This story in which I ran across via ABC's blog hasn't got the attention it deserves; hfiend diaried it here last night with not much notice.
Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari pled not guilty on Friday to funding terrorism, financial fraud, and 'other crimes' and is also guilty of donating $15,250.00 to the NRCC since 2002 found via open secrets.org.
According to ABC News the NRCC won't say what it plans to do with the thousands of dollars its received from him.
The NRCC is the main political group dedicated to helping the Republican party win seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Reached Monday morning for comment, an NRCC spokeswoman declined to discuss the matter on the record.
The indictment against Alishtari unsealed in Manhattan federal court Friday charges him with providing material support to terrorists by transferring $152,000 between banks to allegedly be used to purchase night-vision goggles and other equipment needed for a terrorist training camp.
Allegedly he's providing material support to terrorists while donating thousands to the NRCC!!
According to CBS News who is also carrying this story Mr. Alishtari is also claiming to have been named NRCC New York State Businessman of the Year and being a lifetime member of the National Republican Senate Committee's Inner Circle.
CBS News has confirmed that Alishtari is a donor to the Republican Party, as he claims on his curriculum vitae. Alishtari gave $15,500 to the National Republican Campaign Committee between 2002 and 2004, according to Federal Election Commission records. That amount includes $13,000 in 2003, a year when he claims to have been named NRCC New York State Businessman of the Year.
Alishtari also claims to be a lifetime member of the National Republican Senate Committee's Inner Circle, which the NRCC describes as "an impressive cross-section of American society – community leaders, business executives, entrepreneurs, retirees, and sports and entertainment celebrities – all of whom hold a deep interest in our nation's prosperity and security."
From hfiend's diary last night comes this tidbit via The Cunning Realist that Alishtari lists himself as having a 2003 appointment to the "White House Business Advisory Committee." Link is
here.
Elsewhere on the internet Alishtari is claiming he is a victim of identity theft:
Alishtari described himself as "ex-victim" of identity theft and claims the following, which might also havae a connection to his case: "Mr. Abdul Tawala Alishtari successfully stopped crooks using his good name but they still scammed hundreds of millions USD from innocents victims woldwide from their ID theft trying to blame anyone but themselves for their scams and ID theft done with impunity and hubris. In the specific case, the pertinent government authorities, in that instance, caught one felon who later on admitted his crime in written settlement. That agency, OSC, in Canada sent release letters to Mr. Alishtari's company."
So, is he an upstanding citizen who likes the Republican Party, was on the WH Business Advisory Committiee and is an innocent victim of identity theft, or is he a terrorist supporter who happens to also like the Republican Party?
And as hfiend put it, "what did this Administration know and when did they know it?"