A top candidate vying among a crowded field for New Jersey’s 12th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives is facing flak from other Democrats over his alleged terror ties.

Physician Adam Hamawy, who also served as a U.S. Army combat surgeon, downplayed his interactions with the “blind cleric” Omar Abdel-Rahman, the late Islamic leader with ties to the terror bombing at the World Trade Center in 1993.

‘Any Muslim is going to be called a terrorist at some point, and these tropes are outdated and worn. Unfortunately, they continue to be used right now.’

Hamawy did not respond to a separate report indicating he had volunteered with a Chicago-based group in Bosnia that was later discovered to be a front for al-Qaeda and shut down.

Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp, who is also running for the Democratic nomination, called Hamawy a “radical extremist” over his ties to Abdel-Rahman.

“The blind sheikh was not a marginal or misunderstood figure,” Mapp said. “He was a convicted terrorist, convicted of seditious conspiracy. He was connected to one of the darkest chapters in our nation’s history.”

Hamawy admitted that he carpooled with the blind sheikh once in 1991 and later testified for Abdel-Rahman out of a sense of “civic duty,” but he called the accusations Islamophobic.

“I was called as a witness, and I gave my testimony under oath, and then I walked out,” he explained. “It was never an issue back then, and they’re trying to make it an issue now.”

He also fired back at fellow Democrat Mapp.

“My patriotism and my record is clear,” he added. “I think he’s desperate, and desperate people say desperate things.”

Hamawy obtained endorsements from high-profile politicians including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ro Khanna (Calif.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.).

According to a Jewish Insider report, he also worked for the “Benevolence International Foundation” according to an unearthed interview Hamawy had with the Newark Star Ledger from 1996.

The 911 Commission Report found that the group was part of a complex network of organizations set up to help provide resources for terrorist operations linked to Osama bin Laden.

Hamawy, who was born in Egypt, cited his extensive service in the U.S. military to undermine the accusations.

“Any Muslim is going to be called a terrorist at some point, and these tropes are outdated and worn. Unfortunately, they continue to be used right now,” he said. “These are not serious arguments, and they’re getting old.”

RELATED: WHO director was a leader of political group designated as a terrorist organization by US officials

Mapp responded by saying he was not attacking Hamawy’s faith and accused other Democrats of being too fearful to criticize his past ties to terrorists.

Hamawy and Mapp are running for the nomination to seek the office vacated by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D), who is retiring. Whoever wins will run in November against Republican Gregg Mele, who ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Abdel-Rahman died in 2017 at a federal prison in Butner, North Carolina.

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​Adam hamawy, Islamophobic, Midterm elections, Terror ties, Politics 

So many LGBTQ refugees are fleeing from Republican-controlled states to Seattle that the city’s LGBTQ Commission is calling on the mayor to issue a civil emergency order.

The commission said the throngs of 2SLGBTQIA+ people streaming into Seattle were leading to a strain on community organizations and a lack of resources available to them.

‘We’re seeing families coming to Seattle to protect their trans kids.’

“We are at risk of seeing some of these community-based organizations ceasing to exist in the next three, six, or 12 months,” LGBTQ Commission member Jessa Davis said.

“The downstream costs of letting people slip through the cracks is going to cost the city more,” Davis continued.

She admitted that there were not “busloads of thousands of people coming here” but said that “the numbers are significant.”

On Saturday, members of the Mutual Aid Network for Trans and Intersex Individuals in Seattle and the Gender Equity Movement organized a rally to push for the emergency declaration.

“With the kind of awful stuff that’s going on today, we need to say something,” 76-year-old Maridee Bonadea said.

A report from KIRO-TV verified nine fundraisers through GoFundMe from members of the LGBTQ+ community asking for help to relocate to Seattle.

One fundraiser asked for $2.2K to help three transgender roommates move from North Carolina to Seattle in order to seek “gender affirming care” so they can truly enjoy life. They have only raised $295 from six donations so far.

Mayor Katie Wilson (D) stopped short of issuing the emergency order but said the city would push for greater coordination to provide better access to resources.

She also called for a new city team to “develop community-informed responses that center housing, behavioral health, food, transportation, legal navigation, and survivor-centered violence prevention.”

Davis responded positively to the mayor’s order in an email statement to Blaze News.

