Author Topic: Ex-Lawmaker Charged in Terror Conspiracy  (Read 3477 times)

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Offline Wretched Excess

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Ex-Lawmaker Charged in Terror Conspiracy
« on: January 16, 2008, 03:25:11 PM »
Ex-Lawmaker Charged in Terror Conspiracy

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.

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.

He could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday, and his attorney in Kansas City, JR Hobbs, had no immediate comment.

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.

Story


Offline franksolich

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Re: Ex-Lawmaker Charged in Terror Conspiracy
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2008, 03:45:58 PM »
The name, despite its unusualness, didn't ring a bell, so I looked him up.

SILJANDER, Mark Deli, a Representative from Michigan; born in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., June 11, 1951; attended the public schools; graduated from Oak Park-River Forest High School, 1969; B.S., Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, 1972; M.A., same university, 1973; trustee, Fabius Township Board, St. Joseph County, 1972-1976; real estate broker; served in the Michigan State house of representatives, 1977-1981; delegate, Republican National Convention, 1980; elected as Republican to the Ninety-seventh Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of United States Representative David A. Stockman, and reelected to the two succeeding Congresses (April 21, 1981-January 3, 1987); unsuccessful candidate for renomination to the One Hundredth Congress in 1986; delegate to the United Nations General Assembly, September 1987-September 1988; president of a consulting firm in Washington, D.C., and operates an import-export firm; radio commentator; unsuccessful candidate in 1992 for nomination to the One Hundred Third Congress; is a resident of Reston, Va.

from http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000409
apres moi, le deluge

Offline NHSparky

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Re: Ex-Lawmaker Charged in Terror Conspiracy
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2008, 03:46:28 PM »
Amazing how the 'Rats who support terroists don't have stories written on them at all, or if they do, party affiliation is rarely if ever mentioned.
“Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian.”  -Henry Ford

Offline Wretched Excess

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Re: Ex-Lawmaker Charged in Terror Conspiracy
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2008, 05:47:41 PM »
The name, despite its unusualness, didn't ring a bell, so I looked him up.

SILJANDER, Mark Deli, a Representative from Michigan; born in Chicago, Cook County, Ill., June 11, 1951; attended the public schools; graduated from Oak Park-River Forest High School, 1969; B.S., Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, 1972; M.A., same university, 1973; trustee, Fabius Township Board, St. Joseph County, 1972-1976; real estate broker; served in the Michigan State house of representatives, 1977-1981; delegate, Republican National Convention, 1980; elected as Republican to the Ninety-seventh Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of United States Representative David A. Stockman, and reelected to the two succeeding Congresses (April 21, 1981-January 3, 1987); unsuccessful candidate for renomination to the One Hundredth Congress in 1986; delegate to the United Nations General Assembly, September 1987-September 1988; president of a consulting firm in Washington, D.C., and operates an import-export firm; radio commentator; unsuccessful candidate in 1992 for nomination to the One Hundred Third Congress; is a resident of Reston, Va.

from http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000409


that makes me feel better, but won't keep the MSM from playing up his "republican-ness" in every story they write about him.

Offline TheSarge

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Re: Ex-Lawmaker Charged in Terror Conspiracy
« Reply #4 on: January 17, 2008, 08:43:04 AM »
If this guy is guilty...IMHO he needs to joing the guys he was raising money for down at Gitmo.
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Offline lizard

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Re: Ex-Lawmaker Charged in Terror Conspiracy
« Reply #5 on: January 18, 2008, 02:51:21 AM »
If this guy is guilty...IMHO he needs to joing the guys he was raising money for down at Gitmo.

My thoughts exactly.   :exactly: