Columbia Univ.: Would-be assassin never admitted

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A man from Uzbekistan who got more than 15 years in prison for threatening to assassinate the president claims he was once accepted to Columbia University's medical school.

The university says they have no record of him being admitted.

What's at stake is the credibility of Ulugbek Kodirov as he helps investigators of terror threats against the United States.

While Kodirov's defense attorney says his client believes he was accepted to Columbia, he says there could be a misunderstanding because of a language barrier.

Kodirov was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to plotting to kill the president. He was communicating with an Islamic group in his native country and his sentence was reduced in part because he agreed to help authorities investigate them.

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