Good:

Former University of South Florida student Ahmed Mohamed received a maximum 15-year federal prison sentence Thursday for providing material support to terrorists.

In court, U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday pondered the 27-year-old’s potential aloud, gazing at the former engineering doctoral student and teaching assistant who had once managed a 4.0 GPA.

“I still wonder why this young man in front of me at his age, at his intelligence, how he has become committed to this path,” Merryday said.

Mohamed admitted in a June plea agreement to creating a YouTube video showing how to turn a child’s remote control toy into a detonator. He told authorities the video was to be used by martyrs fighting “invaders” of Arab countries, including the U.S. military.

For the first time on Thursday, prosecutors displayed the video in court.

“I admit that this video was something that wasn’t a wise idea,” Mohamed told the judge in a letter read by defense attorney Lyann Goudie. “I never intended to harm anyone in particular. I do apologize. … I am no more than a college guy.”

Prosecutors also disclosed for the first time Thursday that Mohamed uploaded the video from an engineering computer at USF. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Monk said the video was viewed 782 times before it was removed from the site. Prosecutors presented no evidence that anyone had followed Mohamed’s instructions in the video and caused harm.

Federal agents superimposed English subtitles onto the video to translate Mohamed’s words as he spoke in Arabic. He demonstrated how a blue, remotely controlled truck could be reassembled for use as a detonator. Mohamed’s face isn’t shown on the video, but he admitted to law enforcement that he produced, narrated and uploaded it to the Internet.

Former University of South Florida student Ahmed Mohamed has agreed to plead guilty to providing material support to terrorists, according to a signed 12-page plea agreement entered onto the docket in U.S. District Court.

Mohamed, an Egyptian citizen, was arrested, along with another student, Youssef Megahed, in North Carolina in August after deputies said they found explosive materials in their trunk.

Authorities charged Mohamed with trying to help terrorists in connection with a video they said he made and posted to the Web site YouTube. On the video, authorities said, he showed how to use a remote-controlled toy to detonate a bomb.

Under the terms of the plea deal, prosecutors have agreed to dismiss other charges, including counts in an indictment alleging he illegally transported explosives. The maximum penalty for the charge to which Mohamed will plead guilty is 15 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

TBO.com has the PDF of the plea agreement. Excerpt:

All the background on the Goose Creek Two here.

Curiouser and curiouser still (via the Tampa Tribune):

A judge has scheduled a hearing Thursday to decide whether to punish prosecutors for violating a court order in the case of two former University of South Florida students charged with illegally transporting explosives.

Attorneys for Youssef Megahed filed a motion Monday asking for sanctions based on what they said were the government’s violation of a court order detailing when the prosecution was to provide the defense with evidence it plans to use at trial.

U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday issued an order this afternoon scheduling a hearing 11 a.m. Thursday where prosecutors must show why they should not be sanctioned. In legal parlance, Merryday issued an order to show cause. Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed were arrested Aug. 4 in South Carolina after a motor vehicle stop. They have been indicted on federal charges of illegally transporting explosives. Megahed is scheduled to go to trial next week. Mohamed also faces terrorism-related charges in connection with a video authorities say he made and posted on YouTube that showed how to use a remote-controlled toy to detonate a bomb. He is scheduled to go to trial in July.

Megahed’s attorneys say in new court filings that the FBI searched computers seized from the Megahed family home and that prosecutors plan to use videos investigators found of improvised explosive devices being used against military vehicles and military rockets being launched. The audio on the videos is in Arabic, the defense filing states. Megahed’s attorneys argue that the search of the computers was illegal because it was done without a warrant.

The FBI asked Meghed to consent to his family’s home being searched, but he refused, the motion states. Then agents contacted Megahed’s parents, and they consented to the search, but were told agents were looking for explosive materials, not computers, the motion states…

…In the meantime, prosecutors filed a notice with the court of intention to use evidence it maintains shows Megahed’s motive or plan. Among that evidence is information showing the home computers had a “large amount of research into weapons, ammunition and armed combat. One of the Megahed residence computers also contained numerous video clips depicting the manufacture and use of improvised explosive devices and a video recording showing the explosion of a bridge by means of such a destructive device.”

“Those video recordings all appear to depict the uses of such weapons in the armed struggle in the Middle East against the United States and other forces.”

