Saturday, April 23 2005 10:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: Al-Qaeda member Zacarias Moussaoui, charged with conspiracy in connection with the September 11 terrorist attack on the United States, has pleaded guilty, also revealing that he was originally trained to fly a plane into the White House.

"I was being trained" on a Boeing 747 "to use this plane to strike the White House," Moussaoui said yesterday (Apr 22, 2005), adding the training was for a different attack that was to come after 9/11.

"I expect no leniency," Moussaoui told US District Judge Leonie Brinkema, acknowledging the fact that his admission could bring him the death penalty.

Brinkema accepted the plea, making the French citizen the lone person convicted in a US court in connection with the 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Moussaoui, more subdued than in earlier court appearances during which he sometimes ranted at Brinkema, answered her questions politely.

"How do you plead?" she asked him for each of the six felony counts against him. Each time, Moussaoui answered, "Guilty."

Brinkema asked defence lawyer Alan Yamamoto, the only attorney Moussaoui has been willing to talk to in recent weeks, whether the defendant understood what he was saying.

"He is facing the possibility of death or life in prison. He has told me that he understands that," Yamamoto said.

"The court is accepting today the defendant's six pleas of guilty to the six counts of the indictment," Brinkema said.

"You are found guilty at this time," she told Moussaoui. She said that she had discussed his pleas at length with him earlier. "He has a better understanding of the legal system than some lawyers I have seen in court," the judge said.

Moussaoui stood quietly before her yesterday, with two security officers behind him. He wore a green prison jumpsuit and was not shackled.

Prosecutor Robert Spencer told the court he believed Moussaoui should be ordered to pay restitution to the victims of 9/11.

When the judge noted that part of penalties could include a $ 250,000 fine, Moussaoui replied, "I wonder where I will get the money."

Before he formally entered the plea, he was asked if he understood the signing statement could be used against him to prove he was guilty. "Absolutely I do understand that," he said.

Meanwhile, US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the Government would seek the death penalty against Moussaoui.

"We are seeking the death penalty in this case," Gonzales told a press conference held shortly after Moussaoui's appearance yesterday in court.

"The fact that Moussaoui participated in this terrorist conspiracy is no longer in doubt," the Attorney General said.

"Moussaoui and his co-conspirators were responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocents on September 11," he said.