Tensions rise on Capitol Hill as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) makes explosive claims during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing examining the alleged influence of a Muslim Brotherhood network in the United States. Cruz argued that “behind El-Sayed’s political rise sits a much older and more entrenched institutional network,” raising questions about what he described as the broader influence of organizations allegedly linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. His remarks are fueling debate over political networks, institutional influence, and the allegations being examined by lawmakers.
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00:00Does the Muslim Brotherhood also partner with political groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America?
00:06Yes, sir, they do.
00:07Would you agree that this alliance between the Muslim Brotherhood and the DSA,
00:13otherwise known as the Red-Green Alliance,
00:16is based on a shared hatred of America, Israel,
00:23Western civilization writ large, capitalism, and democracy?
00:28Yes, sir, I would.
00:29And I would go further as to say it's also united around a revolutionary objective
00:34advocating for the overthrow of the U.S. Constitution.
00:37Ms. Burns, I want to start with you.
00:40Thank you for your work defending the safety of all Americans.
00:43We are indebted to you for your 23 years of service.
00:47As the lead investigator and prosecutor in the Holy Land Foundation investigation and prosecution,
00:53you have become deeply knowledgeable on the Muslim Brotherhood network operating in America.
00:59I want to start with a fundamental question.
01:02What should Americans be worried about about the Muslim Brotherhood?
01:09Thank you for the question.
01:11I think Americans need to understand the extent of the threat that this movement poses
01:18and the extent of their ability to achieve their goals and their patience in obtaining success in this.
01:26The strategy that they have set in place involves the erosion of our democratic principles.
01:33It involves the erosion of our personal freedoms.
01:36It involves the erosions of the very principles upon which this country was created.
01:42And the individuals within this network do not have a deadline.
01:46If it takes them 100 years to achieve this goal, they will steadily pursue it.
01:53That is something that I think, in general, Americans have a hard time understanding,
01:58is the stamina that this network possesses and the lethality that exists within it.
02:04Because ultimately, their goal is to erode our society
02:09and turn it into something that none of us want or need.
02:13In the Holy Land Foundation prosecution,
02:17how many entities did the government identify as unindicted co-conspirators and joint venturers?
02:25I don't remember the exact number, but it was hundreds.
02:30Do you believe some of these groups were likely providing material support to terrorists?
02:36I do.
02:38And are some of these groups still in existence today?
02:42Yes, sir, they are.
02:43Do you believe they are still actively members of the Muslim Brotherhood Network?
02:47I do.
02:50Is the conspiracy under which the Holy Land Foundation was prosecuted still in existence today?
02:57I believe that it is.
02:59To understand what got left on the table after the Holy Land Foundation prosecution,
03:05we have to look at who was in the room at that Philadelphia meeting in 1993.
03:11CARE was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation prosecution, correct?
03:17Yes, it was.
03:18Has CARE, to your knowledge, ever formally disavowed the Holy Land Foundation?
03:25No, they have not.
03:27CARE was founded by Omar Abed and Nahad Awad.
03:32Both men were captured on FBI wiretaps at that infamous meeting where Hamas operatives discussed strategy on U.S. soil.
03:41Is that right?
03:42That's correct.
03:43Nahad Awad is still the executive director of CARE today.
03:48Is that right?
03:49He is.
03:49So, when CARE tells this Congress it has no ties to Hamas, the documented record says otherwise.
03:59Is that correct?
04:00That is correct.
04:02Agent Burns, if you were still an active FBI agent today, with the evidence you developed in the Holy Land
04:09Foundation prosecution,
04:11would CARE be on your list of organizations warranting further investigation?
04:16It would.
04:19Ms. Burns, this is a letter that I sent to the FBI requesting the release of non-classified materials seized
04:31during the 2004 search of Ismail El Barassi's home in Annandale, Virginia.
04:38To date, I have not received those documents.
04:43This letter was sent on April 16, 2026.
