One Syrian American who was close to Moustapha and would often visit his Washington residence was Cleveland businessman Bassam Khawam, according to three Syrian Americans who saw them together but do not wish to be identified for fear of retribution. Five years later, Moustapha is nowhere to be seen, but Khawam is still active. He organized and joined the trip to Damascus for Gabbard and arranged a meeting with Assad.
“This guy has been lobbying on behalf of Bashar Assad in the U.S. even before there was a revolution, and we are deeply troubled he would try to help a war criminal build relationships with sitting members of Congress,” said Mohammed Alaa Ghanem, director of government relations for the Syrian American Council, a nongovernmental organization that works with the Syrian opposition.
Former congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) also joined the trip, which is no mere coincidence. Khawam arranged for Kucinich to meet Assad multiple times, most recently in 2013. He donated to Kucinich’s campaigns and in related Federal Election Commission filings listed himself as a self-employed physician.
In other FEC filings, Khawam has listed himself as executive director of ACCESS Ohio, which presents itself as a branch of the Michigan-based Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services. Gabbard says that ACCESS Ohio paid for her trip. The problem is, ACCESS Ohio hasn’t existed for several years.
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