House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Race Hustle) is proud of his colleague Ilhan Omar (D-Mogadishu), and he wants the world to know it. On Wednesday, Jeffries declared that “as House Democratic Leader, I vigorously endorse her re-election and stand with her as we battle Extreme MAGA Republicans for the future of our nation.” Jeffries didn’t say anything about revelations that Omar has recently gone on junkets funded by two countries that have repeatedly been the target of allegations that they support jihad terror: Pakistan and Qatar. What did you expect, accountability? Come on, man! These are Democrats we’re talking about.
Jeffries gave Omar his “vigorous” endorsement despite recent revelations about her April 2022 trip to Pakistan. According to Jewish Insider, the winsome congresswoman “made a controversial visit to a disputed part of Kashmir that drew criticism from India.” Pakistan has claimed sovereignty over Kashmir for decades, and Omar’s endorsement was a feather in the Islamic Republic’s cap. It was also funded by the same Islamic Republic: “The six-day trip, which took place in April 2022, was funded by Pakistan’s government, according to her financial disclosure.”
That’s right: the ”it’s all about the Benjamins” girl is accepting money from a foreign government. And not just any foreign government, either. Investigative journalist Daniel Greenfield has noted that “the Pakistani government had harbored Osama bin Laden in one of its military towns.” Osama is gone, but Omar didn’t omit visits with some of his ideological kin: “During her visit, Omar met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who had initiated negotiations with Al Qaeda and offered to ‘reestablish normal relations as long as they do not conduct operations in Punjab.’ Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States had claimed that Osama bin Laden had backed Sharif’s brother. Rep. Omar also met with former Prime Minister Imran Khan, nicknamed ‘Taliban Khan,’ who had referred to Bin Laden as a ‘martyr.’”
Nor is that all. When Omar went to Qatar for the World Cup last November, “the trip was funded by the Qatari government, according to an annual House financial disclosure filed in May.” In keeping with Omar’s longstanding and well-established hatred of Israel, Qatar was found to be behind statements from American universities that were hostile to Israel. Qatar also funds Hamas, al Qaeda, and Hizballah.
Even worse, according to the National Interest, Qatar is one of the “staunchest supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood.” Muslim Brotherhood organizations in the United States are dedicated, according to a captured internal document, to “eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within, and sabotaging its miserable house.”
Perhaps in light of Qatar’s decidedly spotty record, Omar had been decidedly cagey about who exactly funded her Qatar junket: “her office did not answer questions from The New York Times in December about the funding source after she had returned.” But there is no getting around it now: “The new statement, which has not previously been reported, shows Qatar paid for the four-day visit to Doha that overlapped with the U.S. men’s team’s opening match against Wales. Both ‘food’ and ‘lodging’ were covered by the Gulf nation, the disclosure indicates.”
Related: OMAR Act Would Stop Ilhan From Paying Campaign Cash to Her Hubby
What’s more, “the Qatari Embassy in Washington, D.C., confirmed it had paid for Omar’s visit to the Gulf kingdom last year.” A Qatari spokesperson admitted that Omar “accepted an invitation from the Embassy of Qatar to attend events in Doha in November 2022.”
This was all legal, which may explain Jeffries’ insouciance. Omar’s trip was “part of a program authorized under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act,” which “allows House members to take trips funded by foreign governments provided that the travel is later disclosed in their annual financial statements.” That’s swell, but Jewish Insider also points out that in contrast to her vociferous criticism of Israel, Omar “has been comparatively muted when it comes to raising concerns about Qatar itself,” despite (or because of?) its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.
Omar has been vociferous in denouncing Israel’s alleged influence over American politicians. So now that it has come to light that she herself has been receiving a considerable number of Benjamins from two jihad terror-linked states, the truth of the matter is clear: Omar never really had a principled stance against foreign influence at all. Some Benjamins from foreign entities are just fine.
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