The Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a U-S airliner remains in federal lockup Friday morning. CBS News has learned he's no longer talking to investigators but that isn't stopping them from learning more about who may have helped him.
Authorities believe American born cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki played a critical role in the bombing attempt of Flight 253.
Months before the attack, he reportedly communicated with terror suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. And Abdulmutallab says they even met face to face.
Al-Awlaki has been on the government radar for years. He apparently counseled three of the 9/11 hijackers and communicated with accused Fort Hood gunman... Major Nidal Malik Hassan
But the Imam denies any link to Al-Qaeda, claiming he's only a spiritual mentor.
"There's always this association between islam and terrorism when that is not true at all. I mean islam is a religion of peace," said Al-Awlaki.
President Obama has already received his first report about the Christmas day incident. Next week, he'll meet personally with officials to talk more about what went wrong.
Preliminary findings blame communication breakdowns among various agencies. Intelligence officials knew Al-Qaeda was preparing a Nigerian in Yemen for an attack but the clues were never put together in time.
Officials say those responsible for the mishap will be held accountable but for now the top priority is preventing another security breach.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has sent a team to Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America to review passenger screening on U-S bound flights.
Officials have also updated the terrorist watch list -- moving some names up to the no-fly list. Such a move could have stopped Abdulmutallab... who was on the watch list but still cleared to fly.
