Former Southwest Michigan Congressman Mark Siljander to stand trial in 2009 (Aided Terrorists)

KANSAS CITY — A date in 2009 has been set for former Southwest Michigan Congressman Mark Siljander to stand trial on charges in connection with an alleged international terrorism ring.

U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey, of the Western District of Missouri, signed an order last month setting a trial date of Nov. 2, 2009, for Siljander and other defendants in the case involving the Islamic American Relief Agency.

Siljander was indicated in January on charges of money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. The government alleges the agency used stolen money to pay Siljander for lobbying efforts and that Siljander lied to federal investigators.

Prosecutors say the organization aided a terrorist with ties to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Siljander has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer has said Siljander “vehemently denies” the charges.

Siljander, 57, formerly of St. Joseph County, represented portions of Southwest Michigan in the old 4th Congressional District from 1981-87. He now lives in Great Falls, Va.

Some here are quick to judge... I believe unfairly.

I have met Mark - had lunch with him and some mutual
friends in the Congressional Dining Room. I found him
to be a great guy.

From one of those mutual friends, Mark claims the US
wanted him to testify against a Muslim who he believes
is innocent and threatened to prosecute him for aiding a terrorist, if he refuses to do it. He refused and is paying
the price of pressure and the threat of being convicted.

Time will tell, but I do not believe all the facts are
out yet.

SfG,
Yes, I read it. Is it true? I don’t know. Did Scooter Libby
lie? I don’t know. All I relayed is that the Feds wanted
to enlist him to testify against the people involved that
he personally knew. He didn’t believe they were guilty. The
Feds threatened him personally with indictment, trial and
expense of defending himself, if he didn’t testify. He
refused.

That is all I really know, via a mutual friend who has been
close to Mark for a decade and remains so.

Did he know it was an Islamic front group? I don’t know.
I do know you can indict a ham sandwich, if it serves your
purposes, when you have the power of Prosecutor.

Personally, I liked Mark when I met him and I don’t believe
he would knowingly do what he is accused of. But ultimately,
I don’t know any more than I’ve written.

If he is innocent, this is a travesty to put a family through
something like this. I hope it goes well for him.

best,
ampu

Like you, I don't know any more than what I read, and Feds have used devious methods at times to try to get witnesses, but I think that it sounds pretty bad when you read this:

That my former boss, Mark Siljander would take money from [ Al-Qaeda front charity Islamic American Relief Agency]--and it's a fact that he did--is outrageous and shocking to me. That he apparently lied, twice, to the FBI about it, is even more so. That he lied about writing a book about "bridging the gap" between Islam and Christianity is even worse.

At a bare minimum, he was working for an Islamic charity which doesn't seem to fit his previous pattern of being a vocal critic of Islamic terrorism. As Schlussel says:

But what was he even doing lobbying for an Islamic charity?

sfg,
I don’t think I can adequately answer your question, since
I don’t know Mark currently. I will add that Mark had compassion
for a Muslim world without Christ and did a lot over a very
long time to help spread the message of Christ to Muslims.
The day I was dining with him and others in the Congressional
dining room, we were joined by a Muslim ambassador that Mark
and others had been trying to lead to Christ for a couple
years.

I know the group was a relief agency. I think Mark would
have liked that. Did he know that agency funneled money
to terrorist groups? I don’t know. I doubt it, based on my
limited exposure. My understanding, after reading the
Justice Department’s press release is that he was lobbying
for the relief agency to be taken off the list. Did he know
any more than that it was a relief agency? Who knows.

I certainly don’t hate all muslims. I give money to Christian
groups that provide relief for them when an earthquake hits,
etc. There is a place in this world for Muslim groups that
also provide relief. Just not ones that use it as a cover
for funneling that money to charity.

I don’t think we’ll know until testimony and facts are
revealed at a trial. Until then, it is one sided. He may
be guilty or may not and I simply do not know.

I would hate to be in his position.

ampu

read this quote from Newsweek back in January...

“Siljander served in the House between 1981 and 1987, representing a Michigan district that was previously represented by David Stockman, the former OMB director who was indicted last year for allegedly defrauding investors about an automotive firm he once headed. Siljander, who now runs a Washington-area lobbying firm called Global Strategies, is “internationally recognized for his good-faith attempts to bridge the gap between Christian and Muslim communities worldwide,” according to his lawyer, James R. Hobbs. Hobbs added that his client has never engaged in any “prohibited financial transactions with any U.S.-designated terrorist” and intends to plead not guilty.

The new case is especially high-stakes for the Justice Department, because it comes after a series of acquittals and mixed verdicts against other Islamic charities accused of financing terrorism. Most notably, a recent trial against leaders of the Holy Land Foundation accused of funneling money to Hamas ended in a mistrial.

IARA, which has since ceased business, was raided by the FBI three years ago and was charged in an earlier indictment last year with violating U.S. sanctions against Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq by sending money to that country. But the new charges against the group are potentially more explosive. Operating out of modest offices in the sleepy college town of Columbia (home of the University of Missouri), IARA had portrayed itself to the public as a worldwide charity that was dedicated to the “care of orphans” and other worthy causes. In fact, according to the new charges, as recently as three years ago the group was diverting up to $130,000 to bank accounts in Peshawar, Pakistan, controlled by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, an Afghan mujahedin leader who has vowed to wage a “holy war” against U.S. troops in Afghanistan and heads a group that has participated in terrorist acts by Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The group also employed an individual, Ziyad Khaleel, who the indictment states was a “publicly identified associate and procurement agent of Osama bin Laden.”

Curtis Woods, a lawyer for Mubarek Hamed, the former executive director of IARA, disputed these charges, telling NEWSWEEK that if any of the charity’s funds were provided to an “unlawful person,” such as Hekmatyar, “it was inadvertent and not intended.” He also said there was “no truth” to the allegation that the charity employed an agent of bin Laden.”

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