A son-in-law of Osama bin Laden who served as an al-Qaida spokesman and warned Americans after Sept. 11 that “the storm shall not stop” pleaded not guilty Friday in a civilian court to plotting to kill Americans.

Handcuffed and in a blue prison suit, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith wore earphones to listen to a live translation of the hearing in a heavily guarded federal courtroom in Lower Manhattan, walking distance from the World Trade Center site.

He entered the plea through a court-appointed lawyer and was ordered to return to court April 8. Abu Ghaith himself spoke only twice, answering “Yes” when he was asked whether he understood the charge and whether he wanted representation.

Prosecutors disclosed that Abu Ghaith was captured Feb. 28 overseas and flown to New York the following day. They said he had yielded enough information after his capture to fill 22 pages. They did not give details of what he said.

Jane Rosenberg

Courtroom sketch of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith in New York federal court.

An indictment unsealed Thursday accuses Abu Ghaith of taking part in al-Qaida plots to kill Americans, both before and after the 2001 terror attacks. It describes him as such a close confidant that bin Laden summoned him for help on the evening of Sept. 11, 2001.

Abu Ghaith gave a speech after Sept. 11 and warned Americans that “the storm shall not stop, especially the airplanes storm” and suggested that Muslims and opponents of the United States should not fly or live in high rises.

Jordanian sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told NBC News that Abu Ghaith was captured by Turkish officials in Ankara, where a court ruled that he had entered the country with a fake passport.

The Turkish government ordered him deported to Kuwait, where he was born, but arranged for him to travel through Jordan, where he was taken into custody by American law enforcement, the sources said.

NBC News exclusive: Iran was holding Abu Ghaith, U.S. officials say

Rep. Peter King of New York, a Republican who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, announced the capture Thursday and credited the FBI and CIA.

Some Republican members of Congress expressed surprise that they had not been consulted, and said that Abu Ghaith should have been prosecuted as an enemy combatant and held by the military at the U.S. facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

They issued statements Friday denouncing the decision and saying that the Obama administration was weakening the nation by not having al-Qaida figures like Abu Ghaith detained and interrogated at military facilities.

“The administration risks missing important opportunities to gather intelligence to prevent future attacks and save lives,” Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire said in a statement.

In November 2009, the administration announced plans to try five people accused of plotting the Sept. 11 attacks in civilian court in New York. The White House backed off that plan a year and a half later after a political backlash.

Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman, said civilian courts have “a pretty good, strong track record” in handling terrorism prosecutions. He cited the men convicted of trying to blow up an airliner in December 2009 and detonate a car bomb in Times Square in May 2010, both of whom got life sentences in civilian courts.

“It is the consensus view of the president’s national security team and of agencies all across the federal government that this is the best way to handle bringing Abu Ghaith to justice,” Earnest said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who chairs the Intelligence Committee, said she expected that Abu Ghaith would be put away for life.

“The bottom line is the federal criminal court system works,” she said.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story was originally published on Fri Mar 8, 2013 8:11 AM EST

The commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command denies allegations made in an Esquire feature article that the SEAL team member who claims he first shot Osama bin Laden was left in the dark about what benefits were available to him after he left the service.

"This former SEAL made a deliberate and informed decision to leave the Navy several years short of retirement status," Rear Adm. Sean Pybus, commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, wrote in a statement. "Months ahead of his separation, he was counseled on status and benefits, and provided with options to continue his career until retirement eligible. Claims to the contrary in these matters are false."

Pybus said he is "very disappointed with the few people who use their SEAL cachet for self-serving purposes, particularly through falsehoods and certainly when the safety and security of themselves and their active-duty teammates and families are put at risk."

However, he said the Navy will help the former SEAL "address health or transition issues, as we would for other former members."

"Naval Special Warfare has bright and motivated people engaged in difficult, but satisfying work. They are very familiar with their compensation and options," he wrote.

On Wednesday, during his final press conference, outgoing Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta also spoke out about the Esquire article -- which he acknowledged he did not read -- by saying there are service members engaged in acts of bravery every day. 

Panetta cited former Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha, the newest recipient of the Medal of Honor. "This kid is out there in the middle of nowhere with 300 Taliban charging him, and he's tremendously courageous and tremendously brave in taking them on and saving not only his fellow soldiers, but ultimately saving that base. Acts of that kind of bravery and courage go on often every day in a war zone."

