Posted on 01/16/2008 12:11:59 PM PST by varina davis
Ex-Lawmaker Charged in Terror Conspiracy
Jan 16 02:42 PM US/Eastern By LARA JAKES JORDAN Associated Press Writer 19 Comments
WASHINGTON (AP) - A former congressman and delegate to the United Nations was indicted Wednesday as part of a terrorist fundraising ring that allegedly sent more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.
The former Republican congressman from Michigan, Mark Deli Siljander, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who read the title and immediately assumed “Democrat”.
Reminds me of my favorite FReeper tagline: “I’ve got the rope.”
Nope. It only took them until the second sentence to mention that he’s a Republican. What you should have assumed is only that if they did not mention his party affiliation, then he is a Dem.
from Wikipedia:
Siljander takes an interest in conflict resolution, particularly in Islamic countries, and in recent years has tried to publicize the common ground between Christianity and Islam, particularly in the Koran’s portrayal of Jesus. This is a turnaround from a previous position in which he objected to the Koran being read at a prayer breakfast, asking the emcee: “How can you read the book of the devil at a prayer breakfast?” [1] He is widely traveled, and claims to have visited over 120 countries.[2] Siljander is also one of the few American politicians to have visited Libya in recent years.
“Wiki” him....., strange record. Strange name.
He represented 4th district, mid-state, not Dearbornistan.
you should know better.....only Pubs are actually brought up on charges....Rats are rarely investigated or reported on when they molest, steal, kill, conspire, etc...
Let’s not question anyone’s patriotism - yeah right. If an ex GOP congressman was mixed up in this anyone can be suspect.
I was surprised he was Republican, but then again both sides have been pretty cruddy lately.
IMHO I would not be surprised if there are more who are currently serving in Congress doing the same thing. That is if enough rocks are turned over and the debris under them is examined.
New Charges Against Former Congressman
Today’s superseding indictment also names Mark Deli Siljander as a defendant on counts of money laundering, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. According to the indictment, Siljander was hired in March 2004 by defendants IARA, Hamed, and Bagegni to advocate for the removal of IARA from a U.S. Senate Finance Committee list of non-profit organizations suspected of being involved in supporting international terrorism.
The Senate Finance Committee placed IARA on this list of charities and published the list on Jan. 14, 2004. Siljander was to advocate for IARA’s removal from the list and reinstatement as an approved government contractor by gathering information and meeting with individuals and agencies of the U.S. government.
As compensation for the services that Siljander agreed to perform, IARA transferred roughly $50,000 in stolen federal funds to accounts that were controlled by Siljander at the National Heritage Foundation and the International Foundation. According to the indictment, the funds used to compensate Siljander for his services had previously been stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) by IARA, Hamed and Bagegni. The International Foundation and the National Heritage Foundation, which is not related to the Heritage Foundation, are not charged with any wrongdoing in this case.
IARA, Hamed and Bagegni had previously entered into a series of agreements with USAID for relief projects in Mali, Africa. When USAID terminated those agreements in December 1999, the amount of money involved totaled approximately $2 million. IARA had allegedly failed to fully fund the matching contributions required to receive USAID funds. After the termination of these agreements, the indictment alleges, IARA, Hamed and Bagegni, without authorization, retained approximately $84,922 of USAID money and failed to return the funds to USAID as called for by the agreements.
According to Count Twenty-Eight of the indictment, Siljander and defendants IARA, Hamed, Bagegni and El-Siddig conspired to engage in money laundering by transferring stolen USAID funds, knowing that the transfers were designed to conceal the nature, source and ownership of the proceeds. Counts Twenty-Nine through Thirty-One of the indictment charge Siljander along with IARA, Hamed, Bagegni and El-Siddig with engaging in money laundering by transferring stolen USAID funds, knowing that the transfers were designed to conceal the nature, source and ownership of the proceeds.
Curious. He is president of Global Strategies, Inc. Why does that sound so familiar?
He objected to the public reading of the Koran at a prayer breakfast and then ends up donating to a terrorist conspiracy? What made him turn?
He has a book scheduled to come out in June, 2008: A Deadly Misunderstanding: A Congressman’s Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide.
Lost of unanswered questions here.
Thanks for the link to the Wikipedia page on Siljander.
“It’s a small world after all” and looks like I’ve only got a few
“degrees of separation” from the guy.
As he helped raise $$$ for the Islamic American Relief Agency
which is in my parents town. And they watched the home of the “charity”’s
leader being raided by an FBI posse a couple of years ago.
(The guy and his family have basically gone off the radar since then.)
Here are more links:
Islamic American Relief Agency
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_American_Relief_Agency
real lowdown on the Islamic American Relief Agency at
“Discover The Network” site run by David Horowitz and FrontPageMag
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6408
Yeah it sounds like someone trying so hard to “Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide” that he perhaps inadvertantly crossed over to the darkside unwittingly. I will give him the benefit of doubt at his point until evidence leads me away from this stance.
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