Ted Cruz Leads Senate Judiciary Hearing On 'Confronting The Muslim Brotherhood Network In America'

[0:00] This hearing is focused on hidden in plain sight, confronting the Muslim Brotherhood network in [0:08] America. You may notice that there are empty chairs on the Democrat side of the dais. The [0:17] American people should ask themselves why not a single member of the minority decided that [0:24] a hearing on terrorism was worth their time. It is an embarrassment and a disservice to the [0:34] thousands of American victims of the Muslim Brotherhood, including most recently the dozens [0:41] of Americans who died on October 7th at the hand of Gaza's Muslim Brotherhood branch, Hamas. [0:51] Beginning in the 1990s, America has endured a litany of terrorist attacks that we must never forget. [1:01] The first World Trade Center bombing, the Khobar Towers bombing, the East Africa Embassy bombings, [1:11] the bombing of the USS Cole, and of course, September 11th. Yet as America prepares to confront [1:22] Muslim jihadist terrorists overseas, a different challenge was already emerging, one that did not [1:30] seek to conquer America through military force, but through a long-term influence campaign from within. [1:39] In 1991, the Muslim Brotherhood drafted what became known as the Explanatory Memorandum, [1:47] discovered by FBI investigators in 2004 in Annandale, Virginia, just across the river from where we sit [1:55] today. The memorandum described what it called a, quote, civilizational jihadist process in North [2:06] America. And it explained that process in unmistakable terms. It declared that the Brotherhood's work in [2:15] America was, quote, a grand jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within [2:25] and sabotaging its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers. But the memorandum did [2:34] not stop at simply describing an objective. It also explained how to get there. It called on the [2:41] Brotherhood to, quote, master the art of coalition building and to, quote, absorb, contain, and cooperate [2:53] with the existing Islamic organizations in order to advance its mission in North America. History has [3:01] taught Americans the danger of dismissing determined jihadist movements because their ambitions seem too [3:08] extreme to be real. The present members of this subcommittee will look at two questions. First, how the Muslim [3:19] Brotherhood built its network in America. And second, what that network looks like today. The Muslim [3:27] Brotherhood spawned Hamas, influenced the ideology of Al Qaeda, and gave rise to multiple terrorist [3:36] organizations. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and now the United States have all designated the Muslim [3:44] Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. One of President Trump's most important national security [3:51] accomplishments in the culmination of a decade-long effort that I've been proud to lead in Congress [3:58] through repeated legislative measures. But what is less known is the Muslim Brotherhood's network right [4:07] here in the United States. In 2008, the Holy Land Foundation, then the largest Muslim charity in America, [4:19] was convicted on 108 counts of funneling money to Hamas, laundering funds, and tax fraud. Five of its [4:30] leaders received sentences of up to 65 years. Let me say that again. The largest Muslim charity in America [4:41] in 2008 funded Hamas. The same Hamas that murdered over 1200 innocent Israelis, as well as civilians from 52 other [4:53] countries on October 7th. The same Hamas that kidnapped children, that raped women and little girls, that held [5:00] innocents hostage, including dozens of Americans. The Holy Land Foundation trial produced an extraordinary [5:08] body of evidence. Wiretaps, internal memos, organizational charts, meeting transcripts, laying bare the [5:18] Brotherhood's sprawling American infrastructure. Most importantly, prosecutors identified what they [5:26] alleged was a broader network of organizations operating within the United States. That list [5:35] included the Islamic Society of North America, the North American Islamic Trust, and most notably, [5:43] the Council on American Islamic Relations, CARE. These organizations did not appear overnight. [5:52] They began on college campuses in the 1960s. They were built patiently, over decades, through exactly the [6:00] kind of institution building and coalition building described in the explanatory memorandum. [6:08] Now, let's look at the Muslim Brotherhood Network today and its influence in the United States today. [6:17] In fact, just yesterday, Abdul El-Sayed, the son-in-law of a leading member of several Brotherhood [6:28] groups, won Michigan's Democrat primary for U.S. Senate. Perfect timing for this hearing. Probably [6:36] explains why no Democrats are here and none intend to attend. Because their campaign is now openly [6:46] embracing terrorist organizations waging war on America. Behind El-Sayed's political rise sits a much [6:56] older and more entrenched institutional network. At the center of this sprawling network is the Council [7:04] on American Islamic Relations. CARE was founded in 1994 by Brotherhood affiliates. Omar Ahmed and Nihad Awad, [7:17] two of CARE's founders, were both captured on FBI wiretaps at the 1993 Philadelphia meeting, where [7:24] Brotherhood leaders plotted to undermine the Oslo peace process and rally broad support for Hamas in the [7:32] States. Months later, CARE emerged as a non-profit. Many people associated with CARE have actively aided [7:44] terrorism and criminal efforts. For example, senior CARE official Ghassan Elashi was sentenced to 65 years [7:56] for funneling over $12 million to Hamas. Randall Royer, a former CARE communications specialist, served 13 years [8:09] for helping friends join the Taliban. Bassem Kafaghi, CARE's former community affairs director, was [8:18] deported after pleading guilty to fraud. And Muthana Al-Hannouti, former CARE Michigan director, [8:27] was convicted in 2011 for violating U.S. sanctions. This pattern is not a coincidence. The Holy Land [8:36] Foundation prosecution revealed that these organizations did not operate in isolation. [8:42] They functioned as part of a broader Muslim Brotherhood ecosystem. When one organization [8:49] collapses, another quickly emerges, often led by many of the same individuals. Consider the Islamic [8:59] Association for Palestine, or IAP, one of the original Brotherhood organizations identified during the [9:06] Holy Land Foundation trial. After IAP was driven into bankruptcy through civil liability for supporting [9:14] terrorism, its leadership did not disappear. They simply reappeared elsewhere. Rafiq Jabir, IAP's [9:27] former president, became a founding board member of CARE. Osama Abur-Shayed, once employed by two [9:37] Brotherhood organizations including IAP, now leads American Muslims for Palestine, or AMP. Salah Sarsour [9:47] worked for IAP before later joining AMP's board. He was recently arrested by ICE. The names change, [9:58] the nonprofits change, but the people and the mission remains remarkably consistent. UAE rightly [10:06] designated CARE as a terrorist organization in 2014, more than a decade ago. My home state of Texas has [10:13] done the same. Today, this network sustains itself through interlocking nonprofit organizations, advocacy [10:22] groups, litigation, political organizing, and taxpayer-funded grant programs. They file lawsuits, [10:32] they lobby legislatures, they train activists, they organize on college campuses, they challenge [10:40] school curricula and school policies, they conduct media campaigns and public advocacy, [10:48] and they win statewide Democrat primaries, as recently as just yesterday. Consider how CARE's [10:58] leaders responded after October 7th, when Hamas murdered more than 1200 innocent people in Israel, [11:05] the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. CARE's executive director and co-founder Nahad Awad [11:14] declared publicly that he was happy to see people breaking the siege, happy at that horrific terrorist [11:23] attack. Children murdered in their cribs, and Nahad Awad was, quote unquote, happy. I can't even share [11:36] the photos and video footage that I have watched of what transpired on October 7th, because watching it [11:45] will make you physically sick. On the very day that Hamas carried out its massacre, Zahra Ballou, [11:52] executive director of CARE's San Francisco chapter, celebrated the attacks by posting, quote, [11:59] we are witnessing decolonization. Months later, she referred to Hamas leader Ismail Hanaye as a [12:08] martyr. CARE California CEO Hussam Alush said, quote, Israel should be attacked. Understand, terrorists [12:22] slaughtered entire families, kidnapped children and grandparents, raped women, and burned civilians alive [12:32] in their homes. How do we know this? Because they recorded it themselves. In many instances, the [12:40] terrorists took video footage of their heinous act, gleefully screaming, Allahu Akbar. They were proud [12:51] of their barbarism. And CARE supported the attacks on Israel. CARE did not merely issue statements. They [13:01] assisted the broader Muslim Brotherhood network as it coordinated legal support and strategic guidance [13:08] for the violent campus encampments and riots at over 100 campuses around the country. The stories on [13:17] college campuses were horrific. At the University of Washington, the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors [13:26] was called names, spit at, laughed at, and told to, quote, go back to the gas chambers. Not a lot of [13:37] subtlety and nuance in that one. At Columbia, when Jewish students were engaged in a patriotic display of [13:45] waving the American flag and the Israeli flag, an extremist posed with a poster saying, Al Qassam's next [13:55] target. Al Qassam is the military arm of Hamas, responsible for conducting its terrorist organizations. [14:06] Extremists are literally calling and advocating for the death of Jewish students on campus. And by the [14:12] way, the extremist who was in that photograph was not from the Middle East. She was not Palestinian. She was [14:22] a pretty blonde girl from Georgia who went to Columbia to be radicalized by zealots who hate America. [14:31] The situation got so bad that the Orthodox rabbi on campus, Rabbi Eli Buchler, had to make this [14:41] public statement, quote, the events of the last few days have made it clear that Columbia University's [14:48] public safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students safety in the face of extreme anti-Semitism [14:57] and anarchy. I would strongly recommend you return home. That is a university that is failing its most [15:07] basic mission, which is to protect the safety of the students enrolled at that university. The events [15:16] we witnessed on college campuses after October 7th did not emerge from nowhere. They were not spontaneous, [15:24] they were not organic. They were the product of an organized network that has spent decades building [15:31] influence inside the United States. Just look at this dais. My Democrat colleagues have chosen not to [15:40] participate. That's their right. But an oversight hearing that one of the two major parties refuses [15:48] even to see is exactly the outcome these organizations that we're discussing have spent 40 years working to [16:01] produce. My promise to the American people is to hold accountable those who finance and support terrorism [16:10] on American soil, no matter how many tax exemptions, charitable registrations, or civil rights letterheads [16:17] they hide behind. Now we're going to turn to the witnesses who are here today. Our first witness is [16:31] Laura Burns. Laura Burns is the head of terrorism research at the program on extremism at the George [16:37] Washington University. She is a distinguished attorney and retired federal agent with more than 23 years [16:44] of experience leading teams in complex international terrorism investigations. At the outset of her career [16:53] as an FBI special agent, Ms. Burns led the Department of Justice's largest terrorism financing prosecution, [16:59] the United States versus the Holy Land Foundation, which led to the conviction of some of Hamas's top [17:06] fundraisers in America. She was later hand-selected to serve as an FBI special assistant and U.S. [17:12] attorney in the Northern District of Texas assigned to the national security section, where she [17:18] litigated a variety of federal criminal cases. Ms. Burns was then appointed as an FBI supervisory [17:25] special agent and the international terrorism program coordinator for the FBI's Dallas office [17:31] counterterrorism program in 2015. She retired from the FBI in April 2023 and joined the program on [17:39] extremism in May of 2024. Our second witness is Ariel Klepak. Ariel Klepak currently serves as senior [17:49] litigation counsel at the National Jewish Advocacy Center. Through her work, she has studied Muslim [17:55] Brotherhood-affiliated entities in the United States, their tactics, and their activities to best [18:01] understand how to curb the influence of this nefarious network. Prior to her current role, Ms. Klepak was an [18:10] assistant U.S. attorney in the special prosecution sections of the United States Attorney's Office [18:16] for the Southern District of Florida. Before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office, Ms. Klepak was an [18:22] assistant district attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. Ms. Klepak earned her law [18:29] degree from Columbia Law School, where she graduated as a James Kent Scholar and a Harlan Fisk Stone Scholar. [18:36] She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated magna cum laude, [18:41] with a BA in international relations and a minor in international development. And our third witness [18:48] is Mr. Kyle Scheidler, who is the director and senior analyst for homeland security and counterterrorism [18:56] at the Center for Security Policy, where he conducts research and analysis on domestic threats to the U.S. [19:02] homeland, with an emphasis on the doctrines which fuel terrorism and shape the variety of kinetic and [19:08] non-kinetic threats to