U.S. Congressman LOUIE GOHMERT: Proudly Serving the First District of Texas

Washington -  Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01) released the following statement today concerning his comments about President Obama’s Middle East policy:

“I do not believe the President is intentionally doing anything to endanger America’s fight against terrorism. But, when you get bad advice, you formulate bad policy. The turmoil in the Middle East is causing the region to fall apart and has fostered extremist groups’ rise to power, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood.  In addition, four people were killed in Benghazi, Libya, including the U.S. Ambassador and we still haven’t gotten a straight answer about what took place there.   It is fair to ask about the amount of influence the Muslim Brotherhood groups in America have on the Obama Administration and the formulation of its policies. Actually it is more than fair.  It is our duty as Members of Congress.”

Background:

The Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial was the largest terrorism funding trial in U.S. history.  The list of unindicted co-conspirators from the trial included the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT).  These co-conspirators were not tried in the first round of prosecutions in Dallas under the Bush Administration where five defendants were convicted on all counts.  Evidence utilized in the first round of prosecutions is posted here on the website for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

The Obama Administration has not shown any interest in the second round of prosecutions that were planned for HLF terrorism funding.

CAIR, NAIT and ISNA all petitioned the court to have their names removed from the list of unindicted co-conspirators, which is an assemblage of over 200 groups and individuals under consideration for prosecution in the matter by the Bush Justice Department. The 5^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that CAIR, NAIT and ISNA should not have their names removed.  The judge’s order confirms that a prima facie case was made (page 7 of Judge Solis’ order) that the entities have strong associations with the Muslim Brotherhood, namely Hamas, its Palestinian branch, which is specifically designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.  From Judge Solis’ order (page 15).

“The Government has produced ample evidence to establish the associations of CAIR, ISNA and NAIT with HLF, the Islamic Association for Palestine (“IAP”), and with Hamas. While the Court recognizes that the evidence produced by the Government largely predates the HLF designation date, the evidence is nonetheless sufficient to show the association of these entities with HLF, IAP, and Hamas.”

The full judge’s order can be found HERE.

The president of one of these entities in particular, ISNA, is Imam Mohamed Magid. He is a regular visitor to the White House, and admitted advising on at least one of the President’s speeches, particularly the one on Israel in May of 2011 that was so offensive to Israeli leaders. He has led prayer at the White House and even attended at least one of the President’s speeches on the Middle East given in the inner sanctum of the State Department.

Among many other things, Magid is also reported to have counseled the Justice Department to criminalize defamation of Islam.

He serves on the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Violent Extremism group advising the department on counterterrorism policy.

Five of us here in Congress pointed out such irrefutable facts and requested Inspector General Investigations into the extent of the Muslim Brotherhood influence in each of five Obama administration departments.  Rather than accepting various false allegations of what our letters said, legitimate truth seekers may read for themselves specifically what the letters said.

Congressman Louie Gohmert is the Vice Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. Prior to being elected to serve in Congress, Louie was elected to three terms as District Judge in Smith County, Texas. He also served as Chief Justice of Texas'12th Court of Appeals.

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