Panetta said it's "difficult to think" that everybody "who performs in that kind of fashion" ought to get a "separate fund to try to assist them." He added that "the reality is, men and women in uniform put their lives on the line every day to sacrifice for this country." 

The SEAL in question, identified as "The Shooter" in the Esquire article, said he feels abandoned by the military.

In the article, titled "The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden ... Is Screwed," he described the killing of bin Laden by SEAL Team 6 in detail and also talked about his struggles to find work and protect his family since retiring in September, four years short of pension eligibility. 

Related: SEAL who shot bin Laden living 'like a mafia snitch,' reporter says 

TODAY.com's Scott Stump contributed to this report.

Zach Long / AP file

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari is escorted to his initial court appearance at the Mahon Federal Building in Lubbock, Texas, Feb. 25, 2011.

A former Texas college student from Saudi Arabia was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday for trying to make a bomb for use in a religious attack, possibly targeting former U.S. President George W. Bush.

Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari was sentenced in Amarillo, Texas, where jurors convicted him in June of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Prosecutors say he had collected bomb-making material in his apartment and researched possible targets, including the Dallas home of Bush. A handwritten journal found in his apartment included notes that he believed it was time for "jihad," a Muslim term for holy war.

The 22-year-old Aldawsari apologized Tuesday for "these bad actions,"  but Judge Donald E. Walter said the evidence against him was overwhelming. Walter acknowledged he was conflicted due to Aldawsari's youth and signs that outside influences had led him astray.

"But the bottom line is that but by the grace of God there would be dead Americans," Walter said. "You would have done it. In every step, it was you all alone."

Aldawsari stood silently in shackles as the sentence was read. The formerly clean-shaven, close-cropped man now had a full beard and long hair, and appeared to have lost a lot of weight.

There is no parole in the federal system.

"Khalid Aldawsari came to this country intent on carrying out an attack," Lisa Monaco, assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement. "Thanks to the hard work of agents, analysts, and prosecutors, his plot was thwarted before anyone was harmed."

Aldawsari came to the U.S. legally in 2008 to study chemical engineering. He was arrested in Lubbock, Texas, in February 2011, after federal agents searched his apartment and found explosive chemicals, wiring, a hazmat suit and clocks, along with videos showing how to make the chemical explosive TNP.

Investigators say Aldawsari's goal was to carry out jihad. His attorneys claimed he was a harmless failure who never came close to attacking anyone.

FBI bomb experts say the amounts of chemicals he had would have yielded almost 15 pounds of explosives — about the same amount used per bomb in the 2005 London subway attacks. He also tried to order phenol, a chemical that can be used to make explosives.

Court records show that his emails and journal contained the explosive's recipe.

Prosecutors said other targets he researched included nuclear power plants and the homes of three former soldiers who were stationed at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Potential targets he listed in emails sent to himself included hydroelectric dams, nuclear power plants, reservoirs in Colorado and California, and Bush's home, which he referred to as the "Tyrant's House."

Aldawsari wrote in one journal entry, "And now, after mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for Jihad," authorities said.

Prosecutors offered to show the judge a video of the possible damage Aldawsari could have done had he succeeded in assembling explosives. Walter declined.

"I'm fully aware of what 15 pounds of plastic can do," he said.

The FBI said Aldawsari did Internet searches that suggested he was considering concealing explosives in infant dolls or targeting a nightclub with an explosive concealed in a backpack.

He bought other ingredients needed to make an explosive device as well as a soldering kit, glass beakers and flasks and emailed himself instructions for turning a cell phone into a remote detonator, authorities said.

He also wrote in his notebooks about the steps needed to stage a bombing, including renting cars using different driver's licenses, setting up a remote detonation and planning a safe exit, the FBI said.

During his trial, Aldawsari's attorneys acknowledged that their client had intent but argued that he never took the "substantial step" needed to convict him.

Defense attorney Dan Cogdell repeatedly berated Aldawsari as a "failure" and poor student who never came close to threatening anyone. Aldawsari did not testify at trial, but on Tuesday he told Walter he felt lonely and isolated from his family, friends and faith.

"I am sorry for these bad actions, but none of these bad actions did harm to the United States," Aldawsari told Walter.

Aldawsari wrote in his journal that he had been planning a terror attack in the U.S. for years, even before he came to the country on a scholarship," according to court documents. He bemoaned the plight of Muslims and said he was influenced by Osama bin Laden's speeches.

