Charlie Savage, of the Times, reported that Rishikof had been exploring a possible plea deal for the alleged 9/11 planners.
Mr. Hicks's parents say his lawyers and the government are discussing a possible plea bargain in exchange for a limited sentence, but neither side would discuss details of the negotiations.
Last week, government lawyers began preparing for a possible plea, obtaining White House approval to go ahead with talks, government officials said.
As for a possible plea deal, he said, "I'm not open to it, and that's what I'll share with my son".
Fisher and Arthur Cotter had been discussing a possible plea bargain — fourteen years to life for second-degree murder — but after reading the psychiatric reports Cotter chose to go to trial, a decision that several family members endorsed.
The deal followed months of jockeying over the possible plea, with lawyers on each side waiting for the other to flinch.
Under new, stiffer sentencing guidelines for securities fraud, a possible plea might carry an extensive prison sentence, and the talks have deadlocked, people involved said.
Lawyers for the doctor, Anthony Galea of Toronto, and prosecutors have reached a possible plea agreement, according to two people briefed on the case.
Although there has been a lot of talk of a possible third Palestinian intifada, or uprising, ahead of a possible Palestinian plea for international recognition of statehood at the United Nations this fall, there was no evidence that Sunday's events had led to any unrest in the Palestinian territories.
He would not comment on a possible plea deal.
