Zacarias Moussaoui has notified a U.S. federal court that he intends to plead guilty to charges that he conspired with the al-Qaeda terrorist network in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. The newspaper cited sources familiar with the French citizen's case but added that the plea is not yet a certainty. His plea notification came in a letters to the judge and U.S. government and came against the advice of his attorneys, and Moussaoui had pleaded guilty to the charges in 2002, only to withdraw the plea a week later. The withdrawal led to questions about Moussaoui's mental competency to stand trial, and U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema - who is hearing the case in Alexandria, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington - is to meet this week with the defendant to gauge his mental state, the Post reported. Brinkema is likely to find Moussaoui competent, legal experts said. If he does, Moussaoui, the only person charged in the United States in the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, could enter his plea as early as this week, the Post said. --More 2257 Local Time 1957 GMT
