Reply #53: BULLSH!T!!!! Ayers was NEVER convicted of any crime!

[Political Tiger]

"There has been a sudden spate of blog items and newspaper articles, mainly in the British press, linking Barack Obama to a former member of the radical Weather Underground Organization that claimed responsibility for a dozen bombings between 1970 and 1974. The former Weatherman, William Ayers, now holds the position of distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Although never convicted of any crime, he told the New York Times in September 2001, "I don't regret setting bombs...I feel we didn't do enough.""
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/02/obamas_weatherman_connection.html

Ayers was not facing criminal charges at the time, but the federal government later filed charges against him...While underground, he and fellow member Bernardine Dohrn married, and the two remained fugitives together, changing identities, jobs and locations....In 1973, the federal government requested the dismissal of the charges against the couple in the interest of national security following accusations of government misconduct,<17> but state charges against Dohrn remained.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ayers

Dohrn and Ayers finally turned themselves in, in Chicago. Federal bombing conspiracy charges had been dropped because of improper FBI surveillance.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/weather/radicals_8-22.html

After 11 years in hiding, Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn surrendered to federal authorities in 1980. Charges of crossing state lines to destroy property and to create a civil disturbance were dropped due to improper surveillance by the authorities.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/article909980.ece?comments=legacy