How the Ft. Hood jihadi's terror imam got away - an update.

Mind-blowing and unbelievably frustrating.

From the Denver Post:

A Muslim cleric who communicated with the Army psychiatrist accused in the Fort Hood shootings was charged with passport fraud in Colorado in 2002. [...] U.S. Attorney David Gaouette (GOW-ette) in Denver said al-Awlaki was charged with passport fraud after a California agent discovered al-Awlaki lied on a 1990 Social Security application. The imam said he was born in Yemen, instead of Las Cruces, N.M., where he was born in 1971.

But federal prosecutors said Wednesday they dismissed the charge before the cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, could be arrested because they learned the charge was invalid.

Here's how:

"... Gaouette says prosecutors dismissed those charges a few months later after learning that a Social Security number al-Awlaki used to obtain the passport was valid.)

Here's why:

But after the charge was filed, Gaouette said, prosecutors discovered that al-Awlaki had corrected his place of birth with the Social Security Administration and that his passport application was therefore proper. A 10-year statue of limitations on charges of lying to the Social Security Administration had expired, so prosecutors had no case against the imam.

FYI - The reason he listed his birthplace as Yemen when he filed for this Social Security application? He wanted to be eligible for a foreign student visa. Now, why would he want to do that? FINANCIAL AID.

They discovered that the U.S.-born cleric attended Colorado State University in the early 1990's on an F-1 foreign student visa, stating on the visa application that he was actually born in Yemen and not New Mexico. This enabled authorities to charge Awlaki with passport fraud, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Man, there is steam coming out of my ears, but you know what really ticks me off? If the charges were so invalid then why did the federal prosecutors in Colorado go on to say this?

And even if the passport charge had been pursued, a prosecutor who was among those who called for the dismissal says the imam was unlikely to face much jail time if convicted.

How much jail time according to recent Obama appointee, Gaouette? "Six months, at the most."

That's it? That's all they've got? You have got to be kidding me!

File this one under Reason # 3989 that treating terrorists as ordinary criminals just does not work.

Related: How the Ft. Hood jihadi's imam got away.