The Faisal Gill "Affair"
Gill's critics have often raised the matter of his alleged ties to violent jihadists. However, Gill's backers, most significantly Virginia state senator Ken Cuccinelli, have argued that federal investigations exonerated Gill.
Faisal Gill served as spokesman and "Director of Government Affairs" for the American Muslim Council, an organization founded and led by Abdurahman Alamoudi, who in 2003 was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison for bringing over one million dollars in cash provided by the Libyan government into the U.S. Gill served in a similar capacity as Director of Government Affairs for the Islamic Free Market Institute in 2001, an organization founded by conservative activists including Nina Reese, Grover Norquist and Randa Hudome.
The precise dates of Gill's employment by these organizations are unclear. Gill has admitted on government security forms to working at the AMC in between October 2000 and 2001, but it is not known when Gill first started work at the AMC. After being appointed by George Bush as a policy director for the Department of Homeland Security, Frank Gaffney of FrontPage Magazine raised questions regarding Faisal Gill's disclosure of this employment on his security clearance application as well as Gill's ties to violent jihadists. After Gaffney was able to secure a letter of inquiry from Sen. John Kyl, who serves as Co-Chair for Gaffney's Center for Security Policy, regarding these organizations, this inquiry resulted in Gill being sent on paid leave for 3 days in June 2004 pending the outcome of the investigation. The results of a DHS Inspector General investigation announced in August 2004 wholly vidicated Gill, stating that he had gone "above and beyond" the disclosure requirements and indicated that there was no reason to deny Faisal Gill a clearance.
The Senate Finance Committee then requested clarification on August 9 regarding the results of this investigation, Faisal Gill's qualifications for the position, his relationship with Asim Ghafoor, and several other questions.
Faisal Gill left the Department of Homeland Security in January, 2005. The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General considers the case closed.
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