Pakistani intelligence backed an illegal lobbying operation that pumped $21,000 into U.S. election campaigns, including President Obama’s. Hit the jump to read the rest of the story.
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New York cops working with the feds pulled over suspected Pakistani agent Syed Fai in the city last June. They found $35,000 in cash in his car, according to court documents and NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.
Fai, of Fairfax, Va., heads a group that claimed to raise its money in the U.S. to advocate for the unification of Kashmir under Pakistani control.
Instead Fai, 62, and Zaheer Ahmad, 63, both U.S. citizens, funneled as much as $4 million from Pakistan through phony donors to fund “propaganda” efforts here, the FBI charged.
Agents arrested Fai Tuesday. Ahmad remains free in Pakistan. Each faces five years in prison.
Obama’s 2012 campaign will return Fai’s $250 contribution to his 2008 bid, a spokeswoman said.
Rep. Dan Burton, (R-Ind.), who heads a caucus on U.S.-Pakistan relations, received $7,000 from Fai. Burton expressed shock and said he’d write a check for the same amount to the Boy Scouts.
The charges come as the U.S. threatens to cut off billions in aid to Pakistan over lingering doubts about its loyalties in the fight against terror.
