Feds want more prison for Arnaout

More charity jihad, from the Daily Southtown:

Prosecutors told a federal appeals court Tuesday that Enaam Arnaout, the imprisoned leader of a now-defunct Palos Hills-based Muslim charity, should have been dealt with as a terrorist and sentenced to much more time behind bars.
Arnaout, 42, is serving an 11-year prison sentence for defrauding donors of Benevolence International Foundation. The Syrian-born Justice resident pleaded guilty two years ago to charges he used some charitable donations to help armed rebels in Bosnia and Chechnya.

Arnaout's attorneys insist he deserves a new sentencing hearing under a recent ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that tossed out the mandatory system used to determine how much prison time Arnaout was eligible for.

But in their own appeal of the sentence, prosecutors claim the judge who handled the case should have ruled that Arnaout promoted terrorism — a finding that would have mandated he spend at least 20 years behind bars. During brief oral arguments before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Kocoras said Arnaout's sentence was "unreasonably low."

The U.S. attorney's office has long insisted Arnaout was linked to al-Qaida and at one point was a close associate of Osama bin Laden. The legal case tying Arnaout to al-Qaida fizzled after a series of adverse court rulings, and a judge ultimately concluded the government had "failed to connect the dots" between Arnaout and terrorism.

And even though prosecutors eventually agreed to drop the terrorism charges against Arnaout in exchange for his guilty plea to fraud, they still maintain the case is much more serious than a simple money-swiping scheme.

"He wasn't defrauding donors to line his pockets with money," Kocoras said. "He was defrauding donors to arm fighters overseas."

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11 Comments

rb | February 17, 2005 9:12 AM

We're on to the charities, now we need to start concentrating on shutting down foreign-funded mosques that are promulgating hatred within our borders.

Gary | February 17, 2005 9:18 AM

OT but Jihad-related (in the second case)

Embedded reporter: What would you do if?
http://www.nationalreview.com/blyth/blyth200502170748.asp

Soros backing of Lynn Stewart (potential Treasonist):
http://www.nationalreview.com/york/york200502170843.asp

Gary | February 17, 2005 9:36 AM

btw, Stephen Schwartz is prevaricating again, on TechCentralStation. Still trying to reduce it to 'a tiny minority of extremists.'

Catherine | February 17, 2005 9:40 AM

Gary
Soros is buying up cnn[commi news network] time to sell noticed it went down yesterday??

Now wouldn't that be some thing if a Judge gave this Monster more time??

I don't think it would be double jepordy if they press charges of Terrorism support??

Part of the American Tribe
Squirrel Hunter
Spider Killer
God Bless the USA and her Fighting Forces and ALL who Fight with her give them Strength, Wisdom, Sight, and Courage to stay the course to Destroy ALL islamic Terrorist and ALL who Support them Amen

PS
Sen. Finstien was so worried about the OTM's but she is the Law maker what is she doing about the problem??

Sister you don't get off that easy!!

PSS
Shoes with Boes and Toes exposed worth fighting for!!

Gary | February 17, 2005 9:47 AM

Catherine~ Now you have me wondering. Soros is buying up CNN stock? And is a Major investor in the Carlyle Group? Hmmmmmmmm.....

Stay safe, everyone. Back later, job hunting!

Moe Goldberg | February 17, 2005 10:53 AM

AN OPEN LETTER TO AMERICA'S MUSLIMS...

Here is what is going to happen in your lifetime because of your inability and/or your lack of desire and/or your fear and because of your utter lack of action regarding the evil, criminal Muslim organizations and individuals here in America that you allow to act and speak for you (CAIR comes to mind first):

Some Muslims will detonate a dirty bomb or use chemical or biological agents and kill and injure thousands of Americans. With that next occurrence, Americans - voting Americans - will demand, and get, the following:

ALL Muslims in America will be rounded up and detained in camps located in remote sections of this country. Since we can't tell the difference between good and bad Muslims (and none of you 'good Muslims' help us to do so), ALL of you will be locked away. You can call where you'll be living concentration camps if you want - we won't care what you call them. But you all will be removed from your homes, your jobs, your schools, and will from that day on be absolutely unacceptable persona non grata in the USA. American Muslims have had more than three years to do anything and say anything about the evil perverted members of your religion, but you have proven to the American people, your neighbors, your co-workers, your government, that you will not lift a finger to stop the sick members of your religion from trying their best to kill us.