04:47Ms. Burns, are you aware of anything unusual with the search of El Barassi's home that you would like to
04:53share with this committee?
04:56The search of El Barassi's home revealed a massive amount of documentation, what we call the archives of Hamas and
05:05the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States.
05:07It was the documents and video and audio tapes were, as seen in exhibits that were put forth in the
05:15Holy Land Foundation trial,
05:16groundbreaking in the understanding of this Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas network here.
05:21And they are key to understanding the extent and scope of this network.
05:26And am I correct that CARE showed up during the search of El Barassi's home and attempted to obstruct the
05:34seizure of the documents?
05:36Yes, sir, they did.
05:38If the FBI released the non-classified documents tomorrow from the search, would the public understand this network better than
05:47it does today?
05:49I believe that the release of those documents, which would provide the ability for those of us who understand this
05:56network,
05:57to conduct a full analysis, that we could use that to provide education to the general public about what this
06:05network really is.
06:06All right, Mr. Scheidler, let's turn to you.
06:10How long have you studied the history and activities of the Muslim Brotherhood?
06:14Since about 2007, 2008, actually with the rise of the Holy Land Foundation trial, it really piqued my interest.
06:22And it's fair to say it changed my entire career trajectory.
06:25Do you believe that there is a Muslim Brotherhood branch operating in the United States?
06:30Yes.
06:31Are there ever instances where the Brotherhood groups engage in America in acts of violence?
06:39Yes, there are.
06:40I would include individuals associated with Brotherhood-linked mosques who have engaged in acts of terrorism.
06:47I would include individuals associated with Muslim Students' Associations, dozens of which have committed acts of terrorism.
06:55I would also include the role in the promotion of rioting and civil disorder conducted by groups like Students for
07:02Justice in Palestine and the Palestinian Youth Movement.
07:06What you've described is exactly why I introduced the Stop Funders Act, which would add rioting to the RICO predicate
07:16offenses so that the Justice Department can reach the entities that fund and coordinate these riots.
07:23Do Brotherhood groups in America also participate in electoral and coalition politics?
07:30Yes, sir, they do.
07:30Is that consistent with the Tom Keen framework described in the explanatory memorandum, working through existing institutions rather than displacing
07:42them?
07:43Yes, sir.
07:43Sir, as you described, it is a process of settlement by which they are creating and seizing control of institutions,
07:49which they can then use to continue to build their efforts.
07:53Does Abdul El-Sayed's candidacy for senator in Michigan concern you?
07:58Yes, sir, it does.
07:59Why is that?
07:59Well, to begin with, I look at the connections that his father-in-law, Chakakou Tayyib, has to Brotherhood-linked
08:07groups.
08:07This includes being the president at one time of CARE Michigan, also his presence on the Islamic Society of North
08:14America Founders Committee, which is only for those most exclusively devoted to ISNA and provides significant amounts of funding.
08:22There are other known Brotherhood members on that committee.
08:25I would also look at El-Sayed's ties to a group called M-Gage, which purports to be a Muslim
08:33sort of get-out-the-vote or candidate recruitment organization, but it has close ties to CARE.
08:39It was created by a former CARE member who at one time was on a terror watch list and was
08:44also a consultant to convicted terrorist Samuel Arion.
08:51Do you believe the Islamic Society of North America, or ISNA, is an ongoing part of the Muslim Brotherhood network
08:59in the United States?
09:00Yes, sir, I do.
09:01There were some HLF documents that reflected hesitation by the Brotherhood that they thought perhaps they were losing control of
09:08ISNA at one point, but they appear to have rectified that.
09:10As far as I can tell, there are still individuals associated with the Muslim Brotherhood who are in high leadership
09:17positions with that organization, and they have never repudiated their ties to the organization.
09:22Does the Muslim Brotherhood also partner with political groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America?
09:29Yes, sir, they do.
