| Thanks to E. Winston BILLIONS DOLLARS BAILOUT MONEY WENT TO FUND ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES written by The Thomas More Law Center |
Wednesday, 09 June 2010 06:22 |
ANN ARBOR, MI - In a motion for summary judgment filed this week, Federal District Court Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff was asked to enter a judgment against U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and the Federal Reserve Board over the federal government's bailout of AIG. The basis for the motion is that over a billion dollars of the bailout went to fund Islamic religious activities in violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. <!--[if !vml]--> The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor Michigan, and attorney David Yerushalmi filed the lawsuit in December 2008, challenging the AIG bailout on behalf of Kevin Murray, a former Marine who had served in Iraq. As a taxpayer, Murray objected to being forced to support the propagation of the Islamic jihad which he fought against as a U.S. Marine. Robert Muise, Senior Trial Lawyer with the Law Center, and David Yerushalmi prepared the motion for summary judgment. The motion is based on depositions of Treasury officials, affidavits of AIG officials (sealed per court order), answers to interrogatories, and the sworn declarations of two of the nation's notable experts on Islamic law and terrorism, Stephen C. Coughlin and Robert Spencer. [Click here to read Summary Judgment motion] Coughlin, a lawyer and a decorated Army Reserve officer in Military Intelligence, is often cited as the Pentagon's leading expert on the nexus between Islamic law and jihad. He concluded that by engaging in Sharia-compliant financing, AIG and the federal government, which now owns 79.9 percent of AIG, are engaging in the religious practice of Islam. According to Coughlin, Islam inculcates hostility and discrimination against Jews, Christians, and all others who do not accept the Koran as the "word of Allah." It is the same law that motivated the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans. [Click here to read Stephen Coughlin's Declaration] Robert Spencer has studied Islamic theology and history for thirty years. He is the Director of Jihad Watch and the author of ten books dealing with Islam. He has led seminars on Islam and jihad for the U.S. Central Command, the U.S. Command and General Staff College, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the U.S. intelligence community. According to Spencer, by engaging in its Sharia-compliant financing and business practices, AIG is engaging in religious behavior that inculcates hatred and discrimination against Jews, Christians, and all other non-Muslims. Spencer states that in abetting the spread of Sharia-compliant financing, AIG and the federal government are abetting the same legal system that motivated the murder of nearly 3,000 Americans on 9/11. [Click here to read Robert Spencer's Declaration] Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, commented, "It's outrageous that the federal government is the owner of a corporation engaged in a business with interests adverse to the United States. We filed this lawsuit not only to defend constitutional principles, but also to defend our national security. It's clear we can't leave the job of protecting America to the Washington politicians." The federal lawsuit challenged that portion of the "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008" (EESA) that appropriated billions in taxpayer money to fund and financially support the federal government's majority ownership interest in AIG, which engages in Shariah-based Islamic religious activities that are anti-American, anti-Christian, and anti-Jewish. According to the lawsuit, AIG, which is now a government owned company, engages in Sharia-compliant financing which subjects certain financial activities, including investments, to the dictates of Islamic law and the Islamic religion. This specifically includes any profits or interest obtained through such financial activities. AIG itself describes "Sharia" as "Islamic law based on the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet ." According to the lawsuit, "The use of these taxpayer funds to approve, promote, endorse, support, and fund these Sharia-based Islamic religious activities violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution." Judge Zatkoff, in an earlier decision, denied the request by the Obama administration's Department of Justice to dismiss the lawsuit. In his ruling, the judge held that the lawsuit sufficiently alleged a federal constitutional challenge to the use of taxpayer money to fund AIG's Islamic religious activities. The court noted: Times of crisis, however, do not justify departure from the Constitution. In this case, the United States government has a majority interest in AIG. AIG utilizes consolidated financing whereby all funds flow through a single port to support all of its activities, including Sharia-compliant financing. Pursuant to the EESA, the