The U.S. State Department is currently in negotiations with the Egyptian government for the transfer of custody of Omar Abdel-Rahman, also known as “the Blind Sheikh,” for humanitarian and health reasons, a source close to the the Obama administration told TheBlaze.| This just can't be true. Champ would lose New York in the election if he did this. |
Previous calls to the State Department were referred to the Department of Justice and so far, the State Department has neither confirmed nor denied the report.
Glenn Beck revealed the controversial news on his show Monday.
| Beck occasionally barks up the wrong tree... |
| It could never just be that the rubes were whipped up by the Islamicists elites, now could it... |
“He said, ‘you’ve got to help me,’” the analyst told TheBlaze.
| This is the sort of thin sourcing for which we ordinarily condemn leftist rags like the New York Times... |
He also said it is likely that the riots and unrest in the Middle East are related to efforts pressing for the release of Rahman, not the anti-Muslim YouTube clip that the Obama administration is adamant sparked the chaos.
“When radical Islamists in Egypt were calling for the burning down of the U.S. embassy this past weekend, before the riots took place this week, they said they were going to do this to push for the release of the Blind Sheikh,” he added.
Rahman, or the Blind Sheikh, is the former leader of the radical “Islamic Group” in Egypt, which now holds 13 seats in the Egyptian Parliament. The Obama administration recently hosted a member of the designated terrorist organization at the White House, where Hani Nour Eldin met with senior State Department and Obama administration officials. Eldin reportedly urged the National Security Council to release Rahman during his visit, the analyst explained.
Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy, who was the lead prosecutor in the Blind Sheikh case, told TheBlaze that he does not doubt the accuracy of the report, saying “there are very good reasons as to why it could be true.”
McCarthy explained that Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has been calling for the release of the Blind Sheikh ever since he was elected earlier this year. He said it is a matter of “great importance” to the radical Islamists in Egypt and throughout the Middle East, adding that his transfer to Egypt would undoubtedly lead to the terrorist’s release.
“I think the plan has been to agree to the Blind Sheikh’s release but not to announce it or have it become public until after the election. That is consistent with Obama’s pattern of trying to mollify Islamists,” he added. “Obviously, they did not want this information to surface yet… but sometimes a situation can spin out of control.”
McCarthy also said the way the Department of Justice worded its denial may prove to be significant. The DOJ said Rahman’s “release” was not being considered, however, the question was whether or not his “transfer” to Egypt was being discussed.
“Islamists in Egypt have been advocating for his release since we arrested him in the Summer of 1993 and have threatened and committed horrendous acts of violence to force his release,” the former federal prosecutor said. “The worst in Luxor, Egypt, where 58 tourists and 4 police officers were brutally shot, stabbed and the attackers left behind leaflets demanding the release of the Blind Sheikh, some inside the torsos of the victims.”
Former State Department senior official Christian Whiton appeared on Real News From TheBlaze to discuss the report, and stated that it is certainly a possibility.
“Unfortunately, I think it is [conceivable]. And it’s unfortunate because it amounts to negotiating with terrorists…but after all, this administration was inching closer and closer to some sort of trade of terrorists with the Taliban, so perhaps it’s considering the same with [Egyptian President Morsi].”
He also noted that the administration could avoid what he deemed “political suicide” by “whispering” to Egypt’s President Morsi that they can move in that direction after the election.
Buck Sexton noted that the transfer of the Lockerbie bomber was similarly unexpected.
“As with so many things in the Middle East, we’ve accepted the unacceptable,” Whiston remarked.