Staff Reports
Adeel Mangi, the federal judge nomination of President Joe Biden, is receiving harsh criticism because of his ties to terrorist organizations and anti-Israel organizations. Mangi played a significant role in a Muslim attorneys conference that was co-sponsored by an organization with ties to terrorism that the Biden White House denounced for its backing of Hamas. Mangi moderated a panel at the conference event on Islamophobia with members of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which was identified by US prosecutors in a 2009 terrorism financing prosecution as a "unindicted co-conspirator" of Hamas.
Documents additionally indicate that the event was sponsored by CAIR and other organizations in addition to Mangi's company, Patterson Belknap. Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are right to demand that Mangi provide the committee with an update on this and any other relevant information that may have been omitted from his inquiry. The Senate should not confirm him to a lifetime appointment on the Third Circuit, as evidenced by his growing affiliations to the Rutgers Center and other extreme groups.
Emails Reveal Biden Nominee ADEEL MANGI Hobnobbed with More Terrorist Sympathizers, Including Those Linked To Hamas
“This is very concerning,” @BasedMikeLee sayshttps://t.co/WVkqcoPVMr
— Gabe Kaminsky (@gekaminsky) March 7, 2024
In an attempt to protect Mangi from what it describes as “cruel and Islamophobic attacks” by Senate Republicans, the White House has disclosed information regarding Mangi’s attendance at the National Association of Muslim Lawyers (NAML) conference. The event can put the White House in a difficult situation because it is co-sponsored by organizations with ties to Hamas and terrorist sympathizers. The national executive director of CAIR made a statement in December expressing pleasure that Palestinians were "breaking the siege" on Israel, which led the White House to dissociate itself from the organization. These "shocking, antisemitic statements were condemned in the strongest terms" by the White House.
It's evident from these disclosures that Mangi's ties to these contentious organizations are quite concerning. Internal emails that were obtained by the Washington Examiner provided insight into the ways in which conference attendees were organizing the gathering and disseminating their extreme beliefs. One particularly concerning email came from the Rutgers Center's director, who asked Mangi for a $2,500 payment and described the center's upcoming "Palestine Program." Mangi answered very away, suggesting that he and the director had a tight working connection. This presents an image of a candidate with dubious connections and a propensity to back extreme causes.
It should come as no surprise that activists and watchdog organizations have expressed concerns about organizations like NAML and the Center for Security, Race, and Rights. These groups were founded by Islamist jurists who prioritized the interests of suspected terrorists over the necessities of national security and public safety. They were created to protect terrorists and oppose counterterrorism efforts. Anyone thinking about nominating Mangi should be very concerned about the extremely unsettling fact that he had interactions with these organizations.
The Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have expressed misgivings and the evidence is growing, but the White House is still pressuring senators to back Mangi. They say that because Mangi is a Muslim, he has faced particularly aggressive attacks. But his associations and deeds should be the main points of interest, not his religious beliefs. It's becoming more and more obvious that his ties to organizations that support terrorism and anti-Israel sentiment should bar him from being appointed to the Third Circuit for life. There are concerns about this nominee's past and disturbing ties, and the Senate shouldn't overlook these issues.
