House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s recent decision to appoint Rep. André Carson to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) for the 114th Congress raises deep concerns from a national security perspective. Particularly alarming is Rep. Carson’s long history of associating with organizations known to be front groups for the Muslim Brotherhood. The Carson-tied Muslim groups have a documented history of serving as unregistered foreign agents, engaging in material support for terrorism, and possessing direct ties to the Brotherhood’s Palestinian franchise, Hamas, a designated terrorist organization.
Rep. Carson’s unsuitability for service on the House Intelligence Committee is further underscored by the fact that his political campaign has benefited directly and financially from such entities. Publicly available records indicate that he received at least $33,911 in campaign donations from individuals associated with Muslim Brotherhood-linked organizations over a period of several years.
The oversight responsibility of the HPSCI with respect to the U.S. Intelligence Community and each of its myriad agencies by definition requires that its members have extensive access to highly sensitive information. Evidence acquired by American and foreign law enforcement agencies has documented that the Muslim Brotherhood engages in hostile intelligence collection against U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and seeks to conduct influence operations (IO) against them and American policymakers. 2 Such activities on the part of these groups constitute a direct threat to the security of the nation’s secrets, as well as the independence of its domestic and foreign policy.
