President Trump’s eleventh-hour pardon of a former Michigan congressman accused of accepting stolen funds to lobby on behalf of an alleged terrorist fundraising ring has drawn rebuke from the district’s current officeholder.
Republican Rep. Fred Upton said he is “beyond disappointed” and “stunned” by the pardon for Mark Siljander, who was indicted on federal charges of money laundering and obstruction of justice more than a decade ago.
“I wish the President would instead focus his energy on helping the millions of families and small businesses ravaged by the pandemic,” said Upton, a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers who authored the package used to negotiate the latest COVID-19 aid deal.
Upton unseated Siljander more than 30 years ago in a Republican primary to represent southwestern Michigan’s then-4th Congressional District.
…laundering, and lobbying for an international terrorist group with ties to Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban. Just stunned. I wish the President would instead focus his energy on helping the millions of families and small businesses ravaged by the pandemic.
— Fred Upton #WearYourMask (@RepFredUpton) December 24, 2020
Siljander’s charges related to his work as a lobbyist for an Islamic charity accused of funneling $130,000 to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister of Afghanistan and warlord designated a terrorist by the United States Treasury Department because of his ties to al Qaeda and the Taliban.
The former congressman was accused of accepting stolen money on behalf of the Islamic American Relief Agency, which closed in 2004 after being designated a global terrorist organization by Treasury officials.
In 2008, Siljander pleaded not guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri on five counts, including conspiracy, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.
While most of those charges were dropped, Siljander later pleaded guilty to obstruction and acting as an unregistered foreign agent and was sentenced to one year and a day in prison. Prosecutors said Siljander lied about his work for the charity, saying that money he received was a donation to assist him as he wrote a book.
Siljander was one of 26 people to whom Trump granted a pardon on Wednesday.
A White House statement said Siljander’s pardon was endorsed by former Attorney General Ed Meese, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Alabama congressman Robert Aderholt, and pastor Andrew Brunson.
“During his time in Congress, Mr. Siljander was one of Congress’ most stalwart defenders of pro-life principles and the namesake of the ‘Siljander Amendment,’ which prohibits U.S. funds from being used to lobby for or against abortion,” the statement said.
Since his release, Siljander “has devoted himself to traveling in the Middle East and Africa to promote peace and mutual understanding.”