government has injected AIG with tens of billions of dollars, without restricting or tracking how this considerable sum of money is spent. At least two of AIG's subsidiary companies practice Sharia-compliant financing, one of which was unveiled after the influx of government cash. After using the $40 billion from the government to pay down the $85 billion credit facility, the credit facility retained $60 billion in available credit, suggesting that AIG did not use all $40 billion consistent with its press release. Finally, after the government acquired a majority interest in AIG and contributed substantial funds to AIG for operational purposes, the government co-sponsored a forum entitled "Islamic Finance 101." These facts, taken together, raise a question of whether the government's involvement with AIG has created the effect of promoting religion and sufficiently raise Plaintiff's claim beyond the speculative level, warranting dismissal inappropriate at this stage in the proceedings. With the aid of taxpayer funds provided by Congress, AIG employs a "Shariah Supervisory Committee, " which is comprised of the following members: Sheikh Nizam Yaquby from Bahrain, Dr. Mohammed Ali Elgari from Saudi Arabia, and Dr. Muhammed Imran Ashraf Usmani from Pakistan. Dr. Usmani is the son, student, and dedicated disciple of Mufti Taqi Usmani, who is the leading Sharia authority for Sharia-compliant finance in the world and the author of a book translated into English in 1999 that includes an entire chapter dedicated to explaining why a Western Muslim must engage in violent jihad against his own country or government. According to AIG, the role of its Shariah authority "is to review our operations, supervise its development of Islamic products, and determine Shariah compliance of these products and our investments." The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes America's Christian heritage and moral values, including the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life. It supports a strong national defense and an independent and sovereign United States of America. The Law Center accomplishes its mission through litigation, education, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org |
FEDERAL COURT MUST DECIDE: IS THE TREASURY DEPT.'S SUPPORT OF AIG'S SHARIAH-PROMOTING SUBSIDIARIES CONSTITUTIONAL? From Law Offices of David Yerushalmi, P.C.
Dear Senators Burr and Hagan, and Representative Shuler:
The following Press Release documents that the Federal Government, via AIG, is supporting Islamic Shariah Financing, which is against the interests of the USA and, frankly, Western Civilization.
Please act swiftly and fully on this situation and STOP this disgusting and dangerous practice.
May I hear from you promptly, please, as to the actions you are taking.
Thank you.
Law Offices of David Yerushalmi, P.C.
The following Press Release documents that the Federal Government, via AIG, is supporting Islamic Shariah Financing, which is against the interests of the USA and, frankly, Western Civilization.
Please act swiftly and fully on this situation and STOP this disgusting and dangerous practice.
May I hear from you promptly, please, as to the actions you are taking.
Thank you.
Law Offices of David Yerushalmi, P.C.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Federal Court Must Decide: Is the Treasury Department's Support of AIG's Shariah-Promoting Subsidiaries Constitutional?
How is it possible that the U.S. Government allows AIG to funnel more than $1 billion to companies that promote Shariah--the very Islamic legal system that calls for jihad against apostates and infidels?
For more information:
David Yerushalmi, Esq.
Law Offices of David Yerushalmi, P.C.
ContactYerushalmiLaw@verizon.net
www.DavidYerushalmiLaw.com
Tel: 800.714.9650 or 202.379.4960
Fax: 801.760.3901
June 8, 2010 – Washington, D.C.: – The Law Offices of David Yerushalmi, P.C., together with the Thomas More Law Center, filed a motion for summary judgment on Monday, June 7, 2010, on behalf of Kevin Murray against the Treasury Department and the FED in the federal lawsuit pending in the Eastern District of Michigan. The lawsuit, captioned Murray v. Geithner et al. was brought by attorneys David Yerushalmi and Robert Muise, representing the plaintiff, Kevin Murray, a taxpayer and former combat Marine who served in Iraq. The federal lawsuit alleges that the U.S. government's takeover and financial bailout of AIG was in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Specifically, at the time of the government bailout (beginning in September 2008 and continuing to the present), AIG was (and still is) the world leader in promoting Shariah-compliant insurance products. Shariah is Islamic law, and it is the identical legal doctrine that demands capital punishment for apostasy and blasphemy and provides the legal and political mandates for global jihad followed religiously by the world's Muslim terrorists. By propping up AIG with tax payer funds, the U.S. government is directly and indirectly promoting Islam and, more troubling, Shariah.