TAMPA, Fla., April 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill today announced the filing of a seven count superseding indictment against AHMED ABDELLATIF SHERIF MOHAMED and YOUSSEF SAMIR MEGAHED. MOHAMED is charged in all seven counts of the superseding indictment. MEGAHED is charged in counts three and four of the superseding indictment. A federal grand jury in Tampa returned that indictment on April 15, 2008. Both defendants reside in Tampa.

According to the indictment, the defendants were discovered near Goose Creek, South Carolina on August 4, 2007 in possession of explosive materials and a destructive device. The FBI later discovered an instructional video recording which defendant MOHAMED had distributed to the Internet on the making and use of a remote controlled detonation and ignition system.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force in Tampa, Florida and Charleston, South Carolina. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert T. Monk and Jay L. Hoffer.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

Count Charge/Maximum Term of Imprisonment

1 Proving material support to terrorism,

Title 18, United States Code, Section 2339A 15 years

2 Distributing information which teaches and demonstrates the making or use of explosives,

Title 18, United states Code, Section 842(p)(2)(A) 20 years

3 Transporting explosive materials in interstate commerce without the requisite federal license

Title 18, United States Code, Section 842(a)(3)(A) 10 years

4 Possession of a destructive device without the proper registration

Title 26, United States Code, Section 5861(d) 10 years

5 & 6 Illegal possession of a firearm by a non-immigrant alien, Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(5)(B) 10 years for each count

7 Carrying a destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence,

Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A) Life

Tampa Trib has the indictment and coverage.

Megahed and Mohamed men are scheduled to go on trial April 28 on one of the charges, illegally transporting explosives. Mohamed is scheduled to have a separate trial on a charge he tried to help terrorists by posting on the Internet a video in which he showed how to use a remote-controlled toy to detonate a bomb.

Defense attorneys disagreed on whether the new indictment should affect the trial schedule, with Megahed’s lawyer expecting no effect and Mohamed’s lawyer saying there should be a delay.

Megahed and Mohamed both are newly charged in the indictment with possessing a destructive device. The new indictment also includes the charge from the previous indictment of transporting explosive materials.

Mohamed also is newly charged with providing material support to terrorists, and possessing a pistol and a rifle in violation of visa guidelines. The new indictment also contains the charge in the previous indictment against Mohamed of teaching and demonstrating the use of explosives with the intent to help terrorists.

One new charge against Mohamed accuses him of carrying a destructive device while providing material support to terrorists on Aug. 4, the day of the men’s arrest. Attorneys have said that the video Mohamed is accused of posting on YouTube had been removed by that day. It’s unclear how prosecutors believe Mohamed was helping terrorists on that date. That is the most serious charge in the indictment, carrying up to a life sentence.

***

Meanwhile, via the Jawa Report: Dumb juror syndrome in Miami. Agh.

A University of South Florida student has been arrested on a weapons charge in connection with a case against two other students accused of transporting explosives.

Karim Moussaoui, 28, went to a shooting range with the two other students, Youssef Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed, on July 11, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court. Moussaoui told the FBI he took pictures and didn’t fire any weapons, the complaint states.

On that date, Megahed signed a membership agreement and rented a Glock 17, which is a 9 mm handgun, at the Shoot Straight Gun and Archery Range at 3909 N. U.S. 301, the complaint states.

Moussaoui and others are shown entering the range eight days later on a surveillance video the Shoot Straight provided to the FBI, according to the complaint. Agents searching a computer found in Megahed’s home found pictures of Moussaoui “standing at a firing lane possessing a shoulder-fired weapon and wearing the type of hearing protection shooters use at a shooting range.”

Federal authorities have charged the international student with “possession or receiving of a firearm by a person admitted to the United States under a non-immigrant visa.”

“We’ve known since the summer they were interested in this person,” said USF spokesman Ken Gullette, referring to Moussaoui.

Moussaoui is from Morocco and has been living in a campus residence hall and studying computer engineering, Gullette said. He was scheduled to be awarded his undergraduate degree Saturday.

His parents arrived Wednesday from Morocco to attend his graduation.

At today’s hearing, they signed a $50,000 signature bond for his release. Moussaoui surrendered his passport and travel documents.

Yep. Nothing to see here, right? Debbie Schlussel and Bill Warner dig a little deeper into the affidavit:

As Bill Warner points out, the affidavit, signed by Tampa FBI Agent William Ortiz, accompanying the complaint notes that in August, Moussaoui told New York FBI Agents about his activities in July at a shooting range with Megahed:

4. On or about August 12, 2007, MOUSSAOUI told New York FBI Agents that on one occasion, he and AHMED LNU (a person now known to the FBI as AHMED ISHTAY) went to a shooting range with YOUSSEF SAMIR MEGAHED. He claimed that MEGAHED went to the range but that MOUSSAOUI and AHMED remained in the store browsing. MOUSSAOUI told New York FBI Agents he did not see what type of weapon MEGAHED used on this visit to the range.

[Emphasis added.]

So why is the New York FBI office involved when the activities of all of three of these people, thus far disclosed, occurred in Florida and South Carolina.

Apparently, they have a strong tie to New York–either Muslim terrorists there or a terrorist attack planned for the area.

What is the New York connection? And who is Ahmed Ishtay a/k/a Ahmed Lnu? What is his role in this terrorist conspiracy?

Stay tuned. We’ll be watching.

Wonder if Moussaoui knows that funky jailhouse sign language, too?

More details have emerged in the case of the Goose Creek Two defendants. Once again, we’ve come a long, long way from “two innocent boys just driving to the beach with fireworks and getting lost looking for cheap gas.” Federal prosecutors disclosed more info about the YouTube bomb-making videos on Ahmed Mohamed’s laptop:

Instead of carrying out “martyrdom operations,” people can use remote explosives and save themselves for the real battles, an Egyptian student said on a homemade video, according to federal prosecutors.

A court filing released earlier this week provided new details about the video. It is a key piece of evidence in the case against University of South Florida student Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed, who faces federal explosives charges after his arrest in August.

Mohamed and fellow USF student Youssef Samir Megahed were pulled over by police for a traffic stop in Goose Creek, S.C., about 15 miles northwest of Charleston and near a Navy weapons station. Officers found explosives in their car and a laptop belonging to Mohamed. It contained the video he made that demonstrates how to convert a remote-control toy car into a detonator for bombs, according to the FBI.

The men are in jail pending trial. They have pleaded not guilty.

Also on Mohamed’s laptop — in a folder labeled “Bomb Shock” — were files about ingredients for explosive, according to the filing by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hoffer in Tampa.

In addition, the laptop was used to upload the video onto YouTube, the filing said, and it contained a record of an e-mail sent to YouTube in July asking why the submitted video had not been posted on the Web site.

Mohamed said he made the video “to assist those persons in Arabic countries to defend themselves against the infidels invading their countries,” the FBI said. He said “he considered American troops, and those military forces fighting with the American military, to be invaders of Arab countries.”

Nothing to see here. Move along…

Doing the jihad case monitoring the national MSM won’t do, here’s the latest on the Goose Creek Two. On Friday, Judge Steven D. Merryday denied Goose Creek jihadi suspect Youssef Megahed’s bid for bail. He called him a flight risk and said he posed a danger to the community (hat tip: reader Lynne S.):

A University of South Florida student charged with transporting explosives will not be released on bail, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

In ruling that Youssef Megahed poses a flight risk and a danger to the community, Judge Steven D. Merryday overturned a Sept. 14 ruling by federal Magistrate Elizabeth Jenkins, who said the defendant could be released on $200,000 bail under strict conditions.

Merryday wrote in a 25-page ruling that no conditions would stop Megahed if he “wants to blow something up or cause a disturbance. … I am unwilling at the prospective cost of property damage, injury or death to assume he will not do so.”

Megahed’s attorney, public defender Adam Allen, said, “We respect the court’s ruling but are disappointed. We are going to review our options, including the possibility of an appeal.”

Megahed, 21, was arrested Aug. 4 in South Carolina along with fellow USF student Ahmed Mohamed, 26, after deputies found explosives in the trunk of the car in which the two men were riding, authorities said. Mohamed was driving the care, which was registered to Megahed’s brother.

Mohamed has waived his right to a bail hearing. Both defendants are Egyptian nationals. Megahed is a legal, permanent U.S. resident, and Mohamed has a student visa.

Both are charged with illegally transporting explosives. Mohamed also is charged with trying to help terrorists by teaching or demonstrating the use of explosives. Authorities say Mohamed posted a video to the Web site YouTube in which he showed how to use a remote-controlled toy to detonate a bomb.

