Plastic surgeon who testified for 1993 WTC bombing cleric wins NJ Dem primary
A pro-Palestinian plastic surgeon in New Jersey who testified as a witness in a major terrorism case on behalf of a convicted Islamic cleric won election in the New Jersey primary.
Adam Hisham Hamawy, a former Army combat medic born in Egypt, won a 12-way Democratic primary contest for a solidly blue House seat, according to The Associated Press.
Hamawy was considered to be the frontrunner to succeed retiring Trenton-area Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman, D-N.J., and garnered support from the Democratic Party's far-left flank.
He attempted to weather mounting scrutiny for his ties as a young adult to Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, who was convicted of inciting the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed six people and injured thousands. The infamous "Blind Sheikh" was also an influential figure among al Qaeda terrorists.
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Hamawy testified as a witness for the defense and has faced lingering questions for his role in the convicted sheikh's 1996 trial.
Fox News contributor Andrew McCarthy, the chief prosecutor in Abdel Rahman’s criminal trial, said Hamawy’s testimony ultimately helped the government’s case despite it being offered to undermine the prosecution’s case.
"As was uniformly the case with witnesses presented in the extensive defense case, his testimony, once cross-examination was over, did more to bolster the prosecution’s proof of a jihadist terrorism conspiracy against the United States than to help the accused," McCarthy said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
His campaign told Fox News Digital that a past affiliation with Abdel Rahman, who was also convicted of conspiring to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, amounts to "guilt-by-association" shaming. He has denied any wrongdoing and was never criminally charged.
The political newcomer also faced questions over his ties to a now-shuttered al Qaeda-linked front group in Eastern Europe, which he briefly volunteered for in 1994, Jewish Insider first reported.
Hamawy was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; and controversial Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, among other leading progressives. American Priorities, a nascent pro-Palestinian super PAC, also poured money into the race to put him over the top.
The district, spanning liberal Mercer County up through Somerville to the Plainfields, is considered a safe Democratic seat in a blue-trending state that has moved away from the relatively close margins President Donald Trump received in his 2024 race.
With a crowded field, few have coalesced around an alternative to Hamawy, while one opponent — Plainfield Mayor Adrian Mapp — did call out the surgeon as a "radical extremist."
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., told Jewish Insider he had "deep concerns" about Hamawy’s "associations with terrorist organizations and leaders who have attacked America."
Activist Sue Altman, who lost to adjacent-district Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in 2024, is another of the dozen running against Hamawy.
She recently won support from influential figures among the party’s establishment, including former Gov. Jon S. Corzine, ex-Sen. Robert "The Torch" Torricelli and ex-Sen. Bill Bradley.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., notably credited Hamawy with saving her life on an overseas deployment to the Middle East in 2004, and he, in turn, credited her with helping secure his evacuation in 2024 after his medical mission was reportedly trapped by a closed border crossing near Khan Younis, Gaza.
During that humanitarian trip, Hamawy said he had "never … witnessed the level of atrocities and targeting of my medical colleagues," in an apparent reference to the Israeli government.