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The Spectacle Blog
Last week, I wrote a post on the anti-Israel voting record of Tom Campbell, a Republican candidate for the California Senate seat currently held by Barbara Boxer. Some readers thought I was being unfair. But today I see, via Jennifer Rubin, that during his 2000 race for the Senate, Campbell received campaign contributions from Sami Al-Arian, the former University of South Florida professor who pled guilty to conspiring to help associates of the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. (As I noted below, Al-Arian has resurfaced in the news because Obama's new envoy to the Muslim world is on record defending him prior to his guilty plea).
I double-checked the Federal Election Commission database, and was able to confirm that on May 2, 2000, Al-Arian made two donations totaling $1,300 to Campbell's Senate campaign. At the time he made the contributions, as he admits in his plea agreement, Al-Arian was engaged in "Conspiracy to make or receive contributions of funds, goods or services to or for the benefit of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Specially Designated Terrorist..."
In defense of Campbell, one could argue that the donations were made prior to Al-Arian's guilty plea. But with that said Al-Arian was already under investigation by the government in 2000 and his publicly radical views were known. Also, it's kind of random for an Islamic radical in Florida to contribute to a Republican Senate campaign in California. The only other political donations listed from Al-Arian were made to Democrats: David Bonior, Jim Davis, and Cynthia McKinney -- none of them fans of Israel, and in McKinney's case, a 9/11 truther. So where does Campbell fit into this picture, and why would Al-Arian want to contribute to him?
Rubin, citing this article, notes:
Al-Arian and other Muslim figures were looking to do away with ”provisions of the 1996 Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, which allowed federal authorities to use classified information as a basis on which to hold foreign terrorist suspects and to deny that information to the suspects’ defense attorneys. The thinking behind the law, congressional sources say, was to allow domestic law-enforcement services to use foreign intelligence as evidence on which to detain and deport the foreign suspects. Much of that intelligence could not be revealed to the defense because it would put the sources of that intelligence in physical danger.” (Campbell, in fact, testified in favor of his donor’s position at a congressional hearing.)
His involvement went further than that. Later in 2000, Campbell wrote a letter to an immigration judge on behalf of Mazen Al-Najjar, Al-Arian's brother-in-law and collaborator, protesting the fact that the government was going to use classified evidence against him.
According to a Sept. 1, 2000 article in the St. Petersburg Times that I accessed via Nexis:
This week, two members of the U.S. House, one a Republican and one a Democrat, sent a letter to (Judge R. Kevin) McHugh asking him not to resort to secret evidence because high-ranking government officials have serious doubts.
"National Security Adviser (Sandy) Berger stated that he had seen the secret portions of the government's investigation in this matter and had misgivings about it," wrote Democratic Whip David Bonior of Michigan and U.S. Rep. Tom Campbell, R-Calif. The two have introduced legislation to ban the use of secret evidence as unconstitutional.
In his plea deal, Al-Arian admitted that he concealed his knowledge that Al-Najjar was an associate of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
UPDATE: Campbell responds here.
View all comments (28) | Leave a comment
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More Blog Posts by Philip Klein
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/02/17/tom-campbell-received-donation
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William R| 2.17.10 @ 2:13PM
Sami Al-Arain donated money to George W Bush in 2000 I do believe. I know he actively campaigned for Bush in 2000. More guilt by association coming from the Commentary crowd. So typical.
scott| 2.17.10 @ 2:17PM
wonder if Hugh will have him on the show this week. unfortunate.
Pingback| 2.17.10 @ 2:20PM
The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : The Mount Vernon Statement (mount vernon statem links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Nick| 2.17.10 @ 3:18PM
It is about time that being pro-palestinian be likened to being pro neo-nazi, which it is.
They are the NEW nazis.
This also goes for Ahmadinejad and the kook Ayatollahs of Iran.
William R| 2.17.10 @ 3:44PM
Better watch out who you're calling a Nazi. Henry Regnery founder of Regnery publishing.
Consider Regnery Publishing. Founded in 1947 by Henry Regnery, it was the premier publishing house of the postwar conservative renaissance, issuing classic books by William F. Buckley, Russell Kirk, Willmoore Kendall, James Burnham and many other writers. During this period it also published a steady stream of books championing Arab culture and sympathetically describing the plight of the Palestinians.
http://sanseverything.wordpres.....estinians/
Henry had a son and named him Alfred. Alfred Regnery is the publisher of the American Spectator.
Nick| 2.17.10 @ 5:34PM
What a shock!
You quote a website full of lefty Canucks!
