CAIR bucked up by reaction of officials, media

From WorldNetDaily

Unindicted terrorist co-conspirator claims it's a civil liberties group Posted: October 16, 2009 ~ 12:50 am Eastern © 2009 WorldNetDaily WASHINGTON – Responding to the one-two punch of a call for a congressional investigation into the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the explosive debut of a book portraying it as part of an organized crime network, CAIR struck back by applauding members of Congress and the media who rushed to the group's defense. On Wednesday, Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., the chairwoman of the 100-plus member Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus, held a press conference on Capitol Hill with three of her colleagues who called for a probe of CAIR's efforts at placing interns in offices of senators and representatives serving on sensitive committees dealing with homeland security and intelligence matters. Myrick and her colleagues learned of the plot from documents made public for the first time in "Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld That's Conspiring to Islamize America," a new book by P. David Gaubatz and Paul Sperry that rose to the top of the best-sellers lists yesterday on its official debut. However, CAIR, an unindicted terrorist co-conspirator according to both the FBI and Justice Department, issued a press release yesterday saying it was comforted by attacks on the press conference and the book by other members of Congress and members of the media. Supporting comments by Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., and Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., were singled out for praise by CAIR. "I am appalled by this request (for an investigation of Muslim 'spies' in Congress) and the insinuation that Muslim-Americans are somehow conspiring against this country through their work on Capitol Hill," said Sanchez. "As a strong advocate for diversity and religious freedom, I find these claims to be outrageous and offensive. I urge the rest of my colleagues to join me in denouncing this witch hunt, which is clearly intended to create fear and distrust in our Capitol Hill community." Conyers had this to say: "It shouldn't need to be said in 2009, and after the historic election of our first African-American president, but let me remind all my colleagues that patriotic Americans of all races, religions and beliefs have the right – and the responsibility – to participate in our political process, including by volunteering to work in congressional offices." CAIR also cited certain media organizations for their coverage of the Myrick event and the book. "An article in Salon.com called the actions of the elected officials who launched the anti-Muslim book the 'most despicable domestic political events of the year,'" the CAIR press release said. "The article calls the co-author of 'Muslim Mafia' a 'ranting, insane hatemonger.'" CAIR also mentioned an article in Politico that characterized CAIR's efforts on the Hill as a "fairly straight forward public relations and lobbying strategy." CAIR did not mention that it tried to get the press conference called off by making sweeping and unsubstantiated accusations against one of the authors of the book – even threatening them with civil and criminal charges. [CLICK HERE TO READ MORE]