Former GOP Lawmaker Charged in Terror Conspiracy

January 16, 2008 · Filed Under Legal News, Terrorists, War on Terror

From the 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.

A 42-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., 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.

Siljander, who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, was appointed by President Reagan to serve as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations for one year in 1987.

If Siljander is found to have knowingly lobbied on behalf of a terror related Islamic charity, he should get life in prison.

The idea that a former Reagan appointee would be mixed up with an Islamic charity funneling money to terrorists is really outrageous.

-Chris Jones