Politics & Government

Live Updates from Arraignment of Owings Mills Terror Suspect

Patch will view the arraignment of Majid Shoukat Khan from closed circuit television at Fort Meade. Khan is a former Baltimore resident and Owings Mills High graduate detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

11:51 a.m. We will be speaking with a military law expert here on base for background detail on the proceedings.

11:48 a.m.  We are expecting to see a copy of the plea agreement in an hour or two. Prosecution and defense attorneys will also speak around that time. We are told victims' families will not speak to reporters. We have been denied a request to get a photo of Khan.

11:42 a.m. And it appears we're about to wrap up, with Khan accepting terms of plea agreement and judge accepts guilty plea.

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11:37 a.m. Parties are talking about where Khan will be held. Judge tells Khan that the people who do sentencing don't decide where he'll be detained.

11:20 a.m. Judge scolds Khan for mentioning things that are supposed to be secret.

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11:18 a.m. The feed to the courtroom has been killed. Possible security issue, or they're talking about classified things.

11:15 a.m. The judge said Khan could continue to be considered an enemy combatant and detained even after he serves his sentence. Khan said he understood. "I'm making a leap of faith here, sir. It's all I can do."

11:09 a.m. Khan would serve a maximum of 19 years in prison if he is cooperative and lives up to the terms of his plea deal. If I heard the judge correctly, he won't actually be sentenced for another four years, but the sentence period starts today.

10:50 a.m.  The judge is going down the list of specific acts in the conspiracy, including the bombing of the J.W. Marriott in Indonesia in 2003 and the attempted murder of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

10:39 a.m. Judge wants to know whether Khan was part of conspiracy in August 2003, even after he was captured. Khan said he believed he was still part of it at that time.

10:34 a.m. Judge outlines that Khan is accused of being involved in conspiracy from January 2002 to August of 2003. Judge wants to know whether Khan knew when he joined the conspiracy that he'd be involved in murder, terrorism and spying. Judge doesn't care whether Khan knew specifically of JW Marriott bombing or any other specific crimes.

10:30 a.m. There is a back and forth between the judge and Khan over whether he knew when he joined the conspiracy that he'd be involved in murder, spying and terrorism. This is key to the whole plea deal, and Khan seems to be wavering, saying, "even though I delivered some money ... I didn't know attacks would happen." Judge says he didn't need to know at that specific moment that his actions would lead to murder. But judge wants to know whether, in a general sense, Khan knew he would be involved in terrorism activities when he joined the conspiracy.

10:24 a.m. Judge now explaining what a conspiracy is, under the law.

10:23 a.m. There's a reference in the plea deal to "UBL." UBL stands for Usama Bin Laden, and Khan stops the judge to say he never knew Bin Laden. Judge says that under the law, he doesn't need to know someone in a conspiracy to be convicted as part of that conspiracy. Khan is now talking to his lawyers.

10:19 a.m. Judge goes down the charges:murder, conspiracy to commit murder, , material support of terrorism, and spying. He goes down the list of other terror suspects and Al Qaeda members he's been involved with. Kaleid Sheikh Mohammed, alleged mastermind of September 11 attacks, is on the list

10:13 a.m. Pre-trial agreement includes a stipulation that is 112 paragraphs long. Judge asks if Khan agrees with it. Khan says he agrees with it all and no one is forcing him into signing deal.

10:07 a.m. Khan says he's ready to proceed. Judge says that in the grand scheme of things, information relating to Khan cooperating with the government as part of the plea deal was probably still out there. In other words, the judge essentially just confirms that the plea deal involves Khan possibly testifying against other terror suspects.

10:02 a.m. Recess is over. Judge denies motion to redact portion of the plea agreement. Judge asks Khan if he still wants to plead guilty.

9:36 a.m. The commission goes into recess, as the judge is looking over a classified document.

9:29 a.m. Prosecution says there's no reason for agreement to be sealed. Says defense doesn't dispute there could be a theoretical risk, but that the risk is already in the public domain. Says there's an overwhelming public interest to release documents in their entirety.

9:20 a.m. All parties are now discussing the details of a pre-trial agreement with Judge Col. James Kohl. Khan is asking for some details of the agreement to be sealed, citing concern over welfare of his family. The defense said the deal would release information that is not currently public knowledge.

9:19 a.m. Khan formally pleads guilty.

9:18 a.m. Trial counsel Courtney Sullivan outlines the charges against Khan, including murder, conspiracy and spying.

I will be at Fort Meade Wednesday to view the arraignment of one of the few former U.S. residents detained at Guantanamo Bay.

Majid Shoukat Khan, , will appear in Guantanamo and could enter a plea before a military commission. The proceedings are being broadcast via closed circuit television at a media center in Fort Meade.

The proceedings will begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday. I will provide updates of the hearing, though the media is not permitted to take photos or video of the broadcast itself. There are about 10 total journalists here.

Khan is charged with conspiracy, murder, attempted murder, providing material support for terrorism, and spying. The charges stem from the August 2003 bombing of the J.W. Marriott in Indonesia, and an attempted assassination of the former Pakistani President, among other alleged incidents.

He is alleged to have worked with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

I am told that members of Khan's family are here at Fort Meade following the proceedings. We hope to interview them at some point.

The prosecutor and defense attorney in the case will also be made available to reporters after the proceeding.

Media outlets in Washington have reported that Khan has reached a plea deal, under which he will testify against other terror suspects.

Information and documents on the case are available the official Military Commissions website at www.mc.mil.

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