America's security. He is brief senior U.S. government personnel, [19:15] members of Congress, federal and state local law enforcement officers, and he has testified before [19:19] the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, the Subcommittee on the Constitution, and the Canadian Senate Standing [19:26] Committee on National Security and Defense. Mr. Scheidler served as an expert witness in the first federal [19:32] terrorism trial against members of Antifa. He is the author of Modern Minutemen, Vital Considerations to Secure [19:41] America's States in the 21st Century, and Understanding Black Identity Extremism, Considerations for Law [19:48] Enforcement. And he is the editor of Unmasking Antifa, Five Perspectives on a Growing Threat, [19:55] and a contributing author to Saudi Arabia and the Global Islamic Terrorist Network. Finally, Mr. Scheidler [20:02] is a graduate of Boston University and was a Lincoln Fellow with the Claremont Institute. And Ms. Burns, [20:08] we'll start with you. You are recognized for your opening statement. Chairman Cruz, members of the [20:15] committee. And actually, let me stop you for a moment, and I want to ask each of you to rise and [20:21] be sworn in. Each stand and raise your right hand. Do you swear that the testimony you're about to give [20:28] before this subcommittee is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? [20:36] All of you have answered affirmatively. You may be seated, and Ms. Burns, you may give your opening [20:40] statement. Chairman Cruz and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify. [20:48] My name is Laura Burns, and I am a retired FBI Special Agent and a Senior Research Fellow with George [20:54] Washington University's Program on Extremism. A dangerous myth about foreign terrorist organizations [21:01] persists in the United States that the infrastructure supporting them exists only overseas. In reality, [21:08] these support infrastructures have existed inside the U.S. for decades. They operate through financial, [21:15] propaganda, and organizational support networks and commonly hide under the cover of charity, [21:21] advocacy, or activism. The 2008 trial and conviction of the Holy Land Foundation and its officials [21:29] exposed a broader, long-running network in the United States tied to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. [21:35] Evidence presented at the HLF trial included documents and wiretaps collected by the FBI for over a decade, [21:42] outlined a structured Palestine committee originally made up of front groups such as the HLF, the IAP, [21:49] and the UASR, which worked together to provide financial, media, and political support to Hamas. [21:55] In 1993, leaders of the Palestine committee held a meeting known as the 1993 Philadelphia meeting, [22:01] which was lawfully wiretapped by the FBI. There, members of the Palestine committee defined the [22:06] scope of the conspiracy, which included supporting Hamas abroad and infiltrating universities, media, [22:12] and politics here in the U.S. Why? To begin normalizing Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood extremist ideology [22:19] in American society. They stated, quote, [22:22] war is deception when plotting to lie to Americans. They also noted their intent to cleanse the [22:28] curriculum in U.S.-based K-12 schools because, quote, we don't want our children growing up [22:34] surrendering to the idea of peace with Jews. Their words. They recognized Hamas would be designated a [22:41] terror organization and they risked exposure. They agreed to continue to pursue their agenda by cloaking [22:46] themselves under the cover of legitimacy. Evidence emerged at the trial that showed it was out of [22:52] this conspiratorial meeting that CARE was created to protect the other elements of the Hamas support [22:58] network. The network vigorously pursued its agenda. Each part had its own role. The HLF's role in the [23:06] conspiracy, before it was designated as a terror front in 2001, was to send money to Gaza and the [23:11] West Bank to support the Hamas social infrastructure. The IAP's role was to disseminate Hamas propaganda [23:18] here. And CARE's role in the conspiracy was to defend and protect the other elements of the Hamas [23:24] support network and to pressure others to adopt its narratives or remain quiet. Regarding the last [23:31] point, in the 1993 Philadelphia meeting, this network of individuals, in effect, plotted to silence the free [23:37] speech of those who disagreed with them via intimidation. Specifically, meeting attendees [23:43] agreed that they must, quote, pressure others to adopt their narratives or remain neutral. [23:48] It should be noted that a co-founder of CARE, Nahad Awad, was an active participant in this [23:53] conspiratorial meeting and he remains the executive director of CARE to date. Elements within this [23:58] network have evolved and rebranded, and CARE's pressure tactics are still in play. CARE and other [24:04] elements of this network appear to have continued their acts in furtherance of the conspiratorial [24:09] agenda, as detailed extensively in my written testimony today. For decades, narratives have [24:14] been intentionally seeded into public discourse that portray terrorist organizations as resistance [24:20] movements, excuse acts of violence, and intimidate critics into silence. On college campuses, in activist [24:26] spaces, and across social media, slogans and rhetoric that once existed on the fringes have become [24:31] normalized. And too often, people who raise concerns are immediately labeled hateful, intolerant, or [24:37] extremist themselves. But free societies cannot function when intimidation replaces debate. The First [24:43] Amendment protects speech. It protects dissent. It protects protest. But it does not protect material [24:49] support to terrorism. It does not protect criminal conspiracies. And it does not require Americans to [24:55] ignore evidence introduced in federal court simply because that evidence is politically uncomfortable. [25:00] The history of this network is not in question. It was made public decades ago, but few paid attention. [25:06] Now is the time to pay attention and understand the facts. The lesson from history is clear. Terrorist [25:11] organizations do not survive on violence alone. They survive through networks that raise money, shape [25:17] narratives, recruit supporters, and legitimize extremism. If we fail to recognize how those networks evolve and [25:23] adapt, we will continue fighting yesterday's threats while tomorrow's are being built in plain sight. Our greatest [25:30] vulnerability is not a lack of information. It is a failure to act on what decades of evidence have [25:35] already revealed. Thank you very much. Thank you, Ms. Burns. Ms. Klepak, you're recognized for your [25:41] opening statement. Thank you. Chairman Cruz and members of the committee, thank you for the [25:46] opportunity to testify today. My name is Arielle Klepak, and I am senior litigation counsel at the National [25:52] Jewish Advocacy Center and a former federal prosecutor. When someone tells you who they are, [25:58] believe them. The Muslim Brotherhood told us their strategy for the West, but don't take my word for [26:03] it. They put it on paper. In 2004, the FBI seized a memorandum from the home of Muslim Brotherhood member [26:11] and Hamas U.S.