U.S. officials are backing away from assertions that a man arrested last month in Chicago was plotting a 'dirty' bomb attack on the United States, CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart reports.

U.S. officials now admit they're not sure what American-born Abdullah al Muhajir's plans were when he returned to the U.S. last month.

Al Mujahir was taken from Justice Department custody in New York City Monday morning to a high-security U.S. Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Rivers Johnson. Military officials have not decided whether to charge Muhajir or what charges to file, Johnson said.

Muhajir had a lawyer in New York but his access to a lawyer probably will be severely restricted now that he is in military custody, Johnson said. The alleged al Qaeda operative is being held separately from other prisoners at the brig, Johnson said.

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Al Muhajir is being held by the Defense Department as an "enemy combatant," which under the rules of war allows him to be questioned without the usual protections afforded in the U.S. judicial system, like having an attorney present. Officials have not ruled out lodging criminal charges against al Muhajir later.

President Bush has said American citizens would not be tried in military tribunals that were created after Sept. 11 to try foreign terrorists outside the U.S. court system.