Authorities said Aldawsari purchased bottles of sulfuric and nitric acids — chemicals that can be combined with phenol to create TNP.

Investigators say they were tipped to his online purchases by chemical company Carolina Biological Supply and shipping company Con-way Freight on Feb. 1, 2011. The chemical company reported to the FBI a $435 suspicious purchase, while the shipping company notified Lubbock police and the FBI because it appeared the order wasn't intended for commercial use.

Court records show that Aldawsari had successfully ordered 30 liters of nitric acid and three gallons of concentrated sulfuric acid in December 2010.

At his trial, prosecutors played recordings of a frustrated Aldawsari complaining to the supply company when his order was held up. He had allegedly told the company he wanted the phenol for research to develop a cleaning solution.

Aldawsari had transferred from Texas Tech in early 2011 to nearby South Plains College, where he was studying business. A Saudi industrial company was paying his tuition and living expenses in the U.S.

The judge moved his trial to Amarillo, about 120  milesnorth of Lubbock.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Courtesy of Prof. Neal Katyal via AP

Salim Ahmed Hamdan is seen in an undated photo

Updated at 11:58 a.m. ET: WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Court of Appeals on Tuesday tossed out the conviction of Osama bin Laden’s former driver for supporting terrorism, saying the law under which he was tried did not apply to his crime.

Salim Ahmed Hamdan was convicted in 2008 by a panel of six U.S. military officers of providing material support to al-Qaida. He was sentenced to five-and-a-half years and released shortly thereafter because he had already spent six years in custody at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base detention camp in Cuba.

He was the first Guatanamo detainee to be convicted of war crimes.

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia vacated Hamdan’s conviction even though he has already served his sentence.

Read the U.S. Court of Appeals ruling (PDF)

The court noted that Hamdan’s crime occurred from 1996 to 2001 and said the 2006 Military Commissions  Act  -- which specifically lists material support for terrorism as a war crime triable by military commission  -- cannot be applied retroactively to cover it.

Previous story:
Pentagon releases video of US troops interrogating bin Laden's driver

The court also said that while military commissions may try violations of the international “law of war,” when Hamdan committed the conduct in question the law did not proscribe material support for terrorism as a war crime.   

“Because we read the Military Commissions Act not to retroactively punish new crimes, and because material support for terrorism was not a pre-existing war crime under 10 U.S.C. § 821, Hamdan’s conviction for material support for terrorism cannot stand,” the appeals court ruled.

Hamdan was captured in Afghanistan in November 2001 – about two months after the Sept. 11 terror attacks against the U.S. The car he was driving contained two anti-aircraft missiles.

Hamdan’s captors handed him over to U.S. authorities, who transferred him to Guantanamo.

Hamdan was held at Guantanamo as an enemy combatant and was eventually charged with one count of conspiracy. He raised legal objections to the prosecution, and the case made its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The high court ruled in 2006 that military commissions set up by the Bush administration to try detainees at Guantanamo were invalid because their structure and procedures violated both the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Geneva Convention.

The ruling prompted Congress to enact a new military commission statute – the 2006 Military Commissions Act.

Hamdan was charged anew under that law with conspiracy and material support for terrorism.

At his military commission trial, prosecutors argued that Hamdan was close to al-Qaida's inner circle, while his lawyers asserted that he was simply a driver and mechanic in the motor pool who needed the $200 monthly salary. 

Hamdan was acquitted of conspiracy but convicted of material support for terrorism. In August 2008 he was sentenced to 66 months’ confinement and credited for having already served most of that time.

After his release in January 2009 in his home country of Yemen, Hamdan continued to appeal his conviction.

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A former Navy SEAL who participated in the raid on Osama bin Laden’s Pakistan hideout last year said the al-Qaida leader was shot dead because his arms were hidden and he may have been holding weapons.

Appearing Sunday on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” the author of the recently released book, “No Easy Day,” said one SEAL fired after seeing a man's head poking into a hallway. He said he and another SEAL shot bin Laden again after finding him on his bedroom floor with a bullet in his skull, because bin Laden's hands were hidden.

Navy SEAL charity turns down proceeds from bin Laden book

That's more detail than was included in the book, written under the pseudonym Mark Owen.

CBS altered Owen’s appearance and voice for the broadcast.

Commander: Navy SEALs reveal too many secrets

Pentagon officials say bin Laden was only shot after fleeing into his bedroom, and have threatened legal action against Owen for possible releases of classified information.

Owen denies claims of political motivation for the book.