Subsequently, to protect America from your co-religionists and your silence, you will be (no matter how nicely it's put) locked up and guarded with weapons at the ready, probably for the rest of your life. Since the Islamist enemy is sneaky, underground and "protected" by your spokespeople, you will end up paying that dear price of losing forever, your freedom of movement, your freedom of anything here in America. Maybe the US government will give you the option of leaving the country, but those of you Muslims who are American citizens and have no other country to go to will be, like the Japanese interred during World War Two, put away. But unlike the Japanese, who were released when that war ended, you will never be released, because this war that you silent Muslims have allowed, by your lack of doing or saying even one thing to stop or protest the Islamists, will never end. Your holy book has instructed the Islamists to never stop killing infidels until the end of days, hence the freedom of your days will have to be ended by our government.

You Muslims may think that the powers that be in Washington will never allow this to happen; you may think that groups such as CAIR will always be there to act as your mouthpiece, to rally the "Muslim troops" to lobby politicians who will come to your rescue - after all, it's not YOU who are the problem, it's the Islamists. Guess again - the American citizenry will demand the actions mentioned above, and will only elect political representatives who will do what it will take to make America free of Islamists. Even those politicians on the left will see the light sooner or later, or not be re-elected. And when the next Muslim-caused terrorist action occurs here in America, the people running organizations like CAIR will be open targets. They will be forced underground forever, or will leave the country to save themselves from death at the hands of those Toms, Dicks and Harrys that live everywhere in America.

You WILL be locked up, and you only have yourselves to blame. Because there was an uproar over what happened to the Japanese in America, you probably think it won't happen to Muslims - it WILL, and you and your children will live the rest of your days in permanent detention.

How much more time do you think you have, you American Muslims, until you see the light and speak out against the so called Muslim "civil rights" organizations here in America? What will it take to have you, as an organized group, expose those murderers among you? Is your silence because you are afraid that the Islamists will kill you if you speak up here in America? Is your silence because in your heart, you WANT America to fall and become another Islamic country? In the end, the reasons for your silence won't matter, and by then it will be too late for you. The time for your actions against Islamism is now. If you don't do something now, you will lose your chance forever.

Morgane | February 17, 2005 2:53 PM

Agree Arnaout should be given a much longer sentence to deter others from playing the same game. Fear that Arnaout & Co are merely the tip of an Iceberg of deceit that reaches tentacles into every mosque in the U.S.

adela | February 17, 2005 3:14 PM

The single most disturbing fact about this was the judge`s decision that the terrorist connection has not been proven...
Liberal ,activist judges will always side with the terrorists,based on their liberal blame-America-first mentality,and that is why it is so important to remove these activist judges.
Mark Levin`s book Men in black" is very informative.
Also Newt Gingrich in his new book "Winning the future",gives one of the most curageous,clear and complete definition for the war on terror,who the enemy is and how to fight this new type of warfare.

CGW | February 17, 2005 4:52 PM

Moe Goldberg:

They don't do anything because, in their heart of hearts, although they may disapprove of some of the methods employed, they truly believe that the entire world has been promised to muslims by "allah", and that to fight or take a stand against it is futile as it is inevitable. This is a key tenet of their cult and although they may be more "moderate" in their practices or approach they are completely convinced that the domination of the world by their cult is a foregone conclusion. To deny it as a fact would be to become an apostate and to be exiled from the ummah. The penalty for apostasy notwithstanding, the very thought of the rejection of a belief so central to their mindset in unacceptable and forestalls any action and most discussion to the contrary.

SeenathePersian | February 17, 2005 5:32 PM

I have read most of the news accounts about Arnaout's trial, and I believe the prosecutors did an extremely lousy job. The judge indeed had no choice but to reject the terrorism charges.

Their main evidence was a photo from 1986-8 that showed Arnaout with Bin Laden in Afghanistan. Well, Arnaout argued that at that time Bin Laden was receiving money from the CIA, they were both fighting evil communists, and Bin Laden was not considered a terrorist at tha time. Prosecutors failed to establish any newer link between Arnaout and Bin Laden.

Then about sending money to Bosnia, his charge was that he purchased shoes and boots for Bosnian army in 1993-4 in their struggle against the Serbs. But at the same time NATO and the US were supporting the Bosnian army too. It was difficult to convict the guy for supporting the group that the United States was supporting at the same time.

So this is why the only standing charge was defraud; sending money to Bosnia from his charity; and he got a stiff sentence for that. If the prosecutors want to get him on terrorism charges, they have to provide more evidences to the court.

hadithher2 | February 17, 2005 11:22 PM

whatever happened to the we dont negotiate with terrorist' at all....no rock left unturned.

the atrocities committed in our justice system and the inadequecies of the feds are about to come to end,were not going to take it anymore.

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