The key assessment:

“The evidence fails to establish or even suggest any innocent or wholesome explanation for the events that led to Megahed’s arrest,” Merryday wrote.

“Guns, explosives, fuses, canisters of gasoline, ammunition, welding equipment, GPS devices, all-night interstate drives to an unstated and indeterminate destination, stops to check gun prices and availability, and computers with a recent history of visits to sites that feature the advocates and the means of violence are not attributes that a disinterested but cautious observer associates with a safe and tranquil citizen of the community,” the judge said.

“Rather, a person about whom these attributes are discovered is a person whose means, motive and degree of determination are unknown and unpredictable and who is highly suspicious and threatening.”

We’ve certainly come a long way from the innocent fireworks carriers looking for the beach scenario, haven’t we?

***
Joel Mowbray examines MSM disinterest in the ongoing Goose Two case.

No mystery here: The unfolding developments don’t fit the CAIR-directed narrative.

Curiouser and curiouser. As long as the Goose Creek Two and their families arouse suspicion and the mystery unfolds, I’ll continue to cover them. The latest development in the case involve suspect Yousef Megahed and his brother, Yahia.

Megahed’s bond was delayed late last night over after the federal judge in the trial heard new evidence involving Megahed’s alleged research into high-powered rifles:

A federal judge in Tampa on Friday, heard new evidence against Megahed that, in addition to the video includes research allegedly done by Megahed on high powered rifles. Prosecutors say Goose Creek police say they found the information on Megahed at the time he and fellow University of South Florida student Ahmed Mohamed were arrested in August. Evidence also includes a stop the two made at an Ocala Wal-Mart on their way to South Carolina and a weapon prosecutors say Megahed stored at a rented storage unit.

Fireworks. Just fireworks. Just two students on a leisurely drive to the beach. That’s all. Nothing to see here. Move along…

Separately, local Florida outlets are reporting on a strange video of Megahed’s brother, Yahia. Via Fox 13 News in Tampa:

An odd video raises new questions about the USF students who caused a national security scare. Ahmed Mohamed and Yousef Megahed are already charged with driving explosives across state lines. Now prosecutors say Megahed’s brother tried to send a sinister code through a jail-house camera.

Tampa Bay 10 also has the story, but dismisses the video:

The federal government says a tape of Yousef Megahed’s brother Yahia shows him using secret code through facial movements and then sign language to communicate with Megahed. The government told a federal judge, that’s why Megahed is a danger to the community.

And when the government first played that tape of what it said was Megahed’s brother sending secret signals to him when he was talking to him while he was in jail it looked as if it had a real smoking gun. Unfortunately for the government at the time the tape was made, Megahed was in his cell and couldn’t see it and Megahed’s brother says he was just seeing himself on camera and making faces because he was bored.

Adam Allen, Megahead’s attorney, says he thought it was rather funny and comical that the government would make such assumptions of a 24-year-old. Although Megahed’s attorney wouldn’t go as far as saying the government tape was embarrassing, he can’t understand how prosecutors could tell a federal judge that this was part of dark conspiracy.

Yahia Megahed, he was waiting to talk to his brother in jail, it was boring situation, and he was waiting around for 15 minutes and was just playing around with the camera. But what about the sign language he is supposedly doing? Megahed says he doesn’t know sign language so it is impossible for him to do any.

You should watch the video for yourselves and see if you believe Yahia Megahed. I’m posting screenshots. Just goofing off? Rather extraordinary, precise, and deliberate for supposedly random gestures from a guy who claims he doesn’t know sign language:

I’ve covered Yahia Megahed previously back on August 12, when I reported:

At social network Hi5, there’s a page for Yahia Megahed here.

This appears to be the same Yahia Megahed, older brother of pipe bomb suspect Youssef, in the family photo. Yahia Megahed’s hometown is listed as Egypt. His number one interest is “ISLAM.” Among his Hi5 friends is an “Ahmed,” who appears to be the same Ahmed Mohamed charged in the Goose Creek explosives case.

If investigators aren’t already exploring this social network, I’m sure they will be.

Shortly after I published my post, Yahia Megahed’s Hi5 site disappeared.

Fireworks. Just fireworks. Just two students on a leisurely drive to the beach. That’s all. Nothing to see here. Move along…

The mystery of the Goose Creek Two continues to unravel. From the very beginning, the case smelled. Remember: “Fireworks?” Just fireworks. Just two innocent boys on a drive to the beach. Who just happened to be driving on an isolated road that leads to a naval station…which houses a military brig where enemy combatants are being held. Ho-hum.

When last we peeked in on the trial of the two accused bomb-transporter/builders, we learned about Ahmed Mohamed’s laptop containing jihad videos targeting American troops.

Fireworks.

Here’s the latest. Note the special interest and activities of the Egyptian government in the case:

One suspended University of South Florida student pleaded not guilty Wednesday to illegally transporting explosives, while a second made plans to hire a prominent Tampa lawyer.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Pizzo accepted the “notguilty” plea of Youssef Megahed, 21. He postponed a hearing for fellow student Ahmed Mohamed, 26, until Oct. 17, when he is expected to also plead not guilty. The delay came at the request of defense attorney John Fitzgibbons, who is finalizing arrangements to represent Mohamed…As a condition of Youssef Megahed’s bail, his family had to give up its passports. A judge has said he could be released on $200,000 bail, but prosecutors objected. U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday will listen to those objections during a 1:30 p.m. hearing Friday.

Meanwhile, Fitzgibbons, a high-profile Tampa lawyer, asked for more time to enter Mohamed’s plea so he can finish arrangements with Egyptian Embassy officials hiring him to represent Mohamed.

CAIR is still in the middle of it all:

Ahmed Bedier, director of the Central Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, wondered if Fitzgibbons’ involvement signaled a possible plea deal for Mohamed.

“Usually if a person wants to cut a deal, Fitzgibbons is the man for it,” Bedier said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hoffer said in court that the evidence against the pair was not complex. Pizzo set a tentative trial date as early as Dec. 3. But Fitzgibbons said that’s unlikely. He anticipates it taking longer to review the evidence and contact experts to testify.

Both men sat in court Wednesday, shackled at the feet and separated by their attorneys. They wore orange jumpsuits like most county jail defendants, but the beards they both have worn since their arrests were gone.

“I wouldn’t read anything into that,” Fitzgibbons said.

Tampa Bay 10 notes the unusual involvement of the Egyptian government, too:

While it may seem odd the Egyptian government is paying for the defense of Ahmed Mohamed, especially when you see the homes in his neighborhood, high profile attorney John Fitzgibbons says he doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t think it is unusual that a foreign government employs a lawyer,” Fitzgibbons says. “It happens all the time.”

In going after Fitzgibbons, Mohamed will have one of the best. The former assistant U.S. Attorney has been successful in a number of high profile cases. He was successful in keeping teacher Deborah LaFave out of jail after she was convicted of having sex with one of her students.

Fitzgibbons also got a not guilty verdict for Lawrence Storer, who chased and killed a robber who had fled his restaurant.

Meanwhile, as you probably heard, TSA is now screening remote-controlled toys:

People carrying remote-controlled toys in carry-on luggage should expect additional screening at the nation’s airports, according to an advisory released Monday by the Transportation Security Administration.

The advisory is not related to any incident or threat, according to TSA officials, who suggested travelers with these toys allow extra time before boarding. A “secondary screening” takes about three to four minutes.

“We always want to be at least one step ahead of an adaptive terrorist,” TSA Miami spokeswoman Sari Koshetz said. “We train our officers in looking at common devices.”

One of two University of South Florida students arrested recently in South Carolina has been indicted on a federal charge related to an Internet video posting showing him modifying a remote-controlled toy car, prosecutors have said.

Christopher White, a TSA spokesman in Washington, D.C., did not specifically identify the student’s video as a concern in crafting the advisory. “A number of factors came together on this, including open-source information and classified channels,” White said.

A federal indictment unsealed Aug. 31 charges engineering students Ahmed Mohamed, 26, and Youssef Megahed, 21, with transporting explosives without a permit and Mohamed with trying to help terrorists by teaching or demonstrating the use of explosives.

That charge stems from a video that Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hoffer says Mohamed acknowledged posting to the YouTube Web site in which he shows how to turn a remote-controlled toy car into a bomb detonator. On the video, Mohamed says the detonator could “save one who wants to be a martyr for another day, another battle,” Hoffer said.

Coinky-dinky? Methinks not.

A suspended University of South Florida student facing explosives charges regarded American troops and U.S. allies as invaders of Arab countries, an FBI agent says in federal court documents filed this week.

The agent’s affidavit gives more details about a secretly taped conversation between Ahmed Mohamed, 26, and fellow student Youssef Megahed, 21, and also about the contents of Mohamed’s laptop.

In a sworn affidavit, FBI Special Agent Daniel J. McTavish said that when agents searched Mohamed’s hard drive they found a folder named “Bomb Shock.” It contained files of information on explosives, explosive ingredients and downloads from Web sites about explosives.

Investigators also found another folder labeled “High-Order Explosives,” which included information on the composition and use of explosives, including TNT and C-4…

…Mohamed’s laptop also contained a 12-minute video on transforming a toy remote-controlled car into a detonator. The face of the man narrating the video wasn’t seen, but FBI investigators said Mohamed admitted it was him.

“He explained that he made the tape to assist those persons in Arabic countries to defend themselves against the infidels invading their countries,” McTavish said in his statement.

And Mohamed “added that the technology which he demonstrated in the tape was to be used against those who fought for the United States,” he said.

Yes, question their patriotism.

The next hearing is an arraignment scheduled for October 3.

A laptop computer deputies found when they pulled over two University of South Florida students in South Carolina contained a video made by one of the men showing how to use a toy to detonate a bomb remotely, a federal prosecutor said Friday.

On that video, the student, Ahmed Mohamed, said the detonator could “save one who wants to be a martyr for another day, another battle,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay Hoffer said.

The prosecutor said that video was posted by Mohamed on YouTube, a popular Web site.

Also found: Jihadi images and footage of rockets used by Hamas.

When investigators analyzed the computer, they found that the last-viewed images showed Qassam rockets, which are used by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Also on the computer were videos of discussions of martyrdom and videos showing the firing of M-16 rifles…In the trunk, deputies found four small sections of PVC pipe, at least three of which were stuffed with a “potassium nitrate explosive mixture” of potassium nitrate, Karo syrup and kitty litter, Hoffer said. He said the kitty litter served as a binder to keep the substance from coming out of the pipes, which were not capped.

Investigators also found a container of gasoline, 20 feet of safety fuse and an electric drill, which Hoffer said could be used to drill holes in the pipe so fuses could be attached.

“Obviously, that raised the hackles of law enforcement in South Carolina,” Hoffer said. “That’s why we’re here.”

And check this out:

The prosecutor said that when deputies questioned Megahed, he initially denied knowing about “these rockets or fireworks in the trunk.” But when both defendants were put in the back seat of a patrol vehicle, their conversation in Arabic secretly was recorded, Hoffer said.

A translation summary of the recording shows Megahed asking about what happened to the explosives, Hoffer said, which the prosecutor said shows Megahed was aware of what was in the trunk. The car, Hoffer said, was registered to Megahed’s brother.

Naturally, Mohamed’s father back in Egypt is blaming it on a conspiracy. Gee, I wonder who he thinks is behind it?

Speaking later from Cairo, Mohamed’s father, Abdel Latif Sherif, said his son is being framed.

“This was created and put on his computer to blame him,” Sherif said. “I can take a computer and put anything on it. They are making this up to make him look bad.”

The St. Pete Times gives us more about Megahed’s multiple passports and extensive travels:

Prosecutors said Megahed also had “multiple Egyptian passports” and went to Sears in late July to get more passport-sized photos. There were two passports for Megahed with two different names, Hoffer said.

But Assistant U.S. Public Defender Adam Allen said one of the passports had expired, and that Megahed had used another version of his family’s name on the document.

Agents did not seize the passports when they searched the Megahed home, Hoffer said, and they feared, if released, Megahed could flee to Egypt, which does not always extradite fugitives back to the United States. Megahed’s extensive travel, both to Egypt and to other countries, including Canada, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, also concerned prosecutors.

One last detail. It looks like CAIR is distancing itself from Mohamed. Eeenteresting:

Ahmed Bedier, director of the Central Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, was quick to distinguish between Megahed and Mohamed.

“It’s obvious there are two separate individuals with different charges and different allegations,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the two individuals end up having separate cases altogether.”

He defended Megahed, saying it appeared he “just happened to be in the car.” But he had harsher words for Mohamed.

If he could talk to Mohamed, Bedier said, “I’d say, ‘Wake up!’ ”

He added, “Muslims don’t get a second chance when they dabble with things like this. Not only will this have consequences on him, but it will have consequences on most of the Muslims in this country.”

