Adam Hamawy, a plastic surgeon with documented ties to the Benevolence International Foundation — an organization the federal government shut down for financing and supporting al Qaeda operations — just won the Democratic primary in New Jersey's Twelfth Congressional District. And the party that never shuts up about "threats to democracy" apparently saw no issue here.
Because nothing says "thoroughly vetted candidate" like a guy who volunteered with a group the feds raided in 2001 for helping Osama bin Laden set up shop in Europe. The Democrat vetting process has apparently been simplified to two questions: "Do you have a pulse?" and "Do you hate America enough?"
Hamawy's connection to the Benevolence International Foundation dates back to 1994, when he volunteered with the group in Bosnia. That might sound like ancient history until you learn what the foundation was actually doing. According to a 2003 court filing, the organization was used by al Qaeda "to establish a base for operations in Europe against Al Qaeda's true enemy, the United States." The 9/11 Commission Report also cited the foundation's terrorist ties. Federal agents raided the group in 2001, and it was permanently shut down after investigators discovered it was a logistics and financing arm for terror operations.
But sure, let's nominate that guy for Congress.
Hamawy's campaign responded to the scrutiny by calling it "absurd" and "bigoted." Classic. When you can't defend the association, just scream racism and hope everyone moves on. It's the Democrat playbook, page one, chapter one.
The seat is opening up because retiring U.S. Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman is stepping down. Hamawy, who also reportedly traveled to Gaza to volunteer at the European Hospital in Rafah, has racked up endorsements from the "Squad" — the far-left faction of the Democratic Party that has never met an anti-American cause it didn't want to hug.
To his credit, Hamawy did aid U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth after her helicopter was shot down during her military service. That's commendable. But one good deed doesn't erase a documented connection to a group that was literally helping al Qaeda target America. Those aren't my words — that's what the federal court filing said.
Saffet Catovic, who served as the Bosnian mission's second deputy ambassador and as a spokesman for the foundation, was also linked to the group's operations. The web of connections here isn't some conspiracy theory cooked up on a message board. It's federal court documents, the 9/11 Commission, and sealed indictments.
The media, naturally, treated this primary win like a weather update from Des Moines. Barely a blip. LifeZette reported on the story, but the major networks? Crickets. Imagine for half a second that a Republican candidate had ties to a group the feds shut down for financing al Qaeda. CNN would run a 72-hour special with a holographic bin Laden.
But it's a Democrat, so the rules are different. They always are.
New Jersey's Twelfth District voters just handed a primary win to a man whose résumé includes volunteering with an al Qaeda-linked foundation that the United States government dismantled for terrorism support. And the party wants you to believe they're the adults in the room.