-based archivist Ismail ElBarase. The memo written in 1991 described the work of the [26:17] Muslim Brotherhood in the United States as, and I quote, a kind of grand jihad in eliminating Western [26:23] society, eliminating and destroying Western society from within. In 1993, after the announcement of [26:30] the Oslo Peace Accords, a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, Muslim Brotherhood [26:36] and Hamas members met in Philadelphia to discuss their plan to thwart the agreement. The FBI wiretapped [26:42] the meeting, where the participants suggested the creation of a neutral-sounding organization for the [26:47] purpose of deceiving Americans. That organization is the Council on American Islamic Relations, or CARE. [26:54] Thirty-five years later, their plan is working just as designed. This is not a relic of the 1990s. It [27:00] is a foreign terror-supporting movement on American soil targeting our Constitution and our founding [27:05] principles. I would ask you to remember three things. These organizations are dangerous, they are in [27:11] our schools, and they hide by abusing the very legal system they are working to dismantle. CARE and [27:18] its officials platform and maintain relationships with designated terrorists. Not then, but today. [27:24] Here are just a few examples. One, in 2025, the Executive Director of CARE Ohio moderated an event [27:31] that featured a member of Hamas. CARE called it an oversight. Two, the International Union of Muslim [27:37] Scholars, or IUMS, founded by the now-designated foreign terrorist organization the Egyptian Muslim [27:44] Brotherhood amplifies CARE's work. This amplification is ongoing. This is the CARE content that is on the [27:51] IUMS website today. Three, CARE's current Executive Director and 1993 meeting participant Nihat Awad [27:58] has appeared at IUMS events, eulogized a U.S.-designated terrorist who was also Osama Bin Laden's [28:04] spiritual leader, and openly celebrated Hamas's murder of civilians. Second, they are in our schools. [28:10] CARE New Jersey pushed their revisionist version of a 9-11 curriculum to nearly 30 public school [28:17] districts that reframed the attacks as a predictable consequence of U.S. foreign policy. Imagine the [28:23] kids in all those school districts walking around learning and believing that 9-11 was our fault. [28:29] Other CARE curricula warn teachers not to say radical Islamic terrorism, and CARE boasts of its [28:35] partnership with Chicago Public Schools, one of the largest in the country, indoctrinating our children [28:40] into believing that terrorism is justified resistance is the antithesis of everything [28:44] this country stands for. Third, they abuse the legal system to shield themselves from discovery. [28:50] For example, in Texas, where CARE is challenging its terrorist designation, [28:54] they have repeatedly resisted turning over discovery the judge has ordered them to produce. [28:59] The state has had to file four different motions to compel the discovery that CARE was already ordered [29:05] to produce by the judge. When a former board member publicly exposed that CARE was receiving foreign [29:12] funding through the Washington Trust Foundation and hiding it from its own board, CARE sued her for [29:16] defamation, then dropped the suit the moment the discovery turned to its donor records. And in Virginia, [29:22] CARE's affiliate organization, American Muslims for Palestine, was held in civil contempt for defying the [29:28] Virginia Attorney General in a fraud investigation. In Illinois, the same lawyers were ordered to pay [29:34] attorneys fees for engaging in, quote, baseless discovery disputes in litigation that they have [29:39] already dragged on for nearly 20 years. So what can we do? Thankfully, most of what is needed is simply [29:45] to enforce the laws we already have. Treasury sanctions, material support and racketeering [29:50] investigations, and IRS review of these so-called charities that were never legitimate in the first [29:55] place. Those steps are detailed extensively in my written testimony. But if I leave you with one [30:00] legislative fix, let it be this. Close the successor organization loophole. When the Boehm family won a [30:06] $156 million judgment for Hamas's murder of their American teenage son, the defendants dissolved and [30:12] reappeared within a year under a new name. An entity found liable for material support should not escape [30:18] by renaming itself, forcing both terror victims and the courts to play whack-a-mole for decades before [30:23] achieving accountability. The Muslim Brotherhood told us who they are. They told us that they wanted to [30:28] infiltrate American universities, media outlets, and research centers, and that is exactly what [30:33] they've done. They teach our kids that 9-11 was our fault. They legitimize terrorism as justified [30:39] resistance, and they abuse our legal process so that those who seek to expose them for who they really [30:44] are, Muslims included, are silenced. We haven't been listening, and Americans pay that cost every day. [30:50] We have the tools to fix this, and we must continue to act. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Scheidler, [30:57] you're recognized for your opening statement. Chairman Cruz, distinguished senators, I'd like [31:01] to thank you for the opportunity to testify today. Because our court system is built on certain [31:06] fundamental principles, including trial by jury, the government's burden of proof in criminal matters, [31:11] and the right to confront one's accusers, courts, both civil and criminal, have been at the center [31:16] of revelations of great consequence to our republic and its national security. Examples include the [31:21] Chamber-His case and its famous pumpkin papers, exposing the role of the Communist Party of the United States [31:26] and Soviet espionage, or the 1957 Appalachian-New York raids, which convinced the federal law [31:32] enforcement of the existence of the American Mafia. To these, we must add United States versus Holy Land [31:38] Foundation for Relief and Development, prosecuted almost two decades ago, which exposed the existence [31:43] and extensive reach of the Muslim Brotherhood in America since its arrival in 1962. Evidence submitted [31:49] during that trial demonstrated that not only was the Muslim Brotherhood operating in America, [31:52] but that the Brotherhood played a singularly important role in providing indoctrination, [31:57] financing, and political protection for jihadist terrorism. Founded in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna in 1928, [32:04] from its very beginning, the Muslim Brotherhood has operated as a clandestine organization which [32:09] engages in the creation of public front groups, cultivates agents of influence, seeks control over [32:14] religious institutions, and engages in