One might say the very same thing about associating with the likes of CAIR…

The plot thickens. Read the St. Petersburg Times: (Hat tip – reader Lynne)

Well, well, well:

PVC pipe filled with homemade “low-grade explosive mixture” and a videotape instruction for turning a remote-controlled toy car into a detonator were among the items found in the car driven by two University of South Florida students arrested in South Carolina and now facing federal explosives charges, according to a federal prosecutor.

An assistant U.S Attorney outlined the evidence confiscated from the car driven by two suspended USF students — describing a container and three pipes filled with a low grade explosive mixture.

The list also included a videotape that instructs viewers on how to convert a toy electric car into a detonator. Defendant Ahmed Mohamed has admitted making the tape, and in it he says he intended the instruction “to save one who wants to be a martyr for another battle,” said federal prosecutor Jay Hoffer.

Just two innocent boys with fireworks on their way to the beach, eh?

One of my all-time favorite journalists and role models, John Stossel, is taking on Michael Moore. Read about his upcoming special here. Babalu has more.

The bullets in the car of the Goose Creek 2 were .22 caliber rounds. The suspects are back in Tampa.

DiFi’s $4 billion Beverly Hills earmark.

Goodbye, Chuck Hagel. DLTDHYOTWO.

Finally, check out my revamped “Buzzworthy” widget in the right-hand sidebar. One of my terrific tech guys, Ed Burns, put together a cool, secret formula that draws from scores of blogs and community-based sites to bring you a constantly updated menu of the hottest blog posts of the moment. Also remember that the blogroll is right below the second ad in the right-hand margin. Just click on the banner for the drop-down menu.

Two University of South Florida students who are facing federal explosives charges after an arrest a month ago will be returned to Tampa, attorneys said after a sudden hearing today in federal court.

Attorneys for both men say their clients, Youssef Megahed and Ahmed Mohamed, are pleased to be returning to Tampa, where they were living while attending USF. “They’ll be happy to get back,” said Lionel Lofton, attorney for Mohamed.

Neither Lofton nor Andy Savage, attorney for Megahed, knew when the men might be returned in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. However, in court Thursday, instead of the usual jailhouse uniforms, both men were wearing street clothes. Mohamed was wearing the clothes he was arrested in, Lofton said, a knee-length bathing suit and a dirty T-shirt. Megahed was wearing clothes that his attorney, Savage, said did not appear to be his and were mismatched.

The initial appearance hearing took about five minutes. Defense attorneys “waived identity,” the only legal issue scheduled to be presented today. That means both defense attorneys agree that their clients are the people named in the indictment and it sets in motion the process to bring the two to Tampa.

The next court proceeding for the men likely will be a detention hearing that has been requested by the government, which wants to hold the men without bail. It will take place in Tampa, the attorneys said, but no time or date was set. The timeframe is dependent on when the men are transported by the U.S. Marshal’s Service. For security reasons, they have not told the defense attorneys how or when they will be taken.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Dan Riehl notes a new detail not previously reported. The suspects had ammo:

Bullets were among the items investigators found in the car of two University of South Florida students.

The deputy who pulled over Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed and Youssef Samir Megahed, 21, found a box of bullets near the seat, several pipe bombs in the trunk and “other suspicious items,” according to the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office.

From fireworks to no fireworks, from no terror to terror charges, and now a box of bullets. The St. Pete Times opines: “The new information only deepened the mystery of why the two engineering students ended up on Aug. 4 in Goose Creek, S.C., a suburban city near Charleston.”

One last item of note: As I blogged earlier, Egyptian officials did meet with the family. They are denying the IPT’s report that one of the suspects had a past criminal history.

FWIW.

11:57am Eastern. Both Chertoff and Democrat Sheila Jackson-Lee want shamnesty resurrected. Good thing I haven’t had lunch yet.

11:30am Eastern. Here we go…Rep. Bilirakis brings up Goose Creek: “There are several questions that need to be answered to better understand the larger homeland security questions.”

1) To what extent is DHS working with DOJto determine terror links?

Chertoff answers: From the very moment something like this is detected, first priority…I can guarantee you from day of arrests…priority number one is to examine any linkages between those arrested and others who might pose a threat.

2) Does DHS have ability to monitor student visa holders to determine whether visas are simply being used to get into the country?

