Senate GOP chair launches probe into American Muslims for Palestine for alleged ties to Hamas

WASHINGTON — A Senate Republican launched an investigation Thursday into American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) over its “alleged ties to Hamas” and its funding of anti-Israel protest groups on US college campuses — including at Columbia University.Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-La.) announced the investigation at the top of a hearing titled “Antisemitic Disruptions on Campus” — and named nine individuals, including AMP’s leader, with purported links to the US-designated foreign terror group.“Today as chair of the health committee, I launched an investigation into the American Muslims for Palestine demanding answers about their activities on college campuses,” Cassidy said.“This group’s leaders have ties to Hamas and helped create the group Students for Justice in Palestine,” he added.“I also requested information from the Justice Department and several universities on these groups.“We must continue to build upon these efforts. As we saw at Columbia last month, pro-Hamas activists continue to wreak havoc on campuses,” he also said.“Instead of standing up for Jewish students, too many university officials failed to respond or refused to even condemn these horrific occurrences.”In a letter to AMP chairman Hatem Bazian, Cassidy listed the group’s troubling reported ties to Hamas as well as those of several of Bazian’s associates, citing research compiled by Foundation for Defense of Democracies senior vice president Jonathan Schanzer.Those links include:“AMP received this letter yesterday and will of course respond timely and in accordance with all applicable laws,” responded Christina Jump, AMP’s lead counsel.“As AMP told the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability last year, and as AMP has responded numerous times in litigation, AMP functions entirely in the United States, raises funds only for itself and within the United States, and does not receive...