If Hamas Wins an Election, Does It Make Terror Prosecutions More Difficult?

I think the answer to that question will be yes. A judge in Chicago just made things more difficult for prosecutors to prove that two men were providing financing to Hamas - a terrorist group. The judge ruled that the defense can tell jurors about how the terrorists were elected into the PA in January.

On Friday, a federal judge in Chicago ruled that defense attorneys for two men accused of handling Hamas's financial affairs here, Abdelhaleem Ashqar and Muhammad Salah, may tell jurors about the vote in January that gave the group a majority in the Palestinian Arab parliament.

Judge Amy St. Eve said she agreed with lawyers for Mr. Ashqar that the electoral victory "is relevant because it demonstrates that Hamas engages in legitimate political and social measures." The judge also said Hamas's role in the Palestinian Arab government could support Mr. Ashqar's contention "that the money he donated went to the legitimate purpose of consensus building and campaigning, rather than terrorist activities."

"This gives Hamas a little bit more legitimacy in front of the jury," a lawyer for Mr. Ashqar, William Moffitt, said in an interview yesterday. "Obviously, part of our defense is that you can be a member of Hamas, as long as you're not supporting the violent side."

Prosecutors argued that the vote was irrelevant because the charges against both men relate to alleged acts that took place long before this year's Palestinian Arab elections.

Elections don't suddenly turn a terrorist group into a bunch of angels, or change the stripes on a zebra. Hamas, was, is, and continues to be an Islamic terrorist group whose intent is to destroy Israel, and has American blood on its hands as well.

Hamas has not recanted its position on Israel, terrorism, or the use of violence in general to further its aims. The Hamas Charter is explicit in its call to destroy Israel and its use of violence. Being elected doesn't legitimize the terrorist group. Renouncing violence may help legitimze a group, as we've seen with Fatah, but even there, it only shows that the terrorist group has support among its constituents. By pushing a political agenda, Hamas is pursuing a dual track to destroying Israel - the military and political. Thus far, Hamas has done nothing to show itself willing or capable of renouncing violence, and the US and Western aid has been held up because Hamas refuses to even recognize Israel's right to exist.

And yet, Judge Amy St. Eve thought that the election somehow legitimizes the actions of a terrorist group. Lovely. Not only have this judge's actions potentially undermined US national security, but Judge Amy St. Eve appears to have substituted her own judgment for that of the US government's official position on Hamas. Indeed, it appears that Hamas' political wing has scored a victory in the war on terror by enabling a judge to mistakenly reason that a terrorist group's political actions somehow offset its terrorist actions. Therefore, prosecutions for helping finance the terrorist group just got more difficult.