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Friday October 27, 2000; 4:54 PM EDT
Hillary Caught in Pro-Arafat Fund-Raising Cover-Up
Senate candidate Hillary Clinton claims she didn't know until Wednesday that a June 13 fund raiser she attended in Boston was sponsored by the American Muslim Alliance, a group that supports the kind of violence currently being perpetrated against Israel by minions of Yasser Arafat.
And when she found out about the AMA's sponsorship, she says, she decided to return their $50,000 in campaign contributions immediately.
But though Mrs. Clinton claims that the identity of the event's hosts had been concealed from her, NewsMax.com has learned the Muslim group in charge of the fund raiser was entirely open about its role. Indeed, the AMA even boasted about the success of the occasion on the group's Web site the very day of the event.
Their report, headlined "AMA Massachusetts Holds Fundraiser for First Lady Hillary Clinton," suggests it would have been all but impossible for Mrs. Clinton not to know that the AMA was her benefactor.
"Boston, June 13, 2000 - The American Muslim Alliance Massachusetts chapter held a successful fund-raiser for First Lady Hillary Clinton at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston on June 13, 2000. The reception was attended by nearly 100 American Muslim leaders and activists. After an informal introduction and photo shoot with Mrs. Clinton, members of the community had the opportunity to meet with the senatorial candidate on a one-on-one basis."
If the first lady didn't learn about the AMA's involvement from her up close and personal "one-on-one" contact with the event's guests, then remarks from the dais certainly should have tipped her off, since the AMA was specifically identified as the host.
"Mr. Farooq Ansari, former president and one of the co-founders of the AMA Massachusetts chapter, was the Master of Ceremonies. On behalf of AMA and the Muslim community, Mr. Ansari welcomed First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton."
And Hillary clearly understood that her hosts were concerned the U.S. war on terrorism might be too harsh.
In her speech, "Mrs. Clinton vowed to pursue fairness and justice in the issue of secret evidence and the Anti-Terrorism Act," the AMA Web report notes.
Then there's the $1,000 contribution the first lady accepted (then returned this week) from Abdurahman Alamoudi, the American Muslim Council official who attended the Boston event. "We are the ones who went to the White House and defended what is called Hamas," the New York Daily News says Alamoudi once boasted.
Federal Election Commission records show Alamoudi actually contributed the money on May 25, less than two weeks after Mrs. Clinton attended another suspicious fund raiser, an event her campaign went to great lengths to keep secret.
The May 12 event where Alamoudi apparently pledged to contribute the $1,000 was held at the Washington, D.C., mansion of Hani Masri, a business associate and confidante of Yasser Arafat.
On May 26 the Jewish Forward reported:
"The event, which sources said raised more than $50,000, was closed to the press, which wouldn't have known about the event anyway, since it wasn't listed on Mrs. Clinton's public schedule."
In the same report the Forward revealed:
"The president of the Middle Eastern Media Research Institute, Yigal Carmon, said of Mr. Masri, 'I am not sure this is the best ally a candidate for the U.S. Senate should choose,' especially for someone running in New York, with its substantial number of Jewish voters. MEMRI has done extensive research on the Masri family's control of the Palestinian Development Investment Co. and its ties to Mr. Arafat."
Beyond trying to cover up her fund raising with Arafat sympathizers, Mrs. Clinton may have even attempted to hide Alamoudi's American Muslim Council ties. Her campaign's FEC filing actually lists Alamoudi's employer as "The American Museum Council."
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