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October 26, 2010

Harry Reid aide lied to FBI, INS, but faces no charges

By Thomas Lifson

Enabling a terror suspect to get a resident visa, lying to authorities and no charges? Something's very wrong.  Fox News reports:

An aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid repeatedly lied to federal immigration and FBI agents and submitted false federal documents to the Department of Homeland Security to cover up her illegal seven-year marriage to a Lebanese national who was the subject of an Oklahoma City Joint Terror Task Force investigation, FoxNews.com has learned. 

Diana Tejada, Reid's Hispanic Press Secretary, admitted to receiving payment for "some of her expenses" in exchange for fraudulently marrying Bassam Mahmoud Tarhini in 2003, strictly so he could obtain permanent U.S. residency, according to court documents.

This is bad enough. But even worse is that politically-wired Tejada is to face no charges for this serious crime.

An aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid repeatedly lied to federal immigration and FBI agents and submitted false federal documents to the Department of Homeland Security to cover up her illegal seven-year marriage to a Lebanese national who was the subject of an Oklahoma City Joint Terror Task Force investigation, FoxNews.com has learned. 

Diana Tejada, Reid's Hispanic Press Secretary, admitted to receiving payment for "some of her expenses" in exchange for fraudulently marrying Bassam Mahmoud Tarhini in 2003, strictly so he could obtain permanent U.S. residency, according to court documents.

Reid's spokesman denies any culpability:

"Our office was not previously aware of these allegations and, following an internal investigation, the staffer at issue is no longer with our office. The conduct alleged, which took place several years before the staffer worked for Senator Reid, was clearly wrong. But the bottom line remains that this story was a desperation measure by partisan Republicans, who have stooped to slinging mud about junior staffers to score points in the waning days of her campaign

Tejada has been quite the figure on the Hispanic left, serving as the Press Secretary of Hispanic Media for the Senate Majority Conference Committee, and also as a spokeswoman for the National Council of La Raza,

It certainly appears that a politically connected leftist enabled a terror suspect to gain a visa in the United States, lied to authorities, fuled false papers, and got no punishment at all.

This stinks.