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WASHINGTON -- Osama bin Laden's death sent al-Qaida into a decline that will be hard to reverse, the United States said on Tuesday in a report that found terrorist attacks last year fell to their lowest level since 2005.

Describing 2011 as a "landmark year," the United States said other top al-Qaida members killed last year included Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, reportedly the militant organization's No. 2 figure after bin Laden's death, and Anwar al-Awlaki, who led its lethal affiliate in Yemen.

"The loss of bin Laden and these other key operatives puts the network on a path of decline that will be difficult to reverse," the State Department said in its annual "Country Reports on Terrorism" document, which covers calendar year 2011.

The report attributed the killings, which included the May 2011 raid in which U.S. commandos shot bin Laden in Pakistan, to improved cooperation on counterterrorism. But it also said al-Qaida is adaptable and poses "an enduring and serious threat."

Slideshow: After the raid: Inside bin Laden's compound

Farooq Naeem / AFP - Getty Images

U.S. forces found and killed the al-Qaida leader in the affluent Pakistani town of Abbottabad, where he had been living in a large compound.

Launch slideshow

While saying there were no terrorist attacks in the United States last year, the report asserted that the U.S. government remains concerned about "threats to the homeland," citing the foiled 2009 Christmas Day attempt by the Nigerian "underwear bomber" who sought to blow up a Detroit-bound aircraft.

The report included a statistical annex prepared by the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) that showed the overall number of terrorist attacks worldwide fell to 10,283 last year from 11,641 in 2010.

Panetta: Only a 'small handful' of top al-Qaida targets left

The number of worldwide fatalities fell to 12,533 last year from 13,193 the year before, according to the statistics, which NCTC issued in a report published on June 1.

That was the lowest level since 2005, when there were more than 11,000 attacks and more than 14,000 fatalities. The general decline in terrorism-related fatalities -- which peaked at more than 22,000 in 2007 -- reflects, in part, less violence in Iraq.

The report added: 

Sunni extremists accounted for the greatest number of terrorist attacks and fatalities for the third consecutive year. More than 5,700 incidents were attributed to Sunni extremists, accounting for nearly 56 percent of all attacks and about 70 percent of all fatalities ... Secular, political, and anarchist groups were the next largest category of perpetrators, conducting 2,283 attacks with 1,926 fatalities, a drop of 5 percent and 9 percent, respectively, from 2010.

The State Department report said that as al-Qaida's "core has gotten weaker," affiliated groups have gained ground, citing al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula as a particular threat and voicing concern about al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

Slideshow: World reacts to death of Osama bin Laden

Arshad Butt / AP

Osama bin Laden is dead following a military operation in Pakistan and the US has recovered his body, US President Barack Obama announced Sunday night.

Launch slideshow

It also reported an increase in terrorist attacks in Africa, due largely to Nigeria's Boko Haram militant group, as well as in the Western Hemisphere, which it attributed chiefly to FARC insurgents in Colombia.

Daniel Benjamin, the State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism, said last year was also significant for the "Arab Spring" of popular protests and what he described as its rebuff to al-Qaida's ideology.

"We saw millions of citizens throughout the Middle East advance peaceful public demands for change without any reference to al-Qaida's incendiary world view," he said, adding that upheavals also present risks.

"Revolutionary transformations have many bumps in the road," he added. "Inspiring as the moment may be, we are not blind to the attendant perils."

The report cites Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria as state sponsors of terrorism.

It added: 

Al-Qaida and its affiliates and adherents are far from the only terrorist threat the United States faces. Iran, the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, continues to undermine international efforts to promote peace and democracy and threatens stability, especially in the Middle East and South Asia. Its use of terrorism as an instrument of policy was exemplified by the involvement of elements of the Iranian regime in the plot to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador in Washington, a conspiracy that the international community strongly condemned through a UN General Assembly resolution in November.

It highlighted that Syria was "mired in significant civil unrest for most of 2011" but "continued its strong partnership" with Iran.

The report added:

Syria has laws on the books pertaining to counterterrorism and terrorist financing, but it largely used these legal instruments against opponents of the regime, including political protesters and other members of the growing oppositionist movement.

The State Department also highlighted other forms of violent extremism around the world -- including attacks by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that killed at least 88 people; anarchists in Greece and Italy targeting government offices, foreign missions and symbols of the state; as well as dissident Republican groups in Northern Ireland.