In May 2009, Judge Lawrence Zatkoff rejected the government's motion to dismiss the complaint and later rebuffed the defendants' efforts to stay the proceeding so the government lawyers could take an extraordinary appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court then set the ground rules for discovery and granted the parties until May 2010 to conduct discovery.
After a year of document requests, depositions of current and former government witnesses, and three separate subpoenas issued to AIG and the New York Federal Reserve Board, Messrs. Yerushalmi and Muise filed Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment this past Monday, arguing that the undisputed facts demonstrate that the government, through its absolute control and ownership of AIG, and with tens of billions of tax payer dollars, have directly and indirectly promoted and supported Shariah as a religious legal doctrine. What makes this case all the more egregious is that this doctrine—Shariah—also happens to be the underlying legal and military doctrine animating jihad against the West by Muslims from the Middle East, Asia, Russia, Africa, and even right here at home. Each and every one of the domestic and foreign jihad terrorists have proclaimed their allegiance to Shariah and its call for "jihad against apostates and infidels." Two experts on Shariah, Shariah-compliant finance, and jihad testified at length through affidavits in support of plaintiff's case. The government could not—and did not—oppose this expert testimony with any contrary evidence.
A year's worth of discovery uncovered the following facts in addition to what was known from the public record:
* AIG has five wholly-owned subsidiaries which promote and practice Shariah in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Bahrain, and the U.S
* These Shariah-compliant companies employ or otherwise retain the services of Shariah authorities to tell them how to conduct their business according to Shariah, including the Shariah-compliant charities to which these AIG subsidiaries must contribute.
* The government places absolutely no controls on how its billions are used by the Shariah-compliant companies or to whom they support with their "zakat" ('charitable') dollars. Moreover, these companies all accept Shariah's mandate to support jihad with zakat insofar as they abide by the authoritative rulings of the world's leading Shariah authorities.
* Over one billion taxpayer dollars have flowed through AIG's headquarters into supporting AIG's Shariah businesses worldwide.
* The government has actively promoted Shariah and Shariah-compliant finance in many ways and venues:
o The Treasury Department has published, edited, and updated articles about Shariah-compliant finance, which essentially promote Islamic law uncritically.
o The Treasury Department has created and staffed a position called the Islamic Finance Scholar-in Residence. No other religious law is so honored.
o Published presentations by senior Treasury Department officials lauding Shariah-compliant finance and stating explicitly that the U.S. government "places significant importance on promoting . . . Islamic finance" and has "recently deepened our engagement in Islamic finance in a number of ways," including a "call[] for harmonization of Shari'a standards at the national and international levels."
o After the AIG bailout, the Treasury Department co-sponsored a half-day conference called "Islamic Finance 101" for government policy makers which was in effect a cheerleading program to promote Shariah and Shariah-compliant finance.
Mr. Yerushalmi remarked: "It is one thing that our government felt compelled to bail out AIG after its fortunes were destroyed due to the company's own recklessness and bad acts. It is quite another thing to use U.S. taxpayer dollars to promote and support AIG's Shariah businesses—all of which don't just sell Shariah products to the Muslim world, but actively promote Shariah as the best, most ethical way of life. Indeed, the Shariah authorities relied upon by AIG's Shariah Supervisory Committees actively promote jihad—and by jihad we mean kinetic war against the infidel West."
Mr. Muise, senior trial attorney for the Thomas More Law Center and co-lead counsel in this case, made the additional point that "We have not only traced taxpayer money to support Shariah, we have found explicit public statements by senior Treasury officials actually telling the world that it is U.S. government policy to support Shariah in the form of Islamic finance and even 'call[ing] for harmonization of Shari'ah's standards.' Since when is it our government's position to involve itself in the internal theological debates surrounding religious laws?"
The government defendants also filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that whatever aid was provided to AIG's Shariah businesses, it was both unintended and de minimus.
Richard Thompson, head of the Thomas More Law Center, added, "It's outrageous that the federal government is the owner of a corporation engaged in a business with interests adverse to the United States. We filed this lawsuit not only to defend constitutional principles, but also to defend our national security. It's clear we can't leave the job of protecting America to the Washington politicians."