09:30Would you agree that this alliance between the Muslim Brotherhood and the DSA, otherwise known as the Red-Green Alliance,
09:40is based on a shared hatred of America, Israel, Western civilization writ large, capitalism, and democracy?
09:52Yes, sir, I would.
09:53And I would go further as to say it's also united around a revolutionary objective advocating for the overthrow of
10:00the U.S. Constitution.
10:03Ms. Claypock, let's move to you.
10:05Thank you for being with us today, and thank you for your work confronting the contemporary Muslim Brotherhood network in
10:14court.
10:15The historical record is damning, but I'd like to turn to what's being done about it today.
10:22The Muslim Brotherhood's ties to terrorism are ongoing today, not just historical. Is that right?
10:29Yes, that's right.
10:31And yet, Brotherhood groups still meet with members of Congress and are treated as a civil rights organization. Is that
10:39right?
10:40Yes.
10:41In your litigation work, have you found that Brotherhood-affiliated entities share leadership, funding, or infrastructure across organizations that hold
10:51themselves out to the public as separate and unrelated?
10:54That's correct.
10:55That's correct. For example, the Islamic Association for Palestine, after it was shut down, after being sued and a judgment
11:04of $156 million entered against it,
11:07shut down with the same leaders, and created a new organization called American Muslims for Palestine.
11:12Another example is CARE and its relationship with the Washington Trust Foundation.
11:17The Washington Trust Foundation is actually, back in 1994, it was originally incorporated as CARE,
11:24and now the Washington Trust Foundation serves essentially as a real estate holding entity that, per its own 990s, exists
11:31for the purpose of supporting the CARE Foundation today.
11:34Well, and that's why I introduced the Sponsor Act, which would hold tax-exempt fiscal sponsors liable for what their
11:44sponsored entities do.
11:45The loopholes and the manipulation of our tax code needs to end.
11:50Ms. Kleipock, since approximately 2022, have state and federal grant programs become a primary source of financial support for significant
12:02portions of the CARE ecosystem?
12:05That's correct. I believe it was about $54 million in federal grant money was received by CARE California.
12:13There has been testimony in other Senate Judiciary Subcommittees relating to that funding and CARE's misuse of that funding.
12:25You mentioned CARE California. In 2024 IRS filings, CARE California reported distributing more than $4 million in subgrants to 39
12:37other organizations. Is that right?
12:40Yes.
12:41Roughly 185,000 of that went to California chapters of the Muslim American Society,
12:47an organization that George Washington University's program on extremism identifies as a brotherhood legacy group. Is that right?
12:55That's right. And federal prosecutors also called the Muslim American Society the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in the
13:02United States.
13:03And the American taxpayer is effectively footing the bill for this.
13:08That's right.
13:10So, the taxpayer funds it, and then the taxpayer is told it's none of his business what is done with
13:17that money.
13:18Let's talk about what happens when someone actually tries to look.
13:21Do you believe Brotherhood affiliates have developed effective tactics for obstructing any investigation into their activities?
13:30Yes, they have.
13:32Let's discuss a real-world example.
13:35Is it true that more than two years after the Virginia Attorney General issued its civil investigatory demands into AMP
13:42in October of 2023,
13:44AMP has still not complied with substantial portions of those demands?
13:50That's correct.
13:51That kind of stonewalling is not unique to AMP.
13:57It's the Brotherhood playbook.
14:00In your estimation, do you believe Treasury should investigate care for maintaining relationships with designated terrorists?
14:10I do.
14:12And do you believe that when the founders drafted the First Amendment, that propping up and shielding the Muslim Brotherhood
14:20from scrutiny is what they had in mind?
14:22No.
14:23The rights afforded under the First Amendment are not absolute, and the Supreme Court has said in Holder v. Humanitarian
14:30Law Project,
14:30that speech at the direction of or in coordination with a terrorist organization can constitute material support for terrorism under
14:37the statute.
14:40Mr. Scheidler, in your judgment, why should Americans be worried about the Muslim Brotherhood network in America?
