Ellison's privately paid trip to Mecca prompts debate
The ethics panel that signed off on his free pilgrimage will review whether he needs to report the cost.

by Eric Roper
Star Tribune
June 25, 2009

http://www.islamist-watch.org/1832/ellisons-privately-paid-trip-to-mecca-prompts

Excerpt:

Last fall, two years after becoming the first Muslim member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison received an intriguing offer from an organization based in Inver Grove Heights -- a free pilgrimage to Mecca. After clearing it with the House Ethics Committee, the Minneapolis Democrat packed his bags for Saudi Arabia.

The 16-day trip, including food and lodging, was on the dime of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, where an imam is an acquaintance of Ellison's.

Though members of Congress are required to disclose the details of just about any gift they receive, Ellison's office has declined to make public the cost of his trip, estimated at several thousand dollars, maintaining that it was "personal." His spokesman also says the ethics panel didn't require disclosure of the figure.

On Wednesday, in response to inquiries from the Star Tribune about whether the cost should have been reported on disclosure forms released this month, the Ethics Committee is revisiting whether the congressman must report it, said Ellison spokesman Rick Jauert.

Read the complete original version of this item...

Related Topics:  Government, Legal, Lobby Groups receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free islamist watch mailing list