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Congressional Candidate Faces Scrutiny Over Past Ties to Convicted Terrorist
A prominent plastic surgeon currently leading the race to replace retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman in New Jersey’s solidly Democratic 12th district is facing renewed questions about his past association with convicted terrorist Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, known as the “Blind Sheikh.”
Dr. Adam Hisham Hamawy, who now runs a regenerative medicine practice near Princeton, served as a defense witness in the seditious conspiracy trial that ultimately sentenced Abdel-Rahman to life in prison following the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
According to court testimony, Hamawy first met Abdel-Rahman at a middle school forum in Matawan, New Jersey in 1991. Their relationship developed as Hamawy began accompanying the cleric to various mosques and even joined him on a 13-hour road trip from Jersey City to Michigan for an Islamic conference.
During that Michigan trip, Hamawy testified about being present in a hotel room with Abdel-Rahman and Emad Salem, who later became an FBI informant. According to his testimony, Salem was “bragging about his abilities” in bombmaking from his time in the Egyptian special forces.
Court records characterized Abdel-Rahman’s Jersey City mosque as a “jihad office.” The cleric, who had founded Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya – a group designated as a terrorist organization by European governments – regularly spoke about jihad and verbalized desires to assassinate then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
While Abdel-Rahman did not directly participate in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, several suspects in that attack frequented his mosque. He was later arrested on charges related to plotting “urban terrorism against the United States,” including plans to target landmarks such as the George Washington Bridge and the United Nations.
Fox News contributor Andrew McCarthy, who led the prosecution against Abdel-Rahman, offered some context on Hamawy’s involvement, telling Fox News Digital: “As was uniformly the case with witnesses presented in the extensive defense case, his testimony, once cross-examination was over, did more to bolster the prosecution’s proof of a jihadist terrorism conspiracy against the United States than to help the accused.”
McCarthy added that the evidence against Abdel-Rahman regarding the assassination plans for Mubarak was so overwhelming that the defense was reduced to “arguing, in essence, that Mubarak had it coming.”
Hamawy’s campaign has forcefully pushed back against scrutiny of his past association with the convicted terrorist. In a statement to Fox News Digital, his campaign characterized the reports as wealthy Republican attempts to cast him in a negative light, calling the focus on his testimony “bad-faith, guilt-by-association attacks” on Muslim and Arab candidates.
“He was in the military at the time the events litigated in the trial took place, during the trial, and after the trial,” the campaign stated, emphasizing that Hamawy was simply performing his civic duty to testify truthfully.
The campaign also highlighted Hamawy’s service record, noting that Senator Tammy Duckworth credits him with saving her life after her helicopter crashed during the Iraq War. They further pointed out that Hamawy treated victims of the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center, stating that his “patriotism and love of this country are at the core of his values.”
Recent reports have also drawn attention to Hamawy’s appearance on progressive podcaster Hasan Piker’s program, where the candidate advocated for a “health care, not bombs” platform that would include restructuring the Department of Homeland Security and Pentagon while redirecting funding to education and healthcare.
The controversy emerges amid a crowded Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 12th district, which spans from Trenton through Somerville to the Plainfields and has not elected a Republican representative since 1994. Hamawy is one of several candidates vying to replace Rep. Watson-Coleman, who is retiring after representing the district since 2015.
As the primary approaches, voters will ultimately decide whether Hamawy’s role in the Abdel-Rahman case reflects routine legal duty or raises deeper questions about his judgment as they choose among a field of Democratic contenders.
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8 Comments
Interesting case. I wonder what the full extent of Hamawy’s ties to the Blind Sheikh were and how much he knew about the terrorist activities. It’s concerning to see a congressional candidate with such past connections, even if they were only as a witness.
This certainly raises some serious questions about Hamawy’s judgment and affiliations. While people shouldn’t be condemned for past associations, the nature of this relationship is quite troubling given the gravity of the Blind Sheikh’s crimes. Voters will need to carefully weigh this issue.
Whoa, this is a pretty major bombshell. Having such close ties to a convicted terrorist like the Blind Sheikh is a huge liability for any political candidate. Hamawy will need to provide a very convincing explanation if he wants to salvage his campaign.
This is a troubling revelation that deserves close scrutiny. While we shouldn’t rush to judgment, the nature of Hamawy’s connections to the Blind Sheikh is highly concerning. Voters will need to weigh this issue very carefully when considering his fitness for office.
This is certainly a concerning development that merits close examination. While a person’s past associations shouldn’t automatically disqualify them, the nature of Hamawy’s ties to the Blind Sheikh raises serious red flags. Voters will need to weigh this issue carefully.
I’m curious to hear Hamawy’s side of the story on this. The details provided raise a lot of questions about the extent of his involvement and what he knew about the Blind Sheikh’s terrorist activities. Voters deserve a full accounting before making a decision.
Wow, being present in a hotel room with the Blind Sheikh and a bombmaker? That’s quite an alarming revelation. I wonder what Hamawy’s full role was and whether he was aware of the terrorist activities. This seems like a major liability for his congressional campaign.
It’s good to see this issue being scrutinized thoroughly. Voters deserve to know the full details of a candidate’s past, especially when it involves alleged connections to terrorism. Hamawy will need to address this forthrightly if he wants to maintain credibility.