skin that FPOS alive... then set his azz on FIRE!!!
Posted on 01/16/2008 4:37:53 PM PST by KeyLargo
Former Michigan congressman Siljander indicted by Gazette Staff and News Service Reports Wednesday January 16, 2008, 4:41 PM Gazette fileFormer U.S. Rep. Mark Deli Siljander
A former Kalamazoo-area congressman was indicted Wednesday for his part in an alleged terrorist fundraising ring that is accused of sending more than $130,000 to an al-Qaida and Taliban supporter who has threatened U.S. and international troops in Afghanistan.
Mark Siljander, a former Three Rivers resident who represented southwestern Michigan from 1981-87, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. He allegedly lied about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.
The charges against Siljander were part of a 42-count indictment unsealed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., that accuses the Islamic American Relief Agency of paying Siljander $50,000 for the lobbying -- money that turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
James R. Hobbs, Siljander's lawyer, said in a written statement that Siljander will plead not guilty "at his first opportunity to do so."
"Mark Siljander vehemently denies the allegations in the Indictment," Hobbs said.
Hobbs said Siljander is "internationally recognized for his good faith attempts to bridge the gap between Christian and Muslin communities worldwide."
Hobbs said Siljander's efforts are detailed in his forthcoming book, "A Deadly Misunderstanding, A Congressman's Quest to Bridge the Muslim Christian Divide."
Siljander now lives in suburban Washington, D.C.
The charges are part of a long-running case against the charity, which was formerly based in Columbia, Mo., and was designated by the Treasury Department in 2004 as a suspected fundraiser for terrorists.
In the indictment, the government alleges that IARA employed a man who had served as a fundraising aide to Osama bin Laden.
The indictment charges IARA with sending approximately $130,000 to help Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whom the United States has designated as a global terrorist.
The money, sent to bank accounts in Peshawar, Pakistan, in 2003 and 2004, was masked as donations to an orphanage located in buildings that Hekmatyar owned.
According to the indictment, Siljander was hired in March 2004 by the agency and two other defendants to lobby for the removal of the agency from a U.S. Senate Finance Committee list of non-profit groups linked to international terrorism. The money used to pay Siljander had been stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development, according to the Justice Department.
Siljander, 57, is alleged to have lied to FBI agents and federal prosecutors, telling them he had not been hired to lobby for the organization, the government said.
Siljander allegedly told investigators the money he received represented donations to help him write a book about Islam and Christianity.
The indictment alleges Siljander knew his statements were false at the time he made them.
A former Fabius Township Board trustee, Siljander served in the state House of Representatives from 1977 to 1981. Siljander then served three terms in Congress until he was defeated by U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, in the Republican primary in 1986.
In 1987, President Ronald Reagan appointed Siljander to serve as U.S. delegate to the United Nations for one year.
According to Wednesday's indictment, Siljander now serves as the owner/director of Global Strategies Inc., a planning, marketing and public relations company in the Washington, D.C., area.
Columbia Missouri. A hot bed of terrorist cells.
One of Bin Ladens Sat Phones was purchased in Columbia.
the city is full of ragheads posing as students.
Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
I often ask myself: What would George Washington do. To answer this one, I guess I’d have to ask Benedict Arnold and Major Andre.
Markos Moulitsas
Loretta Sanchez
Michael Forbes
Ray Nagin
Teresa Heinz-Kerry
Jim Webb
So someone please tell Drudge and the LameStreamMedia to label this a$$wipe a criminal, but get off the f**king wagon of trying to make everything about the eeevvvvvuullll GOP.
/rant
Un be freaking leave able.
wait until obama's ties are fully known.
Un be freaking leave able.
wait until obama's ties are fully known.
skin that FPOS alive... then set his azz on FIRE!!!
He likely is more stupid then criminal or treasonous.
Treason is right! I wonder how many others have been able to infiltrate our government? And notice how they made sure the blowback, should the congressman ever be found out, would damage the political party in charge of the War on Terror.
Sadly that is exactly right. Just a dupe.
So sorry for his family.
So you're implying that George Washington would be a tyrant who would use the War on Terror as an excuse to execute without trial a civilian man accused of a crime (not even treason)?
That's an insult to President Washington.
Major Andre was given a trial by court martial. The board consisted of Major Generals Nathanael Greene (the presiding officer), Lord Stirling, Arthur St. Clair, Lafayette, Robert Howe, Steuben, Brigadier Generals Samuel H. Parsons, James Clinton, Henry Knox, John Glover, John Paterson, Edward Hand, Jedediah Huntington, John Stark, and Judge-Advocate-General John Laurance.
I think you do accuse President Washington of those things, not I. My point was that he was a man of tough Justice. Major Andre accepted his fate honorably.
The word "martial" is important. Plant food is food for plants and a court martial is a military court; if you were to feed the accused plant food, it's not giving him appropriate food, and to give him a court martial would not be giving him a appropriate trial.
However, if your comment merely meant, "deal with him appropriately for his position, whether military or civilian," then fair enough. If that's the case, I apologize for misunderstanding your comment for the all-too-common FR habit of grabbing pitchfork and torches based on an MSM claim or a government accusation.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.