Former Mich. Congressman Pleads To Obstruction
A former Michigan congressman accused of accepting stolen funds to lobby on behalf of an alleged terrorist fundraising ring has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Former Republican Rep. Mark Deli Siljander entered his guilty plea in federal court in Kansas City on Wednesday.
Charges of money laundering and conspiracy will likely be dropped under terms of the plea deal.
Siljander served in the House from 1981 until 1987 and later started a lobbying firm. He was charged in 2008 with accepting $50,000 from the Missouri-based charity, the Islamic American Relief Agency, to push for its removal from a list of groups that finance terrorism.
Prosecutors say the group stole the money from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
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