The Council on American-Islamic Relations last weekend condemned former Speaker Nancy Pelosi for suggesting that the FBI should investigate potential financial links between pro-Hamas protesters and Russia, The Hill reported.
In an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” last Sunday, Pelosi suggested that protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza were promoting a message that benefited Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Describing the ceasefire rhetoric as “Mr. Putin’s message,” Pelosi insisted that it was “connected” to what Putin “would like to see.”
Pelosi said while some of the protests were likely “organic,” “spontaneous,” and “sincere,” she believed some of them could be “connected to Russia.”
When pressed by Dana Bash on whether she thought the protests included “Russian plants,” Pelosi dismissed the term, saying that she didn’t believe there were “plants” but did think the FBI should look into what entities are financing the protests.
Following the broadcast of Pelosi’s interview, her remarks were condemned by CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad who accused the former speaker of an “unsubstantiated smear.”
Awad said in a statement that Pelosi’s claim was “delusional” and her suggestion that the FBI investigate the ceasefire protesters “downright authoritarian.” He compared Pelosi’s suggestion to the anti-war protesters during the Vietnam War who were “subjected to FBI harassment” and “accused of being communist sympathizers.”
Awad claimed that Pelosi’s comments reflected the “decades of dehumanization” of Palestinians by those who support “Israeli apartheid.” He suggested that Pelosi should “respect the will” of those calling for a ceasefire rather than “baselessly smearing” them.
In a statement to The Hill, a spokesperson for the former speaker reiterated that Pelosi believed in the right to peaceful protests but insisted that she still would like to see an investigation into the groups financing them.
The spokesperson said that after thirty years on the House Intelligence Committee, Pelosi was “acutely aware” that America’s adversaries “meddle in American politics to sow division and impact our elections.”
