Friday, September 7, 2007

Former Dallas Congressman Testifies at HLF Trial

The Investigative Project on Terrorism:


DALLAS - Former Congressman John Bryant (D-Texas), who served both as a lawyer and lobbyist for the Holy Land for Relief and Development (HLF), testified Thursday in the defunct charity's terror support trial. Bryant said HLF became a client in 1997 following news reports about an ongoing investigation into charity's alleged ties to terror.

Bryant said he sought several meetings with the Department of State and FBI officials asking for guidance about Palestinian charities which had terror ties and those which did not. HLF routed its donations through local Palestinian groups called zakat committees and he wanted federal officials to tell him whether HLF was doing anything illegal. If so, he wanted to know what the charity could do to take to change the situation.

He received no response, Bryant said.


More of Counterterrorism Blog and IPT's outstanding coverage of the Holy Land Foundation trial, ongoing in a Dallas, TX federal court.

Read IPT's full report, here.