acts of political subversion, as well as creating deniable [32:19] sub-organizations devoted to terrorism, all in pursuit of their ultimate goal, the overthrow of [32:25] governments and the reestablishment of a worldwide caliphate operating under Islamic law. It is worth [32:30] recalling that the government demonstrated that the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood, like all Brotherhood branches [32:35] worldwide, created and funded Hamas support networks known as Palestine Committees at the direction of [32:40] the International Muslim Brotherhood, beginning in 1983. The most infamous Palestine Committee [32:45] Organization of the United States, CARE, was so significant that its creation and bylaws received [32:51] the explicit approval of the Muslim Brotherhood leadership in Egypt. HLF documents and related [32:57] cases reveal that at one time, one in every four American mosques was under the influence of the [33:02] Hamas-linked North American Islamic Trust. Brotherhood members, including some convicted of terrorism charges, [33:08] such as Samuel Arian and Abdur-Rothman al-Amodi, regularly worked to influence leaders of both American [33:13] political parties. Organizations affiliated with the Brotherhood have recruited and trained [33:17] chaplains for American prisons and the American military. Brotherhood organizations operate on [33:22] nearly every college campus in the United States and have regularly recruited young American Muslims [33:27] and led them to commit acts of terrorist violence. In short, the issue of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood [33:32] is not merely a counterterrorism issue, but it is also a systemic counterintelligence challenge. [33:38] And even more broadly, it is a challenge to the fabric of the United States [33:42] and its ability to seek assimilation and social cohesion. In the HLF case, the United States [33:48] government achieved an unparalleled intelligence coup, and yet almost none of this information was [33:53] put to substantive further use. HLF would be the last domestic Muslim Brotherhood charity designated [33:58] by the U.S. Treasury Department. There were no further prosecutions for material support. It was [34:03] the equivalent of cracking the Enigma code in 1939 and then never decoding another Nazi message. In 2008, [34:10] the U.S. government had in its possession the name and rank of most leading Muslim Brotherhood figures [34:15] in the United States. I would encourage the senators to demand, in an appropriate classified setting, [34:20] that U.S. intelligence deliver the same levels of insight into Brotherhood operations today. [34:25] The federal government's disinterest in the challenge of the Muslim Brotherhood has largely [34:30] been answered by private efforts at the local and state level. These have included educational efforts, [34:35] but also legislative and judicial responses. More than half a dozen state legislatures have [34:39] passed resolutions condemning care. Two states, Florida and Texas, have publicly declared the group [34:45] a terrorist organization. Some state attorneys general are currently pursuing investigations into [34:50] Brotherhood-linked entities. There have been efforts in federal court to enforce federal court [34:54] judgments against elements of the Palestine Committee, as well as lawsuits seeking to expose the role of [34:59] foreign funding and care. Unfortunately, in multiple cases, as was already outlined, [35:03] Brotherhood affiliates have successfully utilized lawfare to avoid complying with discovery. [35:09] Critics will claim that the data derived from the HLF case and related cases are decades old. [35:15] This is true, but it's also misleading. When studying clandestine networks, one must realize [35:21] that they are established over many decades, as trained cadre move through positions of trust in the [35:26] network's various fronts. Such individuals are not easily replaced, and they will regularly reappear. [35:32] A historic snapshot of such a network and the players in it, far from being irrelevant, [35:37] is a crucial piece of the puzzle, prized by both intelligence practitioners and historians. [35:43] In conclusion, it is those who insist that the Brotherhood is a leopard who has somehow changed its [35:48] spots who should be the ones required to meet the burden of proof, because the U.S. government has already [35:53] proved beyond a reasonable doubt what the Muslim Brotherhood is. [35:59] Thank you. Thank you to each of you for your testimony, which was highly enlightening. Ms. Burns, [36:06] I want to start with you. Thank you for your work defending the safety of all Americans. We are [36:12] indebted to you for your 23 years of service. As the lead investigator and prosecutor in the Holy Land [36:18] Foundation investigation and prosecution, you have become deeply knowledgeable on the Muslim Brotherhood [36:25] network operating in America. I want to start with a fundamental question. What should Americans be [36:32] worried about about the Muslim Brotherhood? Thank you for the question. I think Americans need to [36:41] understand the extent of the threat that this movement poses and the extent of their ability to achieve [36:49] their goals and their patience in obtaining success in this. The strategy that they have set in place [36:57] involves the erosion of our democratic principles. It involves the erosion of our personal freedoms. It [37:05] involves the erosions of the very principles upon which this country was created. And the individuals [37:11] within this network do not have a deadline. If it takes them a hundred years to achieve this goal, [37:19] they will steadily pursue it. That is something that I think, in general, Americans have a hard time [37:25] understanding. It is the stamina that this network possesses and the lethality that exists within it. [37:32] Because ultimately, their goal is to erode our society and turn it into something that none of us [37:40] want or need. In the Holy Land Foundation prosecution, how many entities did the government identify as [37:49] unindicted co-conspirators and joint venturers? I don't remember the exact number, but it was hundreds. [37:59] Do you believe some of these groups were likely providing material support to terrorists? [38:04] I do. And are some of these groups still in existence today? Yes, sir, they are. Do you believe [38:12] they are still actively members of the Muslim Brotherhood Network? I do. Is the conspiracy under which [38:21] the Holy Land Foundation was prosecuted still in existence today? I believe that it is. To understand [38:28] what got left on the table after the Holy Land Foundation prosecution, we have to look at who [38:34] was in the room at that Philadelphia meeting in 1993. CARE was named as an unindicted co-conspirator [38:42] in the Holy Land Foundation prosecution, correct? Yes, it was. Has CARE, to your knowledge, [38:50] ever formally disavowed the Holy Land Foundation? No, they have not. CARE was founded by Omar Ahmed [38:58] and Nahad Awad. Both men were captured on FBI wiretaps at that infamous meeting where Hamas [39:06] operatives discussed strategy on U.S. soil. Is that right? That's correct. Nahad Awad is still [39:14] the executive director of CARE today. Is that right? He is. So when CARE tells this Congress [39:22] it has no ties to Hamas. The documented record says otherwise. Is that correct? That is correct. [39:30] Agent Burns, if you were still an active FBI agent today, with the evidence you developed in the Holy [39:37] Land Foundation prosecution, would CARE be on your list of organizations warranting further investigation? [39:44] It would. Ms. Burns, this is a letter that I sent to the FBI requesting the release of non-classified [39:57] materials seized during the 2004 search of Ismail El Barasi's home in Annandale, Virginia. To date, [40:08] I have not received those documents. This letter was sent on April 16, 2026. Ms. Burns, are you aware [40:16] of anything unusual with the search of El Barasi's home that you would like to share with this committee? [40:23] The search of El Barasi's home revealed a massive amount of documentation, what we call the archives [40:33] of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States. The documents and video and audio tapes [40:39] were, as seen in exhibits that were put forth in the Holy Land Foundation trial, groundbreaking in the [40:46] understanding of this Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas network here. And they are key to understanding [40:51] the extent and scope of this network. And am I correct that CARE showed up during the search [40:59] of El Barasi's home and attempted to obstruct the seizure of the documents? Yes, sir, they did. [41:06] If the FBI released the non-classified documents tomorrow from the search, would the public understand [41:14] this network better than it does today? I believe that the release of those documents, [41:21] which would provide the ability for those of us who understand this network to conduct a full analysis, [41:27] that we could use that to provide education to the general public about what this network really is. [41:35] All right, Mr. Shadler, let's turn to you. How long have you studied the history and activities of the [41:41] Muslim Brotherhood? Since about 2007-2008. Actually, with the rise of the Holy Land Foundation trial, [41:49] it really piqued my interest. And it's fair to say it changed my entire career trajectory. [41:54] Do you believe that there is a Muslim Brotherhood branch operating in the United States? Yes. [42:00] Are there ever instances where the Brotherhood groups engage in America in acts of violence? [42:07] Yes, there are. I would include individuals associated with Brotherhood-linked mosques who have engaged in [42:14] acts of terrorism. I would include individuals associated with Muslim students associations, [42:20] dozens of which have committed acts of terrorism. I would also include the role in the promotion of [42:27] rioting and civil disorder conducted by groups like Students for Justice in Palestine and the Palestinian [42:33] Youth Movement. What you've described is exactly why I introduced the Stop Thunders Act, which would add rioting [42:43] to the RICO predicate offenses so that the Justice Department can reach the entities that fund and [42:49] coordinate these riots. Do Brotherhood groups in America also participate in electoral and coalition [42:57] politics? Yes, sir, they do. Is that consistent with the Tom Keen framework described in the explanatory [43:06] memorandum, working through existing institutions rather than displacing them? Yes, sir. As you described, [43:12] it is a process of settlement by which they are creating and seizing control of institutions, [43:17] which they can then use to continue to build their efforts. Does Abdul El-Sayed's candidacy for [43:24] senator in Michigan concern you? Yes, sir, it does. Why is that? Well, to begin with, [43:30] I look at the connections that his father-in-law, Jakaku Tayyib, has to Brotherhood-linked groups. This [43:36] includes being the president at one time of CARE Michigan, also his presence on the Islamic Society of North [43:42] America Founders Committee, which is only for those most exclusively devoted to ISNA and provides [43:48] significant amounts of funding. There are other known Brotherhood members on that committee. [43:54] I would also look at El-Sayed's ties to a group called M-GAGE, which purports to be a Muslim sort of [44:01] get-out-the-vote or candidate recruitment organization, but it has close ties to CARE. It was created by a [44:08] former CARE member who at one time was on a terror watch list and was also a consultant to convicted [44:14] terrorists, Samuel Arion. Do you believe the Islamic Society of North America, or ISNA, [44:24] is an ongoing part of the Muslim Brotherhood network in the United States? Yes, sir, I do. [44:29] There were some HLF documents that reflected hesitation by the Brotherhood that they thought [44:34] perhaps they were losing control of ISNA at one point, but they appear to have rectified that. As far as I can [44:39] tell, there are still individuals associated with the Muslim Brotherhood who are in high leadership [44:46] positions with that organization, and they have never repudiated their ties to the organization. [44:51] Does the Muslim Brotherhood also partner with political groups such as the Democratic Socialists [44:56] of America? Yes, sir, they do. Would you agree that this alliance between the Muslim Brotherhood [45:03] and the DSA, otherwise known as the Red-Green Alliance, is based on a shared hatred of America, [45:13] Israel, Western civilization writ large, capitalism, and democracy? Yes, sir, I would. And I would go [45:21] further as to say it's also united around a revolutionary objective advocating for the overthrow of the U.S. [45:28] Constitution. Ms. Claypock, let's move to you. Thank you for being with us today, [45:35] and thank you for your work confronting the contemporary Muslim Brotherhood network in court. [45:44] The historical record is damning, but I'd like to turn to what's being done about it today. The Muslim [45:51] Brotherhood's ties to terrorism are ongoing today, not just historical, is that right? Yes, that's right. [45:59] And yet, Brotherhood groups still meet with members of Congress and are treated as a civil rights [46:06] organization. Is that right? Yes. In your litigation work, have you found that Brotherhood-affiliated [46:13] entities share leadership, funding, or infrastructure across organizations that hold themselves out to [46:20] the public as separate and unrelated? That's correct. For example, the Islamic Association for Palestine, [46:27] after it was shut down, after being sued and a judgment of $156 million entered against it, [46:35] shut down with the same leaders and created a new organization called American Muslims for Palestine. [46:41] Another example is CARE and its relationship with the Washington Trust Foundation. The Washington Trust [46:46] Foundation is actually, back in 1994, it was originally incorporated as CARE, and now the Washington [46:53] Trust Foundation serves essentially as a real estate holding entity that, per its own 990s, exists for the [46:59] purpose of supporting the CARE Foundation today. Well, and that's why I introduced the Sponsor Act, [47:07] which would hold tax-exempt fiscal sponsors liable for what their sponsored entities do. [47:14] The loopholes and the manipulation of our tax code needs to end. Ms. Klepak, since approximately 2022, [47:23] have state and federal grant programs become a primary source of financial support for significant [47:30] portions of the CARE ecosystem. That's correct. I believe it was about $54 million in federal grant [47:38] money was received by CARE California. There has been testimony in other Senate Judiciary subcommittees [47:47] relating to that funding and CARE's misuse of that funding. You mentioned CARE California. In 2024 IRS [47:58] findings, filings, CARE California reported distributing more than $4 million in subgrants [48:05] to 39 other organizations. Is that right? Yes. Roughly 185,000 of that went to California [48:13] chapters of the Muslim American Society, an organization that George Washington University's [48:18] program on extremism identifies as a brotherhood legacy group. Is that right? That's right, and federal [48:24] prosecutors also called the Muslim American Society the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in the United [48:30] States. And the American taxpayer is effectively footing the bill for this. That's right. So the [48:40] taxpayer funds it, and then the taxpayer is told it's none of his business what is done with that money. [48:46] Let's talk about what happens when someone actually tries to look. Do you believe Brotherhood affiliates [48:52] have developed effective tactics for obstructing any investigation into their activities? Yes, they have. [49:00] Let's discuss a real world example. Is it true that more than two years after the Virginia [49:06] Virginia Attorney General issued its civil investigatory demands into AMP in October of 2023, [49:13] AMP has still not complied with substantial portions of those demands? That's correct. [49:19] That kind of stonewalling is not unique to AMP. It's the brotherhood playbook. In your estimation, [49:31] do you believe Treasury should investigate care for maintaining relationships with designated terrorists? [49:38] I do. And do you believe that when the founders drafted the First Amendment, [49:45] that propping up and shielding the Muslim Brotherhood from scrutiny is what they had in mind? [49:50] No. The rights afforded under the First Amendment are not absolute, and the Supreme Court has said in [49:57] Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project that speech at the direction of or in coordination with a terrorist [50:02] organization can constitute material support for terrorism under the statute. [50:09] Mr. Scheidler, in your judgment, why should Americans be worried about the Muslim Brotherhood network in America? [50:15] Well, I would point to the influence that the Muslim Brotherhood has had in elements of our foreign policy, [50:23] including key Brotherhood members playing a role in lobbying in the United States, [50:29] leading us into the intervention in the Libyan Civil War and in the Syrian Civil War. Interventions [50:35] which resulted in, for example, using Youssef al-Qaradawi in Qatar as an intermediary for our negotiations [50:43] with the Taliban. They had a tremendously negative effect on our foreign policy and also on our [50:50] domestic counterterrorism policy, looking at influence with law enforcement and the like, [50:56] preventing the investigation into their friends in the Muslim Brotherhood. [51:01] Is the Muslim Brotherhood network in America a foreign threat, a domestic threat, or both? [51:06] It's both. They both operate at the direction of individuals overseas, [51:12] as well as having now at this point multiple generations of Brotherhood members who have [51:17] grown up as American citizens and are U.S. persons. [51:20] Ms. Burns, based on your decades of investigative experience, [51:26] is the threat of the Muslim Brotherhood in America growing or shrinking? [51:31] It is growing. [51:32] Ms. Klepak, to what degree has the Muslim Brotherhood infiltrated the American education system? [51:41] Should parents sending their children to American public schools and universities be worried about [51:47] the Muslim Brotherhood? [51:49] I believe they should be. In addition to the CARE New Jersey curriculum that I mentioned in my opening [51:55] statement, CARE has also attempted to or initiated relationships with other public school districts, [52:01] such as in Philadelphia, I believe also in Delaware. As I mentioned, they also boast of their partnership [52:07] with Chicago Public Schools. The type of rhetoric that is being taught and promoted in their curriculum [52:12] is incredibly dangerous and antithetical to Western values. [52:16] In your work, have you seen this network specifically target young Americans because they're easier to [52:23] influence than adults? [52:24] Ms. Yes, of course. If you teach an elementary schooler about 9-11 and teach them that it was [52:31] our fault, they're not going to know any better. And of course, as has already been testified by the [52:36] other witnesses on the panel, we've seen the infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood network [52:41] on college campuses, exactly as the Muslim Brotherhood set out to do in that 1993 meeting, [52:46] when they said that they would infiltrate American universities specifically. [52:50] Ms. Klepak, following the letter that Senator Cotton and Representative Stefanik sent to the [52:57] Department of Treasury in October 2025, requesting an investigation into CARE's ties to Hamas, [53:04] CARE responded by claiming that a federal appeals court had ruled the government's identification [53:08] of these groups as co-conspirators was unconstitutional. Is that characterization accurate? [53:15] Ms. No. In fact, I believe the language of the district court in the ruling upholding the [53:20] unindicted co-conspirator list was that there was ample evidence to support both CARE and NAIT and [53:26] other organizations' inclusion on that list, and that ruling was upheld, I believe, by the Fifth Circuit. [53:31] Ms. In fact, as you just noted, the Fifth Circuit did the opposite, affirming the district court's [53:39] decision to deny CARE's motion to strike its name from the unindicted co-conspirator list. Is that right? [53:45] Ms. Yes. [53:46] Ms. And that ruling, finding sufficient evidence of CARE's involvement in the conspiracy as the [53:51] successor organization to the Islamic Association for Palestine, has never been reversed. Is that right? [53:58] Ms. I believe that is the ruling that found that CARE's inclusion on the unindicted co-conspirator list [54:05] was valid and not unconstitutional. I don't believe that that has ever been overturned. [54:11] So when CARE tells the public and tells Congress that a federal court vindicated it, that claim [54:19] is a lie, is it not? Ms. It is. [54:22] Ms. Agent Burns, CARE and other Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated groups have long referred to the [54:29] convicted Holy Land Foundation defendants as political prisoners, implying that they were [54:36] imprisoned for their beliefs. Based on the trial record you helped build, is that an accurate description? [54:42] Ms. It is completely inaccurate. Labeling prisoners as political prisoners does as you say. It implies that [54:50] there was no due process, that people are imprisoned because of their beliefs or merely because of [54:55] their speech. And in this instance, the Holy Land Foundation and five of its officers were tried by a [55:01] jury of 12, jurors who were hand-selected by the prosecution and the defense, who found, the jurors who [55:10] found, beyond a reasonable doubt, that these individuals and the organization committed the crime of [55:17] providing material support to terrorism under 18 U.S.C. 2339 B. And then the defense appealed that [55:25] judgment on many grounds to the Fifth Circuit. And the Fifth Circuit examined all of those issues and [55:32] wrote a lengthy, almost 100-page opinion addressing those issues and affirming the convictions. And then [55:41] the defendants applied for certiorari with the Supreme Court who denied it. Therefore, they received [55:49] exactly what our Constitution provides due process and expended all of their efforts challenging that. [55:58] So I would say that that is an absolute mischaracterization of those individuals and that entity. [56:06] And isn't it true that those men were convicted by a jury on all counts after weeks of testimony, [56:13] wiretaps, financial records, establishing that they knowingly funneled money to a designated terrorist [56:19] organization? Yes. Mr. Scheidler, how important is the Brotherhood Network operating inside the United [56:28] States to the Brotherhood's global agenda? I would say it's probably central to their efforts. [56:35] While they have influence in other countries that is perhaps more significant, the importance of [56:41] influencing the United States is preeminent. Let's turn to the American Muslims for Palestine. [56:48] Ms. Kleipak, there are serious allegations that AMP is effectively the alter ego of the Islamic [56:56] Association for Palestine, the original Hamas propaganda front in the United States. Is there [57:02] evidentiary support for that? Yes, there is. That case is currently in litigation and scheduled to go to [57:09] trial in February of next year. The district court judge in that case [57:14] ruled against AMP in multiple motions to dismiss, claiming that there was insufficient evidence of [57:23] alter ego status. Mr. Scheidler, are there individuals who move directly from IAP, UA, SR, or HLF into [57:32] leadership roles at AMP? Yes, there are. As you name some of them, Osama Abu Arshad, who was not just at [57:40] IAP, but he was also at the United Association for Studies and Research, which was really the Hamas think [57:46] tank of its time. It was created by Hamas foreign affairs leader Abu Marzouk and led by Ahmed Yousef, who was [57:55] the sort of the Hamas political consultant. And isn't it true that AMP's current executive director, Osama [58:04] Abarshad, previously worked for both IAP and the United Association for Studies and Research, which were two of the [58:11] the original Hamas-linked organizations in America? Yes, that's correct. And in April 2024, Mr. Abarshad [58:18] stood on George Washington University's campus at a student protest and said in substance that the [58:26] movement would take back these colleges like it will take back America, like it will take back Palestine. [58:34] Mr. Scheidler, does rhetoric like that also inform how we should understand Hamas's own intent for the [58:40] network it built here in America? Yes, it does. We were talking about Abdul Al-Sayed, now the Democrat [58:50] nominee for U.S. Senate in the state of Michigan. Among other things, Mr. Al-Sayed has campaigned [58:59] alongside Hassan Piker, a radical left-wing Islamist who has said, among other things, [59:08] America deserved 9-11. Mr. Al-Sayed was very proud to stand next to Hassan Piker. I want to ask each of [59:19] the three witnesses, do you believe America deserved 9-11? No, sir, it did not. Al-Qaeda committed the acts [59:30] that we saw on 9-11. Al-Qaeda hijacked commercial airliners and flew them into the World Trade Center [59:37] and into the Pentagon and attempted to fly another plane and kill more civilians. They killed 3,000 [59:43] civilians. And for anyone to claim that anyone, any one of those civilians or individuals who died in [59:50] that atrocious terrorist attack deserved it is shameful. Ms. Claypock? Absolutely not. And the [59:57] reframing of 9-11 as something that is a consequence of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East [1:00:02] is an incredibly dangerous rhetorical tool that the Brotherhood has used. And we've seen that [1:00:09] rhetorical tool extend even beyond to Mr. Al-Sayed's statements about even the recent terrorist attack [1:00:15] against a preschool in Michigan. Mr. Scheidler? I have to concur its horrific statement. Final [1:00:23] question. What does it say to you that today's Democrat Party is proudly supporting Mr. Al-Sayed as a [1:00:34] Michigan U.S. Senate candidate and will funnel money, support and advocacy behind his candidacy, [1:00:47] notwithstanding his willingness to embrace someone like Hassan Piker who says America deserved 9-11? [1:00:57] Mr. Scheidler? Oh, I would say it shows the success of the Muslim Brotherhood Network over [1:01:03] multiple decades that they achieved what they said they were going to achieve, which was to normalize [1:01:08] support for Hamas, normalize support for terrorism. Ms. Claypock? I would concur with that. The [1:01:18] classification of this hearing and this endeavor as Islamophobic says a lot about the failure of [1:01:27] one party in this country to confront the terrorist threat that faces our nation. I would say that the [1:01:34] most Islamophobic or racist thing about this endeavor is the fact that the Democrats can't look at [1:01:39] terrorists because they purport that it reflects all Muslims. Ms. Burns? I would say that embracing [1:01:49] Muslim Brotherhood rhetoric and furthering the Muslim Brotherhood's agenda in this country will resort in [1:01:56] the erosion of our government, the erosion of the fabric of our society, and it poses a threat to [1:02:04] our national security and should be treated as such. Well, I want to thank each of the witnesses for [1:02:10] your testimony. It was highly enlightening, and I hope that the administration listens to your testimony [1:02:18] carefully, and I hope we see real action from the Department of Justice, the Department of Treasury, [1:02:23] the FBI, and elsewhere following up and protecting the American people from what I believe is a clear and [1:02:29] present danger to our safety and security. This concludes our hearing. Written questions can be [1:02:36] submitted for the record until Tuesday, August 12th at 5 p.m., and I will ask the witnesses to answer [1:02:43] and return any questions to the committee by August 26th at 5 p.m. And with that, this hearing is adjourned.