U.S. says suspect planned to blow up hotels, apartments.(Chicago Tribune)

Byline: Mike Dorning

WASHINGTON _The Justice Department on Tuesday offered new details of its case against accused al-Qaida operative Jose Padilla as a top official vigorously defended Bush administration policies permitting detention without trial of U.S. citizens suspected of terrorist activities.

Deputy Atty. Gen. James Comey described alleged meetings that Padilla, a U.S. citizen and former Chicago gang member, held with senior al-Qaida leaders. Comey said at a news conference that the discussions covered plans to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in a U.S. city or blow up high-rise apartment buildings through natural gas explosions.

Release of new information on Padilla appeared intended to answer concerns that the government had over-reached in denying a U.S. citizen normal access to the court system and to lay out a case that he was a key figure in a conspiracy that posed enormous danger to the public.

The Justice Department's decision to disclose previously secret evidence against Padilla _ summarized in a seven-page dossier distributed to reporters _ comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is about to rule on a series of cases challenging the administration's ability to hold U.S. and foreign prisoners indefinitely without constitutional protections.

The cases before the Supreme Court include a suit brought by attorneys for Padilla challenging his detention without trial in a military prison and the denial of access to a lawyer. Another case challenges the policy of holding accused al-Qaida and Taliban fighters at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba without access to the U.S. courts or international legal protections under the Geneva Conventions.

The outcomes could have a far-reaching impact on the way the government conducts the war on terrorism.