Remember those Detroit terror cell convictions? Remember John Ashcroft’s pride and resolution and studly manhood in gittin’ them thar terrorists amongst us? Well, now Crisco Johnny says:Throw them out.

The Justice Department is “concurring in the defendants’ motions for a new trial” and asks the court to dismiss the first count of the original indictment charging the defendants with material support of terrorism, according to a summary of the government’s filing that was obtained by The Associated Press through the court’s electronic access system.

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The department’s decision came after a monthslong internal investigation uncovered several pieces of evidence that prosecutors failed to turn over to defense lawyers before the trial last year. The probe exposed deep differences within the government over the course of the case and the quality of the prosecution’s evidence.

“We’re extremely grateful,” William Swor, lawyer for defendant Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi, said Wednesday. “It’s a major victory.”

Swor said the dropping of the terrorism charges leaves the government with “a garden-variety document case” against his client. “Our work is just beginning.”

This follows a pretty predictable pattern: Crisco Johnny flies into town, makes a big announcement about we’ve caught American-hating terrorists, we have detailed evidence, blah blah blah. Six months later, they admit they’ve got maybe some low-level fraud charges, maybe the guy overstayed his visa, but certainly no conspiracy to commit terrorism against American targets. The guy gets deported, goes to jail for a year, or just disappears back into the realm of immigrants we don’t care about. And nobody says a word.

Feel safer yet?

A.