It never ends with these guys.:mj07:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/16/former.congressman.indicted/index.html
(CNN) -- A former congressman has been charged in connection with his work for an Islamic charity accused of funneling money to an Afghan warlord, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Mark Siljander served three terms in the House of Representatives.
The money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges against former Michigan Rep. Mark Deli Siljander are part of a 42-count indictment released by the U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City, Missouri.
Siljander "vehemently denies the allegations in the indictment and will enter a not guilty plea," said his attorney, James Hobbs.
Prosecutors allege Siljander's co-defendants -- the directors of an Islamic charity -- hired him to get the organization off a list of agencies suspected of links to terrorism and paid him with stolen U.S. government funds.
The Treasury Department designated the Islamic American Relief Agency as a suspected fundraiser for terrorists in 2004, The Associated Press reported.
Siljander is also accused of lying to federal agents and prosecutors about his work for the group, which allegedly steered $260,000 to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar -- an ally of the Taliban and al Qaeda.
The United States named Hekmatyar a "specially designated global terrorist" in 2003.
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Read the indictment (PDF)
The money was sent between 2002 and 2004 to accounts in Peshawar, Pakistan. Some of the funds were supposed to go toward renovating buildings Hekmatyar owns in an Afghan refugee camp, according to the indictment.
Five officers of the charity already faced charges of money laundering, theft of government funds and violating U.S. sanctions on Iraq. Wednesday's indictment adds eight counts involving the transfer of money to Hekmatyar.
Siljander's attorney denied wrongdoing by his client.
"Mr. Siljander was never an officer of the Islamic American Relief Agency, nor was he ever involved in any alleged efforts by IARA to engage in any prohibited financial transactions with any U.S.-designated terrorist, including Gulbuddin Hekmatyar," Hobbs said.
"Mr. Siljander is not even named in those counts."
Siljander served three terms in the House of Representatives before losing to a Republican primary challenger in 1986. He later served as a U.S. delegate to the U.N. General Assembly late in the Reagan administration.
He now operates a consulting and public relations firm based in suburban Washington.
Lawmakers who heard the news of his indictment were "shocked," said Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Illinois.
"He traveled the world, almost as a missionary. He was a man of deep faith," said LaHood, who reported seeing Siljander at a congressional prayer breakfast in December.
He called the news "very sad."
Michigan Democrat Dale Kildee said he knew Siljander "very well as a Michigan colleague," calling him "very conservative" and a "devout Christian." Kildee, a former seminarian, said he often talked to Siljander about politics and theology.
"Obviously, this is surprising to me," he said. "I haven't seen him since he left Congress, but I used to talk to him on walks back and forth across the street to votes and in delegation meetings."
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/01/16/former.congressman.indicted/index.html
(CNN) -- A former congressman has been charged in connection with his work for an Islamic charity accused of funneling money to an Afghan warlord, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Mark Siljander served three terms in the House of Representatives.
The money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges against former Michigan Rep. Mark Deli Siljander are part of a 42-count indictment released by the U.S. attorney's office in Kansas City, Missouri.
Siljander "vehemently denies the allegations in the indictment and will enter a not guilty plea," said his attorney, James Hobbs.
Prosecutors allege Siljander's co-defendants -- the directors of an Islamic charity -- hired him to get the organization off a list of agencies suspected of links to terrorism and paid him with stolen U.S. government funds.
The Treasury Department designated the Islamic American Relief Agency as a suspected fundraiser for terrorists in 2004, The Associated Press reported.
Siljander is also accused of lying to federal agents and prosecutors about his work for the group, which allegedly steered $260,000 to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar -- an ally of the Taliban and al Qaeda.
The United States named Hekmatyar a "specially designated global terrorist" in 2003.
Don't Miss
Read the indictment (PDF)
The money was sent between 2002 and 2004 to accounts in Peshawar, Pakistan. Some of the funds were supposed to go toward renovating buildings Hekmatyar owns in an Afghan refugee camp, according to the indictment.
Five officers of the charity already faced charges of money laundering, theft of government funds and violating U.S. sanctions on Iraq. Wednesday's indictment adds eight counts involving the transfer of money to Hekmatyar.
Siljander's attorney denied wrongdoing by his client.
"Mr. Siljander was never an officer of the Islamic American Relief Agency, nor was he ever involved in any alleged efforts by IARA to engage in any prohibited financial transactions with any U.S.-designated terrorist, including Gulbuddin Hekmatyar," Hobbs said.
"Mr. Siljander is not even named in those counts."
Siljander served three terms in the House of Representatives before losing to a Republican primary challenger in 1986. He later served as a U.S. delegate to the U.N. General Assembly late in the Reagan administration.
He now operates a consulting and public relations firm based in suburban Washington.
Lawmakers who heard the news of his indictment were "shocked," said Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Illinois.
"He traveled the world, almost as a missionary. He was a man of deep faith," said LaHood, who reported seeing Siljander at a congressional prayer breakfast in December.
He called the news "very sad."
Michigan Democrat Dale Kildee said he knew Siljander "very well as a Michigan colleague," calling him "very conservative" and a "devout Christian." Kildee, a former seminarian, said he often talked to Siljander about politics and theology.
"Obviously, this is surprising to me," he said. "I haven't seen him since he left Congress, but I used to talk to him on walks back and forth across the street to votes and in delegation meetings."
