Testimony began today in the trial of Viktor Bout (background here.)

The first government witness today was William Brown, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent who managed the investigation. The three undercover sources used to make contact with Bout and his associates and pretend to be FARC members were paid almost $1 million for their work on the case, he testified.

Bout, like other recent defendants in New York's Southern District kidnapped from foreign countries and brought to the U.S. for trial, lost his motion to dismiss the case based on manufactured jurisdiction. The judge granted his motion to suppress his statements to the DEA following his arrest in Thailand. [More...]

Here's the subpoena the House Oversight Committee issued to Attorney General Eric Holder over "Fast and Furious."

Purely Republican grandstanding. Holder is right to downplay it.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, whose trial on charges that he attempted to blow up an airplane on Christmas Day in 2009 with a bomb in his underwear began yesterday, pleaded guilty today to all 8 counts against him. Several charges against him carry 30 years to life. Some require a mandatory 30 year sentence and some of them require a consecutive sentence. Sentencing is set for January 12, 2012.

Abdumutallab made a statement in court. [More....]

That didn't take long. On its Twitter account, the State Department posted this alert tonight -- its first tweet in four days.

@TravelGov Travel - State Dept

#Worldwide #Travel alert - potential for anti-U.S. actions due to disruption of terrorist act in U.S. linked to Iran: goo.gl/RKo7B

The gist:

The U.S. government assesses that this Iranian-backed plan to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador may indicate a more aggressive focus by the Iranian Government on terrorist activity against diplomats from certain countries, to include possible attacks in the United States.

Background on the plot is in our earlier post here.

What's this really about?

Attorney General Eric Holder (DOJ press release here) has announced criminal charges against Iranian agents for plotting to kill the Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. The plot was "conceived" in Iran by the Quds force, part of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps." A DEA informant was involved. Here's the Complaint. Via ABC News:

The case, called Operation Red Coalition, began in May when an Iranian-American from Corpus Christi, Texas, approached a US informant seeking the help of a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate the Saudi ambassador, according to counter-terrorism officials. The Iranian-American thought he was dealing with a member of a Mexican drug organisation, according to documents.

Iran calls it a propaganda campaign. The FBI press release is here. [More...]

The Washington Post has a new article on Occupy Wall Street and the protesters' goals. There were 50 arrests today at Occupy Boston.

TPM reports anti-War protesters stormed the Senate’s Hart Office Building. Many arrests.

Politico says Obama's jobs bill may not get 51 votes in the Senate.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Jury selection has begun in New York in the federal trial of Russian businessman Viktor Bout. Bout is charged with terrorism offenses for supplying arms to FARC, Colombian rebel fighters.

Bout was extradited from Thailand. His supporters maintain this website. The extradition request is here. From the Thai court extradition decision:[More...]

The Government delivered its opening statement in the terror trial of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the so-called "underwear bomber" charged with trying to blow up a NW Airlines plane en route to Detroit.

Reporters are tweeting live from the court. Check out the Guardian's Paul Harris @paulxharris, Robert Snell of the Detroit News @Detroitfedcourt and Steve Futterman of CBS @sfutterman.

AUSA Jonathan Tukel is presenting the opening. Standby counsel Anthony Chambers was going to give the opening for Mr. Abdulmutallab, but has decided to wait until after the Government rests its case.[More..]

Is anyone else feverishly trying to get their financial documents together for their accountant to meet the Oct. 17 tax filing deadline? I'm completely exhausted from the process. I delivered everything at 5pm but it looks like a tornado ravaged my home office. I'm off to begin cleaning up the mess.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Al Qaida Arabian Peninsula released a statement today confirming the killing of cleric Anwar al-Awlawi and two others. The media quotes a sentence or two, but you don't get the real flavor unless you read the whole thing. An English translation is here. A snippet:

“The Americans killed the scholar Shaykh Anwar al-Awlaqi and Samir Khan, but they did not prove any crime they committed and they never presented any proof against them from their laws of unjust freedom. So, where is the freedom, justice, human rights and respect of freedoms they boast of? Did America become so suffocated that it contradicted—and everyday it contradicts—these principles it claims it established its country on?”

“America has failed as it has not stuck to its principles, and the Shaykh—who lived his doctrine and died for its cause—won. And like that, everyday America kills humans unjustly and aggressively. Its history is black and long and has no limit, and it lies openly that it protects human rights, justice and freedom.”

[More...]

Busy day. Open Thread.

Series Creator Vince Gilligan explains last night's finale of Breaking Bad in a must-read article in the New York Times.

My predictions on the finale were wrong. It turns out: [More..]