Governor Kaine Ducks Questions On Outrageous Appointment
By Greg L | 16 October 2007 | Virginia Politics | 13 Comments
One of the as-yet unanswered questions in the saga of Governor Kaine’s appointment of a radical jihadist to the Virginia Commission on Immigration is just how this person came to be appointed. In search of answers, I filed a freedom of information request to the Governor’s office on October 3rd asking for copies of all records related to the appointment of Esam Omeish. On October 13th, (after the legally-mandated response period had expired, no less) a response was mailed to me that essentially said that they weren’t going to answer my question.
How nice.
The exception to Virginia’s FOI laws they cites was Virginia Code Section 2.2-3705.7 which allows the Governor, and the Governor alone to withhold his “working papers and correspondence.” Yes, under current law, the Governor can do this. I just don’t see why he would, as there are plenty of unresolved concerns about how this fiasco happened. Until Governor Kaine shows the people of Virginia what happened here, perhaps he can excuse me coming to the conclusion that there are some severe and ongoing problems in his office. Not just problems with inadequately researching appointees, which I’m not sure I buy at all, but in the degree of influence that some disturbing special interests have managed to command within his administration.
At this point, we have no idea who nominated Esam Omeish. We have no idea why someone in the Kaine administration felt there was a compelling reason why this man’s perspective was important to the commission. We have no idea about what the Kaine administration knew about Esam Omeish, which would have turned up in a simple search on google, and why the decided that the information that even a cursory check on him wasn’t immediately disqualifying. Omeish is the head of the Muslim American Society, and he’s not exactly hiding out here.
Governor, perhaps you think you can just ignore these questions and hope this issue will go away, but I really doubt it will. Delegate Bob Marshall and Todd Gilbert are asking these same questions, and Gilbert and Delegate Athey are trying to run this down with legislators that don’t have this convenient exception to FOI laws to hide behind. Here’s a recent press release from Delegate Todd Gilbert, which doesn’t at all show that this is going away any time soon:
Virginia Delegates C. Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) and Clay Athey (R-Warren), as a part of their ongoing investigation into the appointment process which led to the leader of the Muslim American Society being appointed by Governor Kaine to the Virginia Commission on Immigration, today called upon House Democratic Caucus Chairman, Brian Moran, to disclose what if any role he played in recommending the appointment of Dr. Esam Omeish to the Commission. Delegates Gilbert and Athey also released a photograph of Moran at a 2005 event hosted by the Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque where Dr. Omeish, President of the Northern Virginia based Muslim American Society serves on the Board of Directors. Gilbert and Athey previously filed a Virginia Freedom of Information claim against Secretary of the Commonwealth Katherine K. Hanley seeking all communications with her office regarding the appointment of Omeish and others to the Virginia Commission on Immigration. Earlier this year Governor Kaine appointed Dr. Omeish to the Commission which is tasked with studying the impact of illegal aliens on the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The appointment of Dr. Omeish was made following the positive recommendation of prominent Northern Virginia Democrat, Katherine K. Hanley. Secretary Hanley is responsible for screening and recommending nominations for gubernatorial appointments to boards and commissions in Virginia. Prior to her appointment, Secretary Hanley served as the Democratic Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Even though Dr. Omeish and his controversial mosque were among Hanley’s former constituents, Hanley has remained silent concerning her personal ties to Dr. Omeish and the organization he leads.
Following the comments by Gilbert and Athey revealing that the Muslim American Society was founded by and serves as a mouthpiece in America for the Muslim Brotherhood, Kevin Hall, Press Secretary for Governor Kaine, called Gilbert and Athey “conspiracy theorists engaging in a slander and smear campaign”. The following day, Governor Kaine accepted Omeish’s forced resignation because of the evidence supporting Gilbert and Athey’s position.