“We’re pleased to be working with the Mayor’s Office and City Council as part of the inter-departmental team (IDT) being set up to address this issue,” she wrote. “We’re also preparing to continue engaging with this topic as it relates to the urgent needs our community at this time and will have further comment as we formulate more in-depth policy recommendations in light of the IDT’s objectives.”

RELATED: TPUSA speaker hit with death threats after trans-identifying student is killed — suspect turns himself in

“Trans people are coming, from especially red states, to Seattle, not just for gender-affirming care but for safety,” commission member Andrew Ashiofu said. “We’re seeing families coming to Seattle to protect their trans kids.”

Wilson said she would work with the commission to ensure “Seattle is a place of safety, dignity, and inclusion for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.”

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​Seattle washington, Lgbtq commission, Politics, Emergency declaration, Refugees 

Former President Joe Biden has filed a lawsuit to try to block the release of a recorded interview that critics say may have evidence that the Democrat mishandled classified information.

The Heritage Foundation triggered the lawsuit by filing a Freedom of Information Act request to release the audio recordings and transcripts of a series of conversations between Biden and a writer in 2017.

‘The man was grossly incompetent.’

Biden’s attorneys argue that the release of the recordings would be purely politically motivated.

“The DOJ themselves have said these tapes serve no public interest. What’s happening now isn’t about transparency. It’s about politics,” said Biden spokesperson TJ Ducklo in a statement.

“If this administration were genuinely committed to transparency, they would release Volume 2 of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on Donald Trump’s own alleged mishandling of classified documents,” Ducklo added.

The documents under question include about 70 hours of audio footage and transcripts.

Biden had been interviewed by Mark Zwonitzer, who was writing a book about the death of Biden’s son Beau. The footage and transcripts had been obtained by then-special counsel Robert Hur in his investigation into alleged illegal retention and dissemination of classified material.

The former president’s memory lapses during interviews with Hur were later used by Republicans, who accused him of being mentally incapable of performing the duties of the Oval Office.

Biden had lashed out at the report in Feb. 2024 but ironically made an embarrassing flub during the live speech that was broadcast nationally.

On his Truth Social account, President Donald Trump issued a denunciation against Biden’s lawsuit.

“A Crooked Politician!!!” Trump said with a post about the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday.

RELATED: Reporter hits Morning Joe with reality check on Hur report and Biden’s health issues

He went on to address the lawsuit from the White House after being asked by a reporter to comment.

“The man was grossly incompetent, and the Democrats — I call them the Dumocrats because their policy is so bad — but they came very close to destroying our country. We can never let it happen again, and I hope that you’re able to produce that,” said Trump to the reporter.

“It would be very interesting reading for people,” he concluded.

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​Classified information, Freedom of information, Heritage foundation, Politics, Robert hur, Special counsel, Donald trump, Joe biden 

Is the mask literally slipping for mainstream media — or is it just another conspiracy theory? BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales is struggling to figure this out after a guest on Fox News has gone viral for wearing what appeared to be a mask.

“Obviously, during the Biden era, there were a lot of fun conspiracy theories and speculation that there were body doubles. He went through several different ones,” Gonzales recalls, before playing the clip of Vice Admiral Robert Harward, a retired United States Navy SEAL and former deputy commander of the United States Central Command.

In the clip, there appears to be a flap at the bottom of his neck with an opening underneath that moves when he speaks.

“You can’t tell me that doesn’t look like a flap where the mask is supposed to be glued or whatever the hell they do,” Gonzales comments.

“And nobody at Fox News, I guess, bothered to tell him before he went on air,” she adds.

However, John Doyle doesn’t share Gonzales’ concern.

“I don’t know. I mean, it’s probably the same person. Do you know who that guy is?” Doyle asks.

“No,” Gonzales responds.

“Exactly. I have no idea who he is either. So, it’s like, why are we swapping him out?” Doyle says, noting that “the most interesting thing about him” to those who have seen the clip is simply that it appears he’s wearing a mask.

However, in a clip of Harward from just days before, his face appears to be normal.

“What is it with you guys?” Gonzales asks Doyle.

“It’s people like you who make us look bad. I am very discerning and careful when I accuse people of being reptilian overlords,” Doyle jokes. “You just want to fire from the hip, and it makes all of us look dumb when you do that.”

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​Sara gonzales unfiltered, Sara gonzales, Fox news, John doyle, Robert harward