BY LINDA BENTLEY | JULY 25, 2012
Bachmann sticks to her guns on Islamist infiltration concerns
‘I will not be silent as this administration appeases our enemies instead of telling the truth about the threats our country faces’
WASHINGTON – On June 13, amongst rising concerns that members of the Muslim Brotherhood may have infiltrated the highest levels of the U.S. government, Reps. Michele Bachmann (l), R-Minn., Trent Franks, R-Ariz., Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, Thomas Rooney, R-Fla., and Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., sent letters to the various inspectors general, acting inspectors general or deputy inspector general of the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense and Department of Justice, raising serious questions about their department’s policies and activities, which appear to be influenced by individuals and organizations associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
In their letter to Ambassador Howard Geisel, Deputy Inspector General, Department of State, they state, “Given that the U.S. government has established in federal court that the Muslim Brotherhood’s mission in the United States is ‘destroying the Western civilization from within’ – a practice the Muslim Brothers call ‘civilized jihad’ – we believe that apparent involvement of those with such ties raises serious security concerns that warrant your urgent attention.”
The letter goes on to say, “The State Department and, in several cases, the specific direction of the Secretary of state, have taken actions recently that have been enormously favorable to the Muslim Brotherhood and its interests.”
They specifically cite Secretary Hillary Clinton’s personal intervention that allowed prominent Muslim Brotherhood leader Tariq Ramadan to enter the United States, overturning a policy of a previous administration that precluded him from entering and pointed out, “Mr. Ramadan has reportedly used the visits thus made possible to engage in what the Brotherhood calls ‘civilization jihad’ in the United States: proselytization, recruitment, indoctrination, fundraising, and other forms of promotion of the totalitarian, supremacist Islamic doctrine known as shariah.”
Also included in their concerns was Clinton's “waiver of congressional restrictions on aid to the Palestinian Authority, which now has a so-called ‘unity government’ that includes Hamas, a designated terrorist organization and the Palestinian franchise of the Muslim Brotherhood. This cleared the way for a transfer of $170 million in U.S. foreign aid to terrorist organization, Hamas, and its partner, Fatah.”
In their letter to Department of Homeland Security Acting Inspector General Charles Edwards, they raised concerns about the advisory roles of three individuals, Dalia Mogahed, Mohamed Elibiary and Mohamed Magid, who have extensive ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist organizations and causes.
They wrote, “The problematic nature of this arrangement is evident from, for example, the use of Imam Magid by the Department of Homeland Security - among other federal agencies - as a liaison with the Muslim-American community insofar as he is the president of the largest Muslim Brotherhood front in America, the Islamic Society of North America (lSNA). In this regard, we note that the ‘Supreme Guide’ of the international Muslim Brotherhood, Muhammad Badie, in September 2010 openly called for jihad by all ‘the Arab and Muslim peoples" against the United States.”
It goes on to state, “Examples of other aspects of the DepaIrment's activities that suggest an undue, and potentially dangerous, influence exercised by such individuals within DHS or other parts of the federal government include: A DHS ‘Lexicon’ that obscures, rather than clarifies, the threat we face from jihadism. Its approved words effectively equate those perpetrating this threat with ones said to arise from ‘Christian patriots,’ ‘Constitutionalists,’ and ‘militia extremists.’”
The letters revealed numerous incidents in which departmental policy decisions were based on the influencing directives of the Muslim Brotherhood and/or other radical Islamist organizations.
On July 13, Bachmann responded personally to concerns raised in a letter from Rep. Keith Ellison (r), D-Minn., one of two Muslim members of Congress.
Bachmann referred to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper’s testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Feb. 10, 2011, in which he stated “Brotherhood operatives” within the U.S. government may have directly influenced the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment of the Muslim Brotherhood.
She said, “Director Clapper's statement was in response to a question by Rep. Sue Myrick about information entered into evidence during the Holy Land Foundation trial – the largest terrorism finance trial in American history – that specifically identified these U.S.-based Muslim Brotherhood front organizations and their commitment to a published agenda to ‘destroying Western Civilization from within.’”
Ellison claimed their letter to the Department of State indicated: “The mother, brother and deceased father of Huma Abedin, Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, and that she, too, by extension, may be working on the organization's behalf.”
Bachmann countered his statement with, “Not once in the letter to the Inspector General of the Department of State, as you summarize, was it stated that ‘by extension, (Ms. Abedin), may be working on the organization's behalf.’ In fact, what we wrote was that: ... the Deputy Chief of Staff, Huma Abedin, has three family members – her late father, her mother and her brother – connected to Muslim Brotherhood operatives and/or organizations. Her position provides her with routine access to the Secretary and to policy-making.”
Bachmann stated, “Given the reasonable assumption that Ms. Abedin has a high-level security clearance, as a member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence I am particularly interested in exactly how, given what we know from the international media about Ms. Abedin's documented family connections with the extremist Muslim Brotherhood, she was able to avoid being disqualified for a security clearance. If these known and documented family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood would not disqualify someone for a security clearance, what specifically is the standard to be disqualified on foreign influence grounds?”
While Bachmann has taken heat from a few members of Congress, including Sen. John McCain over the letters she has stood her ground.
And, on July 18, Rep. Michele Bachmannn, R-Minn., issued the following statement: “The letters my colleagues and I sent on June 13 to the Inspectors General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Department of State – and the follow up letter I wrote to Rep. Ellison on July 13 – are unfortunately being distorted.
“I encourage everyone, including media outlets, to read them in their entirety. The intention of the letters was to outline the serious national security concerns I had and ask for answers to questions regarding the Muslim Brotherhood and other radical groups' access to top Obama administration officials.
“Most recently, the State Department shockingly decided to give Hani Nour Eldin, a member of an Egyptian designated terrorist group, a visa to not only enter the country in violation of the federal laws prohibiting material support for terrorism, but to be granted a meeting inside the White House with National Security Council officials.
“The terror group member used the opportunity of his White House visit to call for the release of the imprisoned leader of his organization, the ‘Blind Sheikh,’ Omar Abdel Rahman, who is currently serving a life sentence for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and later planned terror plots inside the U.S.
“This is just the latest example of the dangerous national security decisions made by the Obama administration. I will not be silent as this administration appeases our enemies instead of telling the truth about the threats our country faces.”
