By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.comA remorseful New York imam, as expected, pleaded guilty Thursday to lying to FBI agents in the subway bombing plot.
The Associated Press reported that a tearful Ahmad Afzali told the judge that he wanted to help authorities but lied under grilling by the FBI.
He had tipped off al Qaeda associate Najibullah Zazi that he was under surveillance by authorities in New York. Zazi pleaded guilty to plotting to blow up the New York subway system.
AP said his guilty plea spares him serious jail time, but will force him to leave the country.
He also told the judge he was sorry for lying about his conversations with Zazi.
“In doing so, I failed to live up to my obligation to this country, my community, my family, and my religion,” he said, according to AP. “I am truly sorry.”
The plea agreement says that Afzali could get up to six months in jail and that he would have to leave the country within 90 days after serving his sentence.
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