The National Counterterrorism Center's annex also highlighted:

• Attacks on government facilities decreased by about 43 percent from 2010, from 796 attacks to 453 attacks in 2011.
• There was a sharp increase in the number of attacks directed at energy infrastructure, including fuel tankers, fuel pipelines and electrical networks, rising from 299 attacks in 2010 to 438 attacks in 2011.
• The number of attacks directed at public places declined in each of the past five years, from a high of 4,121 attacks in 2007 to 2,186 attacks in 2011.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Abd Raouf / AP

Sudanese national Ibrahim al Qosi prays upon arrival at Khartoum airport in Khartoum, Sudan. Al Qosi arrived before dawn on a US Air Force aircraft after his release from 10 years in detention.

Ibrahim al Qosi, a former driver for Osama bin Laden, has been released from Guantanamo and returned to Sudan, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday.

In July 2010, al Qosi pleaded guilty to providing material support for terrorism and conspiracy. He had been detained at Guantanamo following his capture at the Pakistani border in December 2001 and was released according to a plea agreement with the U.S.

Al Qosi, who was born in Sudan around 1960, left in 1996 to join Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, where he provided services to bin Laden and other al-Qaida members as a driver, bodyguard and cook. In the early 1990s, he trained with jihadists and worked as an accountant for a company affiliated with Osama bin Laden, according to DOD documents released by WikiLeaks.

Al Qosi had been sentenced to a 14-year term for crimes committed between 1996 to 2001, but served two years in exchange for cooperating with prosecutors. The U.S. had agreed to return al Qosi to Sudan upon completing two years of his sentence.

"Although the United States had the legal authority to continue holding al Qosi under the [Authorization for the Use of Military Force], we coordinated with the Government of Sudan on appropriate security measures to mitigate any threat he continues to pose," said Defense Department spokesman Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale in a statement to msnbc.com.

Paul Reichler, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer who represented al Qosi pro bono for the past seven years, said his client will participate in a re-entry program designed by the Sudanese government for former detainees.

According to a document published by the government in 2010, nine Sudanese nationals had been returned from Guantanamo and been subject to the re-entry program. At that time, none were known to "have engaged in hostilities against the United States, its interests or its allies since their return to Sudan." 

"I’m very glad that he’s a free man," said Reichler, who added that he would have withdrawn his representation of al Qosi if at any time he seemed to be a terrorist or a threat to the U.S. According to al Qosi's court statement, he had no knowledge or or participation in the 1998 Tanzania and Kenya embassy attacks or the September 11 attacks, though he continued to provide logistical support to al-Qaida after these events.

"I believe he is a decent and honorable person whose only desire is to go home to his family, live in peace and tranquility and engage in productive labor in his family business, and he has no desire to be associated with violent movements of any kind," said Reichler.

Al Qosi arrived in the capital city of Khartoum Tuesday evening Eastern time, and according to court documents, will live with his wife, two daughters and other family members upon returning. In a letter to the Military Commission in January 2011, al Qosi's mother and father said that he would manage a family shop in the town of Atira.

One-hundred and sixty-eight detainees remain at Guantanamo. Reichler, who does not represent any other Guantanamo clients, said that many detainees might be interested in negotiating a plea agreement, but that there has been a high degree of skepticism that the U.S. would honor its word.

With al Qosi's release, Reichler said, "I suspect that there will be many who will seek plea agreements."

Rebecca Ruiz is a reporter at msnbc.com. Follow her on Twitter here.

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WASHINGTON — A Senate panel expressed its outrage Thursday over Pakistan's conviction of a doctor who helped the United States track down Osama bin Laden, voting to cut aid to Islamabad by $33 million — $1 million for every year of the physician's 33-year sentence for high treason.

"It's arbitrary, but the hope is that Pakistan will realize we are serious," said Senator Richard Durbin after the unanimous 30-0 vote by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"It's outrageous that they (the Pakistanis) would say a man who helped us find Osama bin Laden is a traitor," said Durbin, the Senate's number two Democrat.

Pakistan jails doctor who helped CIA find Osama bin Laden

The sentencing on Wednesday of Dr Shakil Afridi for 33 years on treason charges added to U.S. frustrations with Pakistan over what Washington sees as its reluctance to help combat Islamist militants fighting the Afghan government and the closure of supply routes to NATO troops in Afghanistan.

