| For Immediate Release Sep 25, 2001 |
Contact: Press Office 202-646-5172 |
“COALITION BUILDING” SHOULD NOT TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER STOPPING TERRORIST FUNDING IRS ADMITS U.S. GROUPS MAY BE FUNNELING MONEY TO TERRORISTS (Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and abuse, today pointed out that the Bush Administration did not include any groups in the United States were on the list of terrorist-affiliated organizations whose assets were frozen yesterday by President George W. Bush. Federal grand jury investigations and published reports in The New York Times have linked a variety of U.S. based groups, including alleged charities, to Middle Eastern terrorist groups such as the bin Laden network, Hamas, and Hezbollah. Judicial Watch last week filed a complaint with the IRS against 16 non-profit entities and 4 for-profit entities have been linked financially to the bin Laden network, the terror group Hamas, and other terrorist organizations. The Detroit Free Press reported today that an IRS spokesman admitted that “there may be some charities out there that are funneling money.” Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Islamic Jihad terrorist groups were reportedly left off of President Bush’s list so as to not offend prospective members of the anti-terrorist coalition such as Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, Eqypt and others. For instance The Washington Post today quoted a former government official as saying, “‘If we put Hamas and Hezbollah on the list, [Palestinian leader] Yasser Arafat may be less inclined to decry’ the September 11 bombings.” See “Bush’s Target List Draws Path to Bin Laden’s Backers – 3 Charities, New Entities Included, But 2 Groups Are Left Out,” by John Mintz and David S. Hilzenrath, The Washington Post, 9/25/01. “President Bush needs to extend his terrorist assets freeze to many groups here in the U.S. and against the Hamas-Hezbollah-Islamic Jihad network – particularly as these groups have been linked repeatedly to the bin Laden network and are terrorists themselves. And if Saudi Arabia or Egypt complain and refuse to cooperate, President Bush should put them on the list of nations hostile to the United States. Politics should play no role in the fight against terrorism,” stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman. | |