednesday that the debt subject to limit was at $9-trillion on Tuesday. The national debt is the total of the annual budget deficits plus money that the government borrows from the Social Security and other government trust funds. Last month, Congress passed and President Bush signed into law an increase in the government's borrowing ceiling to $9.815-trillion, the fifth increase since Bush took office in January 2001. It took the country from George Washington until Ronald Reagan to reach the first $1-trillion in debt.

Elsewhere

Post Katrina: Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti filed suit Wednesday against the state's largest property insurance companies, accusing insurers of conspiring to limit payments to policyholders after hurricanes Katrina and Rita and engaging in an elaborate price-fixing scheme.

Presidential visit: President Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy stood shoulder-to-shoulder against a nuclear-armed Iran on Wednesday. Bush said agreement on Iran was a hallmark of their talks here at the Virginia home of George Washington.

[Last modified November 8, 2007, 00:46:24]