14:48Well, I would point to the influence that the Muslim Brotherhood has had in elements of our foreign policy,
14:55including key Brotherhood members playing a role in lobbying in the United States,
15:01leading us into the intervention in the Libyan Civil War and in the Syrian Civil War,
15:06interventions which resulted in, for example, using Youssef al-Karadawi in Qatar as an intermediary for our negotiations with the
15:15Taliban.
15:15They had a tremendously negative effect on our foreign policy and also on our domestic counterterrorism policy,
15:25looking at influence with law enforcement and the like,
15:28preventing the investigation into their friends in the Muslim Brotherhood.
15:32Is the Muslim Brotherhood network in America a foreign threat, a domestic threat, or both?
15:39It's both.
15:40They both operate at the direction of individuals overseas,
15:44as well as having now, at this point, multiple generations of Brotherhood members
15:49who have grown up as American citizens and are U.S. persons.
15:53Ms. Burns, based on your decades of investigative experience,
15:58is the threat of the Muslim Brotherhood in America growing or shrinking?
16:02It is growing.
16:06Ms. Kleipak, to what degree has the Muslim Brotherhood infiltrated the American education system?
16:13Should parents sending their children to American public schools and universities be worried about the Muslim Brotherhood?
16:20I believe they should be.
16:22In addition to the CARE New Jersey curriculum that I mentioned in my opening statement,
16:28CARE has also attempted to or initiated relationships with other public school districts,
16:33such as in Philadelphia, I believe also in Delaware.
16:36As I mentioned, they also boast of their partnership with Chicago public schools.
16:40The type of rhetoric that is being taught and promoted in their curriculum is incredibly dangerous
16:45and antithetical to Western values.
16:49In your work, have you seen this network specifically target young Americans
16:53because they're easier to influence than adults?
16:57Yes, of course.
16:58If you teach an elementary schooler about 9-11 and teach them that it was our fault,
17:03they're not going to know any better.
17:05And, of course, as has already been testified by the other witnesses on the panel,
17:10we've seen the infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood network on college campuses,
17:14exactly as the Muslim Brotherhood set out to do in that 1993 meeting
17:18when they said that they would infiltrate American universities specifically.
17:24Ms. Klepak, following the letter that Senator Cotton and Representative Stefanik
17:29sent to the Department of Treasury in October 2025,
17:32requesting an investigation into CARE's ties to Hamas,
17:36CARE responded by claiming that a federal appeals court had ruled
17:39the government's identification of these groups as co-conspirators was unconstitutional.
17:45Is that characterization accurate?
17:47No.
17:48In fact, I believe the language of the district court in the ruling
17:51upholding the unindicted co-conspirator list
17:53was that there was ample evidence to support both CARE and NAIT
17:58and other organizations' inclusion on that list,
18:00and that ruling was upheld, I believe, by the Fifth Circuit.
18:04In fact, as you just noted, the Fifth Circuit did the opposite,
18:10affirming the district court's decision to deny CARE's motion
18:13to strike its name from the unindicted co-conspirator list.
18:16Is that right?
18:17Yes.
18:19And that ruling, finding sufficient evidence of CARE's involvement in the conspiracy
18:23as the successor organization to the Islamic Association for Palestine,
18:28has never been reversed.
18:29Is that right?
18:30I believe that is the ruling that found that CARE's inclusion
18:35on the unindicted co-conspirator list was valid and not unconstitutional.
18:40I don't believe that that has ever been overturned.
18:43So when CARE tells the public and tells Congress
18:46that a federal court vindicated it,
18:49that claim is a lie, is it not?
18:53It is.
18:54Agent Burns, CARE and other Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated groups
18:59have long referred to the convicted Holy Land Foundation defendants
19:03as political prisoners,
19:06implying that they were imprisoned for their beliefs.
19:10Based on the trial record you helped build,
19:13is that an accurate description?
19:14It is completely inaccurate.
19:17Labeling prisoners as political prisoners does as you say.
