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Republican Terrorist in Manhattan

Mon Feb 19, 2007 at 02:10:10 AM EST

Late Friday Night I posted on a Republican Terrorist charged in Manhattan:

Ok... So the terrorism part first:

Terrorism charges brought Friday against the administrator of a loan investment program claimed that he secretly tried to send $152,000 to the Middle East to buy equipment such as night vision goggles for a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan.
Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari, 53, of Ardsley, N.Y., pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to an indictment accusing him of terrorism financing, material support of terrorism and other charges. The charges carried a potential penalty of 95 years in prison.
But would you really believe me if I told you he was a Republican?

MORE BELOW

commentary :: :: :: buzz-it!

CBS News has confirmed that Alishtari is a donor to the Republican Party, as he claims on his curriculum vitae. Alishtari gave $15,500 to the National Republican Campaign Committee between 2002 and 2004, according to Federal Election Commission records. That amount includes $13,000 in 2003, a year when he claims to have been named NRCC New York State Businessman of the Year.
Alishtari also claims to be a lifetime member of the National Republican Senate Committee's Inner Circle, which the NRCC describes as "an impressive cross-section of American society - community leaders, business executives, entrepreneurs, retirees, and sports and entertainment celebrities - all of whom hold a deep interest in our nation's prosperity and security."

Since then Josh Marshall covered it and, as per usual, TPM readers have come up with some interesting takes on this story:

Late Update: Funny. TPM Reader B points out that the New York Post chose a rather different way of reporting this story. Their lede: "A Westchester businessman and purported peace activist was nabbed by the feds for allegedly plotting to funnel more than $150,000 to terrorists at training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

No mention of Republican ties. Let me know when they follow up ...

Later Update: In fairness, the Daily News ran it pretty much the same way.

Never too Late for this Story Update: Oh that's interesting. Cunning Realist found this CV purportedly posted by Mr. Alishtari. In addition to other GOP donor awards, Alishtari says that he was appointed to something called the "White House Business Advisory Committee" in 2003. And CR ends with this point, referencing Alishtari's CV: "Note the entrepreneurial business background with a focus on technology/security. Have any of those businesses ever received government contracts or funds? Any direct or indirect contact in the past with anyone from the Bush administration or Congress?"

Click on for more at TPM... Once their "group" of Blogs and readers gets a hold of a story they usually don't let go of it till it is completely exposed.

Republican Terrorist in Manhattan | 10 comments (10 topical, 0 hidden)

Start your monday off... (5.00 / 3) (#1)

...cutting through that "liberals support the terrorists" crap we hear from Republican politicians all the time.

Guaranteed to be plastered all over the Internet
Drinking Liberally in New Milford
by Connecticut Man1 on Mon Feb 19, 2007 at 02:29:27 AM EST

The "Friday" news. (5.00 / 3) (#2)

I have trouble with the fact that this was slipped into the news cycle on Friday by CBS. I'm one of those people who work weekends, and I had not heard anything of this story. It's bad that those who picked up the story on Saturday glossed over the GOP donor aspect, compounding the "burying" of the story.

If someone has not yet coined a phrase for this type of Friday "under the radar" editorial decision, it needs to happen. Post your clever suggestions here and maybe we can turn it into a regular news feature...?
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by wanderindiana on Mon Feb 19, 2007 at 07:46:27 AM EST
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Not really slipped in on Friday (5.00 / 3) (#4)

but reported on Friday because it was the day that the charges were made in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

by standingup on Mon Feb 19, 2007 at 09:15:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]

A political rather than editorial slip-in. (5.00 / 2) (#7)

Par for the course for the Bush administration. I retract my editorial curse and return it to its rightful owner, the Gonzales-led Justice Department.
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by wanderindiana on Mon Feb 19, 2007 at 01:52:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Just helping (5.00 / 3) (#8)

you catch up after a long weekend at work ;-)

by standingup on Mon Feb 19, 2007 at 02:21:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

: Still shaking sinus issues (5.00 / 2) (#9)

Much appreciated input... ;-) back at ya!
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by wanderindiana on Mon Feb 19, 2007 at 03:04:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

When? Where? (5.00 / 3) (#3)

When was he allegedly transferring these funds?
pre- 9/11,post 9/11 or more recently, like the past year? Do you know? I read TPM version, they seem to be quite derivative, but the single use credit card is interesting!

by Chris White on Mon Feb 19, 2007 at 08:26:48 AM EST

Got It! (5.00 / 3) (#5)

"The indictment said he accepted an unspecified amount of money between June and December to transfer $152,000 that he believed was being sent to Pakistan and Afghanistan to support an Afghanistan terrorist training camp."

This is from a Friday AP Wire which I got from Zimbio via a Google search on the name as per your write up.

Take a look at today's lead in the electronic version of the New York Times, and read it against this Friday story. There may be more than one reason to publish things late on Friday afternoon.

I would contend that today's story reads significantly differently for anyone who knows of the arrest story.

by Chris White on Mon Feb 19, 2007 at 09:46:51 AM EST

I have never had traffic like this before? (5.00 / 1) (#6)

TPM, Raw Story and C&L all linked out my Blog. COOL! lol

Josh Marshall's readers have been dig, dig, digging:

Choice artifacts they have dug up?

This:

Never too Late for this Story Update: Oh that's interesting. Cunning Realist found this CV purportedly posted by Mr. Alishtari. In addition to other GOP donor awards, Alishtari says that he was appointed to something called the "White House Business Advisory Committee" in 2003. And CR ends with this point, referencing Alishtari's CV: "Note the entrepreneurial business background with a focus on technology/security. Have any of those businesses ever received government contracts or funds? Any direct or indirect contact in the past with anyone from the Bush administration or Congress?"

That:

It tuns out Mr. Alishtari, the GOP campaign contributor indicted for sending funds for terrorist training camps in Afghanistan, had a fairly lively life online. TPM Reader TDP points to what purports to be Alishtari's blog. And in a rather rambling post there's a reference to an alleged meeting with VP Dick Cheney. "When I went to DC in the Fall of 2003 and met with VP Cheney, I was first in a room full of advisors where I asked how to resolve this and they advised me to talk to counsels which led to this solution."
Now, we can't be certain that this is actually Alishtari's blog, though I think the weight of evidence suggests that it is.

And the other thing:

He contributed a decent amount of money to GOP congressional campaign committees in the 2002 and 2004 cycles and managed get named to a number of 'committees' and 'councils' set up as perks for GOP campaign contributors, including something called the "White House Business Advisory Committee."

Now a reader of the Cunning Realist blog has dug up the archived version of the website of Mr. Alishtari's company, GlobalProtector, which shows that at the same time Alishtari was giving money to the GOP he was bidding on multiple government contracts -- including ones with the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security.

This story should have had legs of its own... What the heck was the NY Post doing trying to pass this guy off as a "Peace Activist"?

"A Westchester businessman and purported peace activist was nabbed by the feds for allegedly plotting to funnel more than $150,000 to terrorists at training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

Peace activist my ass! This guy is so up to his eyeballs in the GOP and full of it.

Guaranteed to be plastered all over the Internet
Drinking Liberally in New Milford
by Connecticut Man1 on Mon Feb 19, 2007 at 12:38:11 PM EST
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