The parties will now continue to brief the issue with cross-opposition and reply briefs and then the court will decide. Any decision is likely to end up on appeal at the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. If the government loses, it is quite possible the case could be heard by the Supreme Court.
About David Yerushalmi, Esq.:
David Yerushalmi has been practicing law for more than 26 years. He is a litigator specializing in securities law, public policy relating to national security, and public interest law. Mr. Yerushalmi is licensed and practices in Washington D.C., New York, California, and Arizona and currently serves as General Counsel to the Center for Security Policy in Washington, D.C., one of the nation's leading national security think tanks founded by former Reagan administration official Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., and has been Of Counsel and Senior Legal Advisor for Policy Affairs to the Institute for Advanced Strategic & Political Studies
Federal Court Must Decide: Is the Treasury Department's Support of AIG's Shariah-Promoting Subsidiaries Constitutional?
How is it possible that the U.S. Government allows AIG to funnel more than $1 billion to companies that promote Shariah--the very Islamic legal system that calls for jihad against apostates and infidels?
For more information:
David Yerushalmi, Esq.
Law Offices of David Yerushalmi, P.C.
ContactYerushalmiLaw@verizon.net
www.DavidYerushalmiLaw.com
Tel: 800.714.9650 or 202.379.4960
Fax: 801.760.3901
June 8, 2010 – Washington, D.C.: – The Law Offices of David Yerushalmi, P.C., together with the Thomas More Law Center, filed a motion for summary judgment on Monday, June 7, 2010, on behalf of Kevin Murray against the Treasury Department and the FED in the federal lawsuit pending in the Eastern District of Michigan. The lawsuit, captioned Murray v. Geithner et al. was brought by attorneys David Yerushalmi and Robert Muise, representing the plaintiff, Kevin Murray, a taxpayer and former combat Marine who served in Iraq. The federal lawsuit alleges that the U.S. government's takeover and financial bailout of AIG was in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Specifically, at the time of the government bailout (beginning in September 2008 and continuing to the present), AIG was (and still is) the world leader in promoting Shariah-compliant insurance products. Shariah is Islamic law, and it is the identical legal doctrine that demands capital punishment for apostasy and blasphemy and provides the legal and political mandates for global jihad followed religiously by the world's Muslim terrorists. By propping up AIG with tax payer funds, the U.S. government is directly and indirectly promoting Islam and, more troubling, Shariah.
In May 2009, Judge Lawrence Zatkoff rejected the government's motion to dismiss the complaint and later rebuffed the defendants' efforts to stay the proceeding so the government lawyers could take an extraordinary appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court then set the ground rules for discovery and granted the parties until May 2010 to conduct discovery.
After a year of document requests, depositions of current and former government witnesses, and three separate subpoenas issued to AIG and the New York Federal Reserve Board, Messrs. Yerushalmi and Muise filed Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment this past Monday, arguing that the undisputed facts demonstrate that the government, through its absolute control and ownership of AIG, and with tens of billions of tax payer dollars, have directly and indirectly promoted and supported Shariah as a religious legal doctrine. What makes this case all the more egregious is that this doctrine—Shariah—also happens to be the underlying legal and military doctrine animating jihad against the West by Muslims from the Middle East, Asia, Russia, Africa, and even right here at home. Each and every one of the domestic and foreign jihad terrorists have proclaimed their allegiance to Shariah and its call for "jihad against apostates and infidels." Two experts on Shariah, Shariah-compliant finance, and jihad testified at length through affidavits in support of plaintiff's case. The government could not—and did not—oppose this expert testimony with any contrary evidence.
A year's worth of discovery uncovered the following facts in addition to what was known from the public record:
* AIG has five wholly-owned subsidiaries which promote and practice Shariah in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Bahrain, and the U.S
* These Shariah-compliant companies employ or otherwise retain the services of Shariah authorities to tell them how to conduct their business according to Shariah, including the Shariah-compliant charities to which these AIG subsidiaries must contribute.