19:21It implies that there was no due process,
19:23that people are imprisoned because of their beliefs
19:26or merely because of their speech.
19:28And in this instance,
19:29the Holy Land Foundation and five of its officers
19:32were tried by a jury of 12.
19:35Jurors who were hand-selected by the prosecution and the defense
19:39who found, the jurors who found,
19:42beyond a reasonable doubt,
19:44that these individuals and the organization
19:47committed the crime of providing material support to terrorism
19:51under 18 U.S.C. 2339 B.
19:54And then the defense appealed that judgment
19:57on many grounds to the Fifth Circuit.
20:00And the Fifth Circuit examined all of those issues
20:03and wrote a lengthy, almost 100-page opinion
20:07addressing those issues
20:09and affirming the convictions.
20:12And then the defendants applied for certiorari
20:15with the Supreme Court who denied it.
20:17Therefore, they received exactly
20:21what our Constitution provides due process
20:25and expended all of their efforts challenging that.
20:30So I would say that that is an absolute mischaracterization
20:34of those individuals and that entity.
20:37And isn't it true that those men
20:40were convicted by a jury on all counts
20:43after weeks of testimony, wiretaps,
20:46financial records, establishing that they
20:48knowingly funneled money
20:49to a designated terrorist organization?
20:52Yes.
20:54Mr. Scheidler,
20:56how important is the Brotherhood Network
20:58operating inside the United States
21:00to the Brotherhood's global agenda?
21:03I would say it's probably central to their efforts.
21:06While they have influence in other countries
21:09that is perhaps more significant,
21:11the importance of influencing the United States
21:14is preeminent.
21:16Let's turn to the American Muslims for Palestine.
21:20Ms. Klepak,
21:21there are serious allegations
21:23that AMP is effectively the alter ego
21:26of the Islamic Association for Palestine,
21:29the original Hamas propaganda front
21:32in the United States.
21:33Is there evidentiary support for that?
21:36Yes, there is.
21:37That case is currently in litigation
21:39and scheduled to go to trial
21:41in February of next year.
21:43The district court judge in that case
21:47ruled against AMP, excuse me,
21:51in multiple motions to dismiss,
21:52claiming that there was insufficient evidence
21:54of alter ego status.
21:56Mr. Scheidler,
21:58are there individuals who move directly
22:00from IAP, UA, SR, or HLF
22:04into leadership roles at AMP?
22:07Yes, there are.
22:08As you named some of them,
22:09Osama Abu Arshad,
22:11who was not just at IAP,
22:12but he was also at the United Association
22:14for Studies and Research,
22:15which was really the Hamas think tank
22:18of its time.
22:19It was created by Hamas foreign affairs leader,
22:23Abu Marzouk,
22:24and led by Ahmed Youssef,
22:27who was sort of the Hamas political consultant.
22:30And isn't it true
22:31that AMP's current executive director,
22:36Osama Abu Arshad,
22:37previously worked for both IAP
22:39and the United Association
22:40for Studies and Research,
22:41which were two of the original
22:43Hamas-linked organizations in America?
22:46Yes, that's correct.
22:47And in April 2024,
22:49Mr. Abu Arshad stood
22:50on George Washington University's campus
22:53at a student protest
22:55and said in substance
22:56that the movement would take back
22:59these colleges
23:01like it will take back America,
23:04like it will take back Palestine.
23:06Mr. Scheidler,
23:07does rhetoric like that
23:08also inform how we should understand
23:10Hamas's own intent
23:11for the network it built here in America?
23:14Yes, it does.
23:17We were talking about
23:18Abdullah al-Sayed,
23:20now the Democrat nominee
23:23for U.S. Senate
23:24in the state of Michigan.
23:26Among other things,
23:29Mr. Al-Sayed has campaigned
23:31alongside Hassan Piker,
23:33a radical left-wing Islamist
23:38who has said,
23:39among other things,
23:41America deserved 9-11.
