An indictment was unsealed today against Wissam Allouche, alleging he concealed his memberships in the Amal militia and its successor Hezbollah in order to enter the United States and then tried to gain security clearance.
The indictment was issued in the United States District Court in the Western District of Texas, and alleges, among other things:
Count One
[Allouche] knowingly procured and obtained, and attempted to procure and obtain naturalization and citizenship by falsely stating regarding his Form-400 Application for Naturalization, Part 10, Question 9 .c, “No” in response to the question “Have you ever been a member of or in any way associated (either directly or indirectly) with a terrorist organization?” when in truth and fact the Defendant was a fighter in the Amal militia in Lebanon during the early to mid-1980s and after his release as an Israeli prisoner of war, the Defendant was made a commander in the Amal milita; as an Amal commander, the Hizballah fighters in his sector had to notify the Defendant of their operations. Hizballah is classified by the United States government as a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Count Three
[Allouche] knowingly and willfully made a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch, to wit: in order to gain a security clearance from the UnitedStates Department of Defense, on his Form SF-86, Questionnaire for National Security Position, Section 29, Question g, “Have you EVER participated in militias (not including official state government militias) or paramilitary groups?”, the Defendant answered “No” when in truth and fact, the Defendant was a fighter and commander of the Amal militia in Lebanon during the early to mid-1980’s.
The San Antonio Express (h/t @GregAbbot_TX) further reports that the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the position for which Allouche applied.
The indictment does not indicate whether Allouche is active in Hezbollah currently, or how this information was discovered.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY