U.S. Treasury: Former White House Guest "Had a Close Relationship with Al-Qaida"

By Evan Kohlmann

There are new revelations today from the U.S. Treasury Department about the terrorist connections of former American Muslim Council (AMC) president and frequent White House guest Abdurahman Alamoudi.  During the 1990s, Alamoudi became a well-known political personality in  Washington D.C., where he rubbed elbows with--among others--former President Bill Clinton, then-Vice President Al-Gore, and President George Bush.  In 2004, Alamoudi pled guilty to federal criminal charges and admitted to his role in an attempted Libyan plot to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.  He was later sentenced to 23 years in prison.  Today, in a press release concerning a related terrorist financing designation, the Treasury revealed:

"According to information available to the U.S. Government, the September 2003 arrest of Alamoudi was a severe blow to al Qaida, as Alamoudi had a close relationship with al Qaida and had raised money for al Qaida in the United States."

Tax records show that in 1999, another organization founded by Abdurahman Alamoudi known as "the American Muslim Foundation (AMF)"  gave a $2,000 donation to Northern Virginia resident Tarik Hamdi for unspecified purposes.  Less than a year earlier, Hamdi had provided material support directly to Usama Bin Laden and Al-Qaida, and had served as a press intermediary for U.S. journalists interested in interviewing Bin Laden at a secret location inside Afghanistan.

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