Detroit underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian student who attempted to blow up a Detroit-bound jetliner on Christmas 2009 has asked for a new lawyer after pleading not-guilty against his lawyers wishes.
Speaking to U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds Abdulmutallab said lawyer Anthony Champters, a prominent defense attorney in Detroit, had lied to him, failed to visit him in jail and wouldn’t provide documents that he requested for his upcoming sentencing.
During his request he specifically asked for a Muslim lawyer to be assigned to his defense.
Edmunds in return set a request hearing for Jan. 6 with sentencing to begin on Jan. 19.
In defending himself Chambers said Umar is misguided in his attacks against his defense:
“We have gone above and beyond for him … He’s having regrets over what I would consider a bad decision” to plead guilty.
In his Dec. 12 letter Abdulmutallab proclaimed:
“I do not want Mr. Chambers and his associates to continue serving as my standby counsel. Our relationship is strained to say the least. They treat me with contempt, especially away from the eyes of the court.”
This isn’t the first time the terrorist has had a falling out with his defense team, he fired federal defense attorney Miriam Siefer and her entire staff, leaving Edmunds to appoint Chambers to his case even after he insisted on defending himself.
The al-Qaeda operative plead guilty to an attempted bombing of 300 people aboard a jetliner heading from Amsterdam to Detroit. The mans plot was foiled when passengers and crew members realized what he was attempting to do.
In an amusing turn of events the bomb only managed to burn his genitals and legs.
Abdulmutallab already faces a mandatory 30 year prison sentence but could receive up to life in prison based on all the charges he has been convicted of including conspiring to commit terrorism and using a weapon of mass destruction.
Do you think underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has realized how stupid he was to plead guilty and is now looking for any excuse to blame the U.S. court system?