* The government places absolutely no controls on how its billions are used by the Shariah-compliant companies or to whom they support with their "zakat" ('charitable') dollars. Moreover, these companies all accept Shariah's mandate to support jihad with zakat insofar as they abide by the authoritative rulings of the world's leading Shariah authorities.
* Over one billion taxpayer dollars have flowed through AIG's headquarters into supporting AIG's Shariah businesses worldwide.
* The government has actively promoted Shariah and Shariah-compliant finance in many ways and venues:
o The Treasury Department has published, edited, and updated articles about Shariah-compliant finance, which essentially promote Islamic law uncritically.
o The Treasury Department has created and staffed a position called the Islamic Finance Scholar-in Residence. No other religious law is so honored.
o Published presentations by senior Treasury Department officials lauding Shariah-compliant finance and stating explicitly that the U.S. government "places significant importance on promoting . . . Islamic finance" and has "recently deepened our engagement in Islamic finance in a number of ways," including a "call[] for harmonization of Shari'a standards at the national and international levels."
o After the AIG bailout, the Treasury Department co-sponsored a half-day conference called "Islamic Finance 101" for government policy makers which was in effect a cheerleading program to promote Shariah and Shariah-compliant finance.
Mr. Yerushalmi remarked: "It is one thing that our government felt compelled to bail out AIG after its fortunes were destroyed due to the company's own recklessness and bad acts. It is quite another thing to use U.S. taxpayer dollars to promote and support AIG's Shariah businesses—all of which don't just sell Shariah products to the Muslim world, but actively promote Shariah as the best, most ethical way of life. Indeed, the Shariah authorities relied upon by AIG's Shariah Supervisory Committees actively promote jihad—and by jihad we mean kinetic war against the infidel West."
Mr. Muise, senior trial attorney for the Thomas More Law Center and co-lead counsel in this case, made the additional point that "We have not only traced taxpayer money to support Shariah, we have found explicit public statements by senior Treasury officials actually telling the world that it is U.S. government policy to support Shariah in the form of Islamic finance and even 'call[ing] for harmonization of Shari'ah's standards.' Since when is it our government's position to involve itself in the internal theological debates surrounding religious laws?"
The government defendants also filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that whatever aid was provided to AIG's Shariah businesses, it was both unintended and de minimus.
Richard Thompson, head of the Thomas More Law Center, added, "It's outrageous that the federal government is the owner of a corporation engaged in a business with interests adverse to the United States. We filed this lawsuit not only to defend constitutional principles, but also to defend our national security. It's clear we can't leave the job of protecting America to the Washington politicians."
The parties will now continue to brief the issue with cross-opposition and reply briefs and then the court will decide. Any decision is likely to end up on appeal at the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. If the government loses, it is quite possible the case could be heard by the Supreme Court.
About David Yerushalmi, Esq.:
David Yerushalmi has been practicing law for more than 26 years. He is a litigator specializing in securities law, public policy relating to national security, and public interest law. Mr. Yerushalmi is licensed and practices in Washington D.C., New York, California, and Arizona and currently serves as General Counsel to the Center for Security Policy in Washington, D.C., one of the nation's leading national security think tanks founded by former Reagan administration official Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., and has been Of Counsel and Senior Legal Advisor for Policy Affairs to the Institute for Advanced Strategic & Political Studies
Sincerely,
Bob
Robert F. Heltman
PO Box 545
Hendersonville, NC 28793-0545
(828) 692 9333 Fax (828) 698 0007 cell 828 674 6240
Web: http://www.leadingedgepands.com
Armatissimi e liberissimi
"The trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." - Margaret Thatcher ("Wants" become "Needs" then "Rights" & exceed any tax-ability to pay for them.)
"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
"When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it." -- Dr. Adrian Rogers (1931-2005)
Bob
Robert F. Heltman
PO Box 545
Hendersonville, NC 28793-0545
(828) 692 9333 Fax (828) 698 0007 cell 828 674 6240
Web: http://www.leadingedgepands.com
Armatissimi e liberissimi
"The trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." - Margaret Thatcher ("Wants" become "Needs" then "Rights" & exceed any tax-ability to pay for them.)
"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
"When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it." -- Dr. Adrian Rogers (1931-2005)
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