Chertoff: We do to a limited extent. We rely upon the schools…Most schools try to honor their obligation…some do not…

3) I need to know: How many foreign students have entered the US with student visas and not enrolled as required at their schools?

Chertoff: I will get back to you on that.

4) Screening past criminal histories. What criminal acts would preclude issuance of foreign student visas? I understand that this may apply to (Goose Creek) case.

Chertoff: Can’t give you comprehensive list. Obviously felones, some misdemeanors. Will get back to Bilirakis.

5) Expand upon info-sharing.

Chertoff: There is some, not perfect, flawless…we do have to sanction schools that don’t cooperate.

“I will get back to you on that.”

I will make sure to report Chertoff’s answer when and if he does.

Update 11:23am Eastern. Jane Harman gives Chertoff unsolicited career advice, telling him he shouldn’t move over the Attorney General’s office because “you’d be having to dig yourself out of a very deep hole.”

Update 11:13am Eastern. Norm Dicks presses Chertoff on tracking visa overstayers. Chertoff: “It’s not difficult to determine who’s overstayed. It’s finding them.” Well, duh. Same old, same old.

Update 10:54am Eastern. Pet peeve. ChairmanThompson just invited other House members to “axe” questions. “Axe.”

Update 10:50am Eastern. Peter King’s turn to question Chertoff. First topic is the Visa Waiver program. Chertoff acknowledges the blindingly obvious security flaws of the visa waiver program, which I spotlighted in Invasion and have reported on for years.

Update 10:40am Eastern. Chairman Thompson asks Chertoff whether he’ll be replacing Alberto Gonzales. Chertoff punts. Thompson follows up and asks whether he has done as Josh Bolten has done and asked leaders at DHS whether they’ll be staying on. Thompson presses Chertoff on inordinate number of vacancies at DHS. Thompson ends his questioning without bringing up the Goose Creek case publicly. Interesting. Guess whatever Chertoff told him privately satisfied him.

Here’s one of Chertoff’s powerpoint pages flashed during his opening statement. Feel free to make up your own Chertoff to-do list:

Update 10:26am Eastern. Chertoff’s making his general overview statement on immigration enforcement. He tosses in a complaint pining for the failed shamnesty plan. “But,” he notes ruefully, “I’m sworn to enforce the law,” and says he’ll do his job. Boo-hoo.

***

DHS Secretary and lettuce-pickers’ spokesman Michael Chertoff is appearing right now before the House Committee on Homeland Security. (Hat tip: Audrey Hudson.) I’m watching it live online here. Chertoff will be complaining about having to answer to too many oversight hearings. Perhaps if the department were doing a better job, there would be fewer congressional inquiries about why they’re not doing their job. Just saying.

More interestingly, Florida papers report that Chertoff may be asked about the Goose Creek case. The Dems want to play the racial profiling card. The Republicans want to focus on policy and find out more about the screening process of foreign student visa holders:

The head of a U.S. House committee plans to press Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff today about the indictments of two University of South Florida students, one accused of trying to help terrorists.

Chertoff is scheduled to appear this morning before the Committee on Homeland Security, headed by Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat. So far, even Thompson has been kept in the dark about specifics, including what led a Tampa-based federal grand jury on Friday to accuse one of the men, Ahmed Mohamed, of trying to aid terrorists, his committee spokeswoman said Tuesday.

“He expects to be briefed, and he expects to ask some questions,” spokeswoman Dena Graziano said.

Before the 10 a.m. hearing – Holding the Department of Homeland Security Accountable for Security Gaps – Thompson will meet with Chertoff privately for a classified briefing. Thompson also may question Chertoff about the case during the open hearing, Graziano said…

Another member of the committee, Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Palm Harbor, also intends to question Chertoff about what may be larger homeland security implications of Friday’s indictments, said his spokesman, John Tomaszewski.

They include “the possible criminal background of one of the students [Mohamed] prior to entering the United States, the department’s ability to monitor the actions of foreign students once in the county, and whether there is proper coordination between all of the responsible federal agencies on cases of this nature,” Tomaszewski said.

Russ Knocke, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said he could not comment about the questions being raised because the investigation is ongoing.

Both men are Egyptian citizens; Megahed a permanent, legal U.S. resident and Mohamed visiting on a student visa.

I’ll update with any newsworthy details.