A conservative Christian MAGA lawmaker has revealed he was married by a radical Islamist investigated for fundraising ties to Hamas.
Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) married his wife Rana Al Saadi, who is originally from Iraq, in 2014. Blaze News reported that the marriage was officiated by Mohammed Al-Hanooti.
Al-Hanooti had previously served as the imam of Dar Al-Hijirah Islamic Center in Virginia. During that time, he’d made sermons calling for holy war against non-Muslims.
Blaze News also reported that the FBI believed he was a major Hamas fundraiser, had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and was suspected of having a part in the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 — though he was not indicted. He died a year after the wedding.
The Daily Beast, which reported on the Blaze’s story, wrote that this information was common knowledge at the time of Mills' wedding.
Mills is a staunch ally of President Donald Trump’s and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star — though ex-colleagues have since questioned the ‘exceptional bravery” that earned him it.
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Blaze News reported that the Republican confirmed that Al-Hanooti married him and his wife. The couple are currently in the process of divorcing.
Mills told The Blaze, “I didn’t have a relationship with the guy, so I can’t tell you anything other than the fact that he was sick.
“I don’t know anything about his involvement in the co-conspirator thing.”
He said the marriage happened because his wife was returning to Iraq for a visit and worried that her first husband would claim they were still married if she didn’t have a marriage certificate from the U.S.
He told the outlet Al-Hanooti was willing to sign the marriage certificate.
“It didn‘t change my faith, it didn‘t change who I am, it didn‘t change the church that I went to,” he told Blaze.
“Enjoy your hit piece.”