Westmoreland Joins Other House Members in Seeking National Security Answers from Inspectors General

Press Release

Today, Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03) joined Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (MN-06), Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02), Congressman Louie Gohmert (TX-01), and Congressman Tom Rooney (FL-16) and sent letters to the Inspectors General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the Department of State. These letters seek answers about the U.S. government's involvement with the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that calls for "civilization jihad."

In the letter, Westmoreland, Bachmann, Franks, Gohmert, and Rooney questioned the Inspectors General about the direct influence within the intelligence community of Muslim Brotherhood operatives. They explained that the U.S. government in federal court has established that the group's mission in the U.S. is "destroying the Western civilization from within." The members went on to request that the respective offices of the Inspectors General conduct a formal investigation or evaluation of the extent to which Muslim Brotherhood-tied individuals or entities are involved.

Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03): "We must always stay vigilant when fighting against those who want to destroy our way of life. The Muslim Brotherhood may not have the name recognition of al-Qaeda or the Taliban, but that does not mean they don't have the potential to be just as deadly. I'm hoping these letters will send the message to our country's intelligence, law enforcement and diplomatic agencies that we cannot ignore the Muslim Brotherhood and must look into their operations and membership with the seriousness that is necessary in order to root them out of our government."

Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (MN-06): "The national security of our country depends on getting straight answers from the Inspectors General to the questions we posed in these letters. The Muslim Brotherhood is not shy about their call for jihad against the United States. We seek answers through these letters because we will not tolerate this group and its affiliates holding positions of power in our government or influencing our nation's leaders."

Congressman Louie Gohmert (TX-01): "Evidence indicates that this administration continues to bow before groups associated with the goal of "destroying Western civilization from within,' and about whom the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has found that there is plenty of evidence indicating that they support terrorism. For departments of this administration to continue meeting with such groups and agreeing to further blind our government agents charged with looking for enemies wanting to destroy us is at best foolhardy. At a minimum, we need an independent inspection regarding the role, the roots and the results of such destructive groups within this administration. Our enemies have been identified; now we need to know what they have done to our ability to protect ourselves."

Congressman Tom Rooney (FL-06): "The Muslim Brotherhood openly calls for violence against the United States, but we're learning that this organization may be infiltrating our ranks, even within our military. We need our top security agencies to investigate thoroughly the degree to which members of this organization are active in our defense and intelligence communities, and what impact that has on our national security."

Founded in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood's motto reads, "Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope."

Signers of the letter serve on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (Westmoreland, Bachmann, and Rooney), the Armed Services Committee (Franks and Rooney) and the Judiciary Committee (Franks and Gohmert). Additionally, Gohmert is the Vice Chair of the Judiciary subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.