'A schizophrenic ally'
The punitive move came on top of deep reductions the Appropriations Committee already had made to President Barack Obama's budget request for Pakistan, a reflection of the growing congressional anger over its cooperation in combatting terrorism. The overall foreign aid budget for next year had slashed more than half of the proposed assistance and threatened further reductions if Islamabad failed to open the overland supply routes.

"We need Pakistan, Pakistan needs us, but we don't need Pakistan double-dealing and not seeing the justice in bringing Osama bin Laden to an end," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who pushed for the additional cut in aid. 

Fuel tankers sit idle during Pakistan-US dispute over supply routes

He called Pakistan "a schizophrenic ally," helping the United States at one turn, but then aiding the Haqqani network which has claimed responsibility for several attacks on Americans. The group also has ties to al-Qaida and the Taliban. 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the jailing of the doctor was "unjust and unwarranted" and vowed to continue to press the case with Islamabad. "The United States does not believe there is any basis for holding Dr. Afridi."

Afridi was accused of running a fake vaccination campaign, in which he collected DNA samples, that is believed to have helped the American intelligence agency track down bin Laden in a Pakistani town last year. 

Aid workers become targets as Pakistan faces new crisis

The al-Qaida leader was killed in the town of Abbottabad a year ago in a unilateral U.S. special forces raid that heavily damaged ties between Islamabad and Washington. Since then, there have been growing calls in the U.S. Congress to cut off some or all of U.S. aid.

Senator John McCain, top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said lawmakers had agreed to withhold certain military aid for Pakistan until the defense secretary certifies that Pakistan is not detaining people like Afridi.

Slideshow: Pakistan: A nation in turmoil

Muhammed Muheisen / AP

Images of daily life, political pursuits, religious rites and deadly violence.

Launch slideshow

"All of us are outraged at the imprisonment and sentencing of some 33 years — virtually a death sentence — to the doctor in Pakistan who was instrumental ... in the removal of Osama bin Laden," McCain said, adding that Afridi was innocent of any wrongdoing. "That has frankly outraged all of us."

McCain criticizes Pakistan for jailing of doctor

The Senate Appropriations Committee's action docking Pakistan's aid came after a subcommittee earlier in the week slashed assistance to Islamabad -- and warned it would withhold even more cash if Pakistan does not reopen supply routes for NATO soldiers in neighboring Afghanistan.

Members of the committee complained about mafia-style extortion by Pakistan in seeking truck fees in exchange for opening the supply lines. The cost had been $250 per truck prior to the attack. Pakistan is now demanding $5,000 per truck. The United States has countered at $500.

Pakistan has been one of the leading recipients of U.S. foreign aid in recent years. Even after the cuts voted this week it still would receive about $1 billion in fiscal 2013, if the full Senate and House of Representatives approve. That figure includes $184 million for State Department operations and $800 million for foreign assistance. Counterinsurgency money for Pakistan would be limited to $50 million.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Judicial Watch has released hundreds of Defense Department and CIA communications that reveal the Obama administration leaked classified information to filmmakers on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

Judicial Watch claims the secrets were provided for a film on the bin Laden raid that was first scheduled to be released Oct. 12, just in time to boost the president's image shortly before the November elections. Sony Pictures has since pushed the release back to December.

According to the documents, the filmmakers were granted access to a Navy SEAL captain who was the "planner, operator and commander of SEAL Team Six," which killed bin Laden.  In one memo one of the filmmakers says he had a "good meeting with Brennan and McDonough" and says "they were forward leaning, sharing their point of view on command and control."

John Brennan is the president's chief counterterrorism adviser, and Denis McDonough is deputy national security adviser.

In putting the filmmakers together with the SEAL Team Six commander on the raid, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers writes in one document, "The only thing I ask is that you not reveal his name in any way ... because he shouldn't be talking out of school." 

The filmmakers include Kathryn Bigelow, Academy Award-winning director of "The Hurt Locker," and screenwriter Mark Boal.

Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told NBC News on Tuesday that the Defense Department and other agencies regularly engage with the entertainment industry to inform book and movie projects.

"Many individuals in the industry expressed interest in developing projects on what can only be described as one of the top intelligence and military successes of a generation," Little said. "Our engagement on these projects was driven by a desire to inform the public, not by timing."

Judicial Watch, a self-described "conservative, non-partisan educational foundation" that often points out federal spending that it believes is suspect, obtained the documents through the Freedom of Information Act.

Jim Miklaszewski is the chief Pentagon correspondent for NBC News; Courtney Kube is Pentagon producer.

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