23:45Mr. Al-Sayed was very proud
23:46to stand next to Hassan Piker.
23:50I want to ask each of the three witnesses,
23:53do you believe America deserved 9-11?
23:58No, sir.
23:59It did not.
24:01Al-Qaeda committed the acts
24:02that we saw on 9-11.
24:04Al-Qaeda hijacked commercial airliners
24:07and flew them into the World Trade Center
24:09and into the Pentagon
24:10and attempted to fly another plane
24:12and kill more civilians.
24:14They killed 3,000 civilians,
24:16and for anyone to claim
24:18that any one of those civilians
24:20or individuals who died
24:21in that atrocious terrorist attack
24:24deserved it is shameful.
24:26Ms. Claypock?
24:28Absolutely not.
24:29And the reframing of 9-11
24:30as something that is a consequence
24:32of U.S. foreign policy
24:33in the Middle East
24:34is an incredibly dangerous
24:37rhetorical tool
24:38that the Brotherhood has used,
24:39and we've seen
24:40that rhetorical tool
24:41extend even beyond
24:43to Mr. Al-Sayed's statements
24:45about even the recent terrorist attack
24:47against a preschool in Michigan.
24:49Mr. Shadler?
24:50I have to concur
24:52its horrific statement.
24:54Final question.
24:56What does it say to you
24:59that today's Democrat Party
25:03is proudly supporting
25:05Mr. Al-Sayed
25:06as a Michigan
25:07U.S. Senate candidate
25:10and
25:12will funnel money,
25:14support,
25:15and advocacy
25:15behind his candidacy
25:19notwithstanding
25:20his willingness
25:22to embrace
25:23someone like Hassan Piker
25:25who says America
25:26deserved 9-11?
25:28Mr. Shadler?
25:30Oh, I would say
25:31it shows the success
25:32of the Muslim Brotherhood Network
25:34over multiple decades
25:35that they achieved
25:37what they said
25:37they were going to achieve
25:38which was to normalize
25:40support for Hamas
25:41and normalize
25:43support for terrorism.
25:44Ms. Klepak?
25:45I would concur with that.
25:49The classification
25:50of this hearing
25:53and this endeavor
25:54as Islamophobic
25:55says a lot
25:56about the failure
25:58of one party
26:00in this country
26:00to confront
26:01the terrorist threat
26:02that faces our nation.
26:04I would say
26:05that the most
26:06Islamophobic
26:07or racist thing
26:07about this endeavor
26:08is the fact
26:09that the Democrats
26:09can't look at terrorists
26:11because they purport
26:12that it reflects
26:13all Muslims.
26:14Ms. Burns?
26:17I would say
26:18I would say
26:18that embracing
26:20Muslim Brotherhood rhetoric
26:22and furthering
26:23the Muslim Brotherhood's agenda
26:24in this country
26:26will resort
26:27in the erosion
26:28of our government
26:29the erosion
26:30of the fabric
26:31of our society
26:32and it poses
26:33a threat
26:34to
26:34to our national security
26:36and should be treated
26:38as such.
26:39Well, I want to thank
26:41each of the witnesses
26:41for your testimony.
26:42It was highly enlightening
26:44and I hope
26:45that the administration
26:48listens to your testimony
26:49carefully
26:50and I hope we see
26:51real action
26:52from the Department of Justice
26:53the Department of Treasury
26:54the FBI
26:55and elsewhere
26:56following up
26:57and protecting
26:58the American people
26:59from what I believe
27:00is a clear
27:01and present danger
27:02to our safety
27:03and security.
27:04This concludes our hearing.
27:06Written questions
27:07can be submitted
27:08for the record
27:09until Tuesday
27:10August 12th
27:11at 5 p.m.
27:12And I will ask
27:13the witnesses
27:14to answer
27:14and return
27:15any questions
27:16to the committee
27:16by August 26th
27:18at 5 p.m.
27:19And with that
27:20this hearing is adjourned.
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