Senator Hawley's Follow-Up Questions | Afghan Vetting Hearing | Joint Judiciary Subcommittee 1.14.26

[00:00:00] Thank you very much, Senator Cornin. Uh, [00:00:02] Miss Marzuk, if I could just start with [00:00:03] you. I want to start with something that [00:00:05] you said a moment ago in your opening [00:00:07] statement and that you also write about [00:00:08] in your your written testimony because [00:00:10] it's quite striking. You said that [00:00:13] millions of dollars went to an [00:00:16] organization, millions of taxpayer [00:00:18] dollars went to an organization with [00:00:20] terrorist ties supposedly to help screen [00:00:23] parolees to make sure they didn't have [00:00:25] terrorist ties. So, let's just talk a [00:00:28] little bit about how this happened. In [00:00:29] the fall of 2021, Congress passed and [00:00:33] President Biden, then President Biden, [00:00:35] signed legislation providing about $1.7 [00:00:38] billion in taxpayer funding to help [00:00:41] settle uh for carrying out refugee and [00:00:44] entrant assistance activities. That's [00:00:45] the language from the statute. And much [00:00:47] of that money was then made available to [00:00:49] states. Have I got that right? [00:00:50] >> That's correct. So, we're talking about [00:00:52] 1.7 billion originally, tens of [00:00:55] millions, hundreds of millions that are [00:00:57] available to states that then turn [00:00:58] around and give it to grants in the form [00:01:00] of grants to nonprofits. Have I got that [00:01:02] right? [00:01:02] >> Exactly. [00:01:03] >> Now, where this nonprofit money goes is [00:01:06] where the story gets interesting. These [00:01:07] nonprofit groups are supposed to be [00:01:09] helping with the settlement process. [00:01:12] Some of them provided legal services to [00:01:15] the refugees. Is that correct? Yes, [00:01:17] there was money for resettlement and [00:01:18] separate money for legal services. [00:01:21] >> Got it. So, how is it that money, [00:01:24] taxpayer money, ends up in the hands of [00:01:27] an organization, maybe multiple [00:01:29] organizations that have terrorist [00:01:30] affiliations? Tell us how this happened. [00:01:32] >> Well, I think there's plenty of fault to [00:01:35] go around. The first should lie with the [00:01:37] terroristup supporting nonprofit that [00:01:39] presents itself as a legitimate civil [00:01:42] rights organization. [00:01:42] >> And what would that be? That's the [00:01:45] Council of American Islamic Relations [00:01:47] CARE. [00:01:48] >> So, this is a group that you say has [00:01:50] ties to terrorism. Explain why that is. [00:01:54] >> It's not my opinion. They were an [00:01:57] unindicted co-conspirator in the 2008 [00:01:59] Holyland Foundation. And in that trial, [00:02:03] the wiretap from the 1993 meeting in [00:02:06] which care was founded was brought into [00:02:09] the federal public record. In that [00:02:12] meeting, they specifically state that [00:02:14] they are going to present themselves as [00:02:17] a legitimate civil rights organization [00:02:19] while furthering the mission of Hamas. [00:02:22] >> So, you have an American court, an [00:02:24] American court proceeding that finds [00:02:25] that this entity has direct ties to [00:02:27] Hamas, may be part of a Hamas funding [00:02:30] network, but yet they're getting money. [00:02:32] How much money did they get from the [00:02:34] federal government to shepherd Afghan [00:02:36] paroleies? It's very hard to track the [00:02:38] funding because some state fiscal [00:02:41] oversight portals show it more clearly [00:02:43] than others. I can say with certainty [00:02:45] that in California they received $15 [00:02:48] million. In the state of Washington they [00:02:51] received more than a million dollars. [00:02:53] And I can say also that an affiliate of [00:02:56] care which is called IKNA, the um [00:02:59] Islamic Center for North America, which [00:03:01] has its own documented ties to extremism [00:03:04] and terrorism, was also subgranted a [00:03:06] million dollars, [00:03:07] >> $15 million in one state, millions in [00:03:10] other states going to this entity. Did [00:03:12] you say that following October 7th, the [00:03:14] leaders of of care celebrated the Hamas [00:03:17] attacks or did they condemn it? Which [00:03:19] which was it? Multiple leaders are on [00:03:21] public record celebrating the Hamas [00:03:24] attacks. The national executive [00:03:26] director, the CEO of Care California, [00:03:28] and the executive director of San [00:03:31] Francisco Care, all publicly celebrated [00:03:34] October 7th. So, you've got an [00:03:35] organization that was founded in [00:03:37] conjunction with Hamas that a federal [00:03:39] court has found is linked to the to the [00:03:42] funding network that is somehow getting [00:03:44] millions and millions of taxpayer [00:03:46] dollars to help Afghanes supposedly to [00:03:50] make sure that they're not associated [00:03:51] with terrorism. This group's associated [00:03:53] with terrorism. Now, when I look at the [00:03:54] federal databases to see if there's any [00:03:57] reference to care, I don't see anything. [00:03:59] Why is that? H how have they hid the [00:04:01] fact they've gotten so much money? [00:04:03] That's correct, Senator, because the [00:04:05] money went from Health and Human [00:04:06] Services to the states and from the [00:04:09] states to nonprofits. In fact, [00:04:12] nonprofits could then subrant further. [00:04:14] So, the money did not go directly from [00:04:16] the federal government to care, but [00:04:19] rather an intermediary, and that is how [00:04:21] they've hidden the money. [00:04:22] >> It's like a dark money network. Uh, tell [00:04:24] me this, is there any reason to believe [00:04:26] that any of the representations that [00:04:28] care made to the states were false or [00:04:30] did they do they use false names? Do [00:04:32] they use uh false front uh [00:04:34] organizations? I mean, what what do we [00:04:36] know? [00:04:36] >> Absolutely. So, in California, the [00:04:39] contract between uh CARE and the state [00:04:42] of California for $7.2 million is in the [00:04:45] name of Care of Greater Los Angeles. [00:04:48] Care of Greater LA is not a legal [00:04:50] entity. It does not have a federal EIN. [00:04:53] It does not file a 990. Care of [00:04:56] California is a legal entity. But since [00:04:59] Care of Greater Los Angeles isn't an [00:05:01] entity, there is no way to track that [00:05:03] $7.2 million. [00:05:04] >> Uh there there's the cash out. So in [00:05:06] other words, because the money was given [00:05:07] to a non-legal entity, we can't follow [00:05:09] it. Now, I thought you said just a [00:05:11] moment ago in your testimony that fewer [00:05:13] than half of the Afghans that care said [00:05:16] they would help have actually been [00:05:17] provided assistance or that is fewer [00:05:19] than than half of the number they [00:05:20] submitted. So where's the rest of the [00:05:21] money gone? Well, in California, CARE is [00:05:25] involved in an all of society political [00:05:28] activism approach. They have paid [00:05:30] activists in city councils, in school [00:05:33] boards, um lobbyed in the state [00:05:36] legislature to further their extremist [00:05:38] agenda. I cannot say with certainty that [00:05:40] that's where the federal dollars went, [00:05:42] but I can say that on the ground, we see [00:05:45] the political radicalization from care [00:05:48] in every aspect of California civic [00:05:50] life. Were they involved in any way in [00:05:52] anti-Israel, anti-Jewish protests after [00:05:55] October 7th that we saw all over the [00:05:57] country? [00:05:57] >> Absolutely. CAR's leadership was present [00:06:00] at the universities of California and [00:06:02] the Cal State campuses and in fact um [00:06:06] gave sermons and speeches on those [00:06:08] campuses. [00:06:09] >> So for all we know, the money could have [00:06:10] gone there. I mean my point is and thank [00:06:12] you for your indulgence, Mr. Chairman, [00:06:14] we need to find out where this money has [00:06:16] gone. This is a scandal. This is [00:06:18] corruption and we've got to figure out [00:06:20] how taxpayer money has ended up in the [00:06:22] hands of yet another organization with [00:06:23] terrorist eyes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.