The Muslim American Society was founded by members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical islamic group that has spawned numerous terrorist organizations and now seeks the advancement of worldwide Islamic government through the political process. According to Dr. Omeish, the Muslim American Society shares the same philosophical goals as the Muslim Brotherhood. Omeish also sits on the Board of Directors of the Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque in Falls Church. Two of the 9-11 hijackers worshipped at the mosque prior to their attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. Sheikh Mohammed al-Hanooti, a prayer leader at this Mosque, was involved in the first World Trade Center bombing as an unindicted co-conspirator. Another member, Abdullah Bin Laden, is Osama Bin-Laden’s nephew. Member Mousa Abu Marzook is a senior leader of Hamas and is now a federal fugitive. His partners and fellow Mosque members Ismail Elbarasse and Abdelhaleem Ashqar were convicted of obstruction of justice in a terrorism probe. Former Council on American-Islamic Relations official and Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque member Randall “Ismail” Royer was convicted for leading the Virginia Jihad Network. Mosque member Ahmed Omar Abu Ali was an Al Qaeda operative who has been convicted of plotting to assassinate President Bush and is shown on an internet video leading prayers at the Mosque. Abdurahman Alamoudi, also a member, is serving a federal prison sentence for supporting terrorism.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Brian Moran is the second prominent Northern Virginia Democrat named by Athey and Gilbert who has associations with the Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque which Omeish and other members of the Muslim American Society directed.
Delegate Athey commented, “I have waited for three weeks for this administration to make public the flawed process which led to this appointment. It is incumbent upon Secretary Hanley and the Kaine administration to make public the process by which an individual who obviously supports an open border policy because of his radical associations could be named to this important Commission studying our border security. What, if any role, in Omeish’s appointment is related to his organizations ties to prominent Northern Virginia Democrats like Katherine Hanley and Brian Moran also need to be made public so that the flawed appointment process can be properly evaluated”.
Delegate Gilbert added, “In my opinion, the appointment of a radical Islamic leader who favors open borders has damaged the integrity of the Virginia Commission on Immigration. As a member of the Commission, I previously demanded through the issuance of a Virginia Freedom of Information Act claim that Northern Virginia Democrat Katherine Hanley make public all of the correspondence and conversations which led to this breach of Virginia’s security. After I first revealed to the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia that our Governor had appointed the leader of a group closely associated with radical Islam to this important Commission, I was met with accusations impugning my motives and integrity. This release makes good on my promise to defend my honor over the coming weeks and months by fully disclosing all the ties between this administration, radical Islam and the open border lobby in Richmond. Delegate Moran needs to disclose what role he played in this flawed appointment of the leader of the Muslim American Society to this Commission, and more importantly what if any knowledge he possessed concerning their radical associations.
The opinions expressed here are solely the views of the author, and not representative of the position of any organization, political party, doughnut shop, knitting guild, or waste recycling facility, but may be correctly attributed to the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. If anything in the above article has offended you, please click here to receive an immediate apology.
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13 Comments
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It doesn’t surprise me at bit that a Moran was behind it.
Patty: That’s a good point.
Oh, please.
There is a “Pay Off” inside by Muslims to management.
This, at the very peril of a free America!
Howlin Freedom
Join us before the next one!
http://www.jihadchat.com/index.php?act=idx
“Governor, perhaps you think you can just ignore these questions and hope this issue will go away, but I really doubt it will.” - sounds a lot like Tom Kopko now, doesn’t it??? Will be REALLY interested to see their contributions to the Faisal Gill campaign especially seeing how Faisal has attended fund-raisers with those who are closely aligned both with the American Muslim Society and Brian Moran.
What do expect from a “tax and spend” liberal who is doing nothing to stem the tide of illegal immigrants. Kaine’s quote “it’s a federal problem.” So is bank robbery!
Delegate Gilbert states, “After I first revealed to the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia that our Governor had appointed the leader of a group closely associated with radical Islam to this important Commission, I was met with accusations impugning my motives and integrity.”
Welcome to OUR world Delegate!!! Seems that the moment you expose Faisal Gill’s ties with known terrorists and take a stand against illegal immigration (regardless of the color of the illegals’ skin) you are called a racist (at best).
Taking Greg’s advice to “Google Esam Omeish” (hmmm, where have we heard THAT type of phrase before???) I found the following site:
http://www.investigativeproject.org/article/494
Hey, Anonymous 12:07, you’ll be saying “oh please” with the truth about open borders Moran comes out..the longer Kaine sits on it, the worse it gets for “da little bra-dar…”
I hear the FOIA’s are a com’in…
Hahaha! Anyone that believes Morans is some form of an Anti-American Jihadist is blatantly stupid!
Geez! Trolls will try any dirty tactic won’t they.
God, nothing like a good ole witch hunt huh? Idiots!
Oops… typo correction: “Moran” not “Morans” of course.
“Open-Borders” Moran?! Are you serious Anon?
Yeah… let’s keep piping out more of those Republican catch-phrases they spoon-feed you on Fox News.
Good one. Want a cracker, parrot?
Rob: be nice or be banned.