And what do the writtings from 50-60 years ago, have to do with today?
Sean| 2.17.10 @ 3:36PM
I don't like Campbell, but this is pretty petty.
Pingback| 2.17.10 @ 3:49PM
CA-Sen: Tom Campbell, Sami al-Arian and Political Access | FullosseousFlap's Dental B links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Red Phillips| 2.17.10 @ 4:09PM
Mr. Klein, did you ever bother to explain how a United States Congressman who represents a district in California can have a pro or anti-Israel voting record? I would have thought that only an Israeli representative could have a pro or anti- Israel voting record. And just out of curiosity, was Campbell's voting record pro or anti-Bulgaria?
Pingback| 2.17.10 @ 6:39PM
Updated: CA-Sen: Tom Campbell, Sami al-Arian and Political Access | FullosseousFlap's links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Liam| 2.17.10 @ 8:18PM
Campbell's a RINO; he'll never get my vote.
Jeet Heer| 2.18.10 @ 8:41PM
"You quote a website full of lefty Canucks!"
Hey, I may be a lefty Canuck but I've written for The American Spectator. See here: http://spectator.org/archives/.....nners-wake
But let me put everything in historical perspective:
1930: most conservatives hate the Jews.
2010: most conservatives hate the Arabs.
What you all need to do as a group is move on beyond race hatred.
Nick| 2.19.10 @ 1:59AM
Mr. Heer,
I'm Roman Catholic, therefore I hate no one.
How could you write for an anti-Semite?
I'm half Canadian, by the way.
Pingback| 2.20.10 @ 11:43AM
THE SULTAN: NO END TO THE JIHAD | RUTHFULLY YOURS links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 2.23.10 @ 12:33PM
The California Senate Race And Israel « Around The Sphere links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 2.26.10 @ 10:04AM
CA-Sen: Tom Campbell FINALLY Admits Receiving Terrorist-Linked Sami Al-Arian’s Donati links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 2.26.10 @ 5:30PM
Sami Al-Arian again creating controversy – this time in California Senate race | Dail links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 2.28.10 @ 2:53PM
Calif. Senate Candidate Tom Campbell: Anti-Israel, Jihad Appeaser | UNCOVERAGE.net links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Dane| 3.7.10 @ 5:29PM
But I guess it's ok with you that Israeli planes attacked the USS Liberty and killed our sailors when they were supposed to be our allies; or that Israel, in a major media outlet "Maariv" boasted "Jewish Control of U.S. Government." Regardless of baseless attacks such as accuasations of "anti-semitism," the facts cannot be refuted, and thus one should confine their arguments to those which do not perorate the argument prematurely. Even if somebody did support an enemy of Israel, this is no reason to naturally assume them to be without treacherous. There is no justification for much of the brutality Israel engages in, and it is high time that Israel eschew the sideshow sensationalism that will only further exacerbate the crises in their region...this is a no-win strategy...
Dane| 3.7.10 @ 5:31PM
reposted to change grammatical error...But I guess it's ok with you that Israeli planes attacked the USS Liberty and killed our sailors when they were supposed to be our allies; or that Israel, in a major media outlet "Maariv" boasted "Jewish Control of U.S. Government." Regardless of baseless attacks such as accuasations of "anti-semitism," the facts cannot be refuted, and thus one should confine their arguments to those which do not perorate the argument prematurely. Even if somebody did support an enemy of Israel, this is no reason to naturally assume them to be treacherous. There is no justification for much of the brutality Israel engages in, and it is high time that Israel eschew the sideshow sensationalism that will only further exacerbate the crises in their region...this is a no-win strategy...
Pingback| 3.8.10 @ 11:20AM
Tom Campbell and the al-Arian test | America Watches Obama links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 3.8.10 @ 3:02PM
Tom Campbell and the al-Arian test | No Bull. news service. links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 3.8.10 @ 9:09PM
CA-Sen: Tom Campbell FLUNKS the Sami Al-Arian Test | FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 3.12.10 @ 7:48PM
CA-Sen: Tom Campbell FINALLY Apologizes for Associating with Convicted Islamic Terror links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 3.12.10 @ 8:19PM
Updated: CA-Sen: Tom Campbell FINALLY Apologizes for Associating with Convicted Islam links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 3.18.10 @ 1:37PM
Friday Afternoon Roundup – There is No End to the Jihad links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 3.30.10 @ 3:02PM
CA-Sen: Tom Campbell and Donations to Lawyers Who Represent America’s Enemies | Fullo links to this page. Here’s an excerpt: