Feds to appeal prison term of would-be millennium bomber

[stevedeshazer]

SEATTLE -- U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour got plenty of attention last month when he used the sentencing of would-be millennium bomber Ahmed Ressam to criticize the Bush administration's handling of the war on terror.

Now he may get a chance to see whether appeals court judges found his remarks appropriate.

Federal prosecutors said Friday they will appeal the 22-year prison sentence Coughenour imposed on Ressam to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Though the Justice Department's primary complaint is the length of the sentence, government lawyers may also raise the issue of whether Coughenour's comments showed some bias against their case.

"I'm going to let the 9th Circuit decide that," U.S. Attorney John McKay said Friday when asked whether he considered the judge's remarks appropriate.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?category=6420&slug=WA%20Millennium%20Terror

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This surely will be a Republican talking point...a federal judge who is "soft on terror" and an "activist judge".

Nevermind that the Bush Crime Family would never have caught this guy, but under Clinton, the Millennium Bomber was caught and jailed.

Nevermind that the Osama Clock just rolled over to 1439 days since Bush declared we'd "smoke him out" or "get them runnin'" or "dead or alive" or whatever.

What you'll hear is that Coughenour is an "activist judge".

Take it to the bank and cash it right now. Some shill at Fox is writing the story, I'll bet my next paycheck.

[WhiteTara]

1. 22 years is a cake walk?

Or was he supposed to be shot in the stadium so that people could see how we treat those terrists? :shrug:

[Horse with no Name]

2. You got it ALL wrong

He was to be fed to the lions in the coliseum.

[WhiteTara]

5. just for an afternoon's sport, of course. eom

[tulsakatz]

3. Clinton

And the thing that people usually forget about Clinton is.......we don't remember the same kind of reports (as we have now) about terrorism because the Clinton administration actually worked to combat terrorism!!

As in this case, they got to the guy before he could do any damage so therefore, they don't remember this milennium bombing attempt.

I've often wondered if 9/11 would even have happened if we had had another President.

[WhiteTara]

4. of course not!

No other president would have either let or made this terrible event happen. Taking a page from Hitler's play book, evidence shows that not only is there credible information that shows this misadministration allowed the terrorists access or that they paid the terrorists to perform the murders.
by the way, welcome to DU :hi: