HIT: Andy Kim touted himself as President Obama’s “point man” on Iraq issues at the White House. While working for the Obama administration, he attended meetings with terrorists including one of the leaders responsible for an attack at the US Embassy in Baghdad, and a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood. BACKUP: Kim joined the State Department in 2009 as an Iraq expert: • Kim joined the State Department in 2009 as an Iraq expert. “Kim joined the Obama administration in September 2009 as an Iraq expert at the State Department. In 2011, he spent five months in Kabul in a civilian role advising two commanders of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, first Gen. David H. Petraeus and then Gen. John Allen.” (Salvador Rizzo, “Obama adviser running for Congress claims he also worked for Bush,” Washington Post, 9/10/18) Kim was the Iraq Director on Obama’s National Security Council from 2013 until leaving the administration in August 2015: • Kim was the Iraq Director on Obama’s National Security Council from 2013 until leaving the administration in August 2015. “Kim was director for Iraq issues at the Pentagon for five months in 2013 and then was Iraq director on Obama’s National Security Council for two years until leaving the administration in August 2015.” (Salvador Rizzo, “Obama adviser running for Congress claims he also worked for Bush,” Washington Post, 9/10/18) Kim was Obama’s “point man” on Iraq issues while serving in the National Security Council, a credential he has boasted about on the campaign trail: • The Flat Hat: “Kim served at the White House between 2013 and 2015 as Director of Iraq, where he was responsible for managing the crisis response across the Administration and developing strategy.” (Emily Martell, “Andrew Kim Discusses ISIS, Future Of Conflict In Iraq,” The Flat Hat, 11/10/16) • Kim noted he was the Obama Administration’s point man in 2014 as ISIS was gaining ground in Iraq. “On Thursday, national security expert Andrew Kim, who was the National Security Council’s direct for Iraq under Obama and advised Gen. David Petraeus in Afghanistan, said he was interested in running. In addition to hitting MacArthur on Trumpcare, Kim noted that he was the Obama administration’s point man in 2014 as ISIS was gaining ground in Iraq, and Kim says he helped coordinate airstrikes and humanitarian relief. Unsurprisingly, MacArthur’s team responded by suggesting that Kim had failed to take ISIS seriously.” (Jeff Singer, “By Reviving The Trumpcare Zombie, Tom MacArthur May Have Lobotomized His Own Career,” Daily Kos, 4/28/17) • Kim served on Obama’s National Security Council as the point man for all things Iraq and in 2014 turned his focus to ISIS. “Kim also advised Petraeus’s successor, Gen. John Allen, and then served on Obama’s National Security Council as the point man for all things Iraq and in 2014 turned his focus to ISIS.” (Salvador Rizzo, “Obama's ISIS Adviser May Challenge MacArthur,” Observer, 4/27/17) o “When I started at the White House, I was the only person who was dedicated full- time to Iraq,” he said. “My job was to know as much as humanly possible about what was going on, to be able to filter the information to the president, vice president, national security advisers and other key officials.” (Salvador Rizzo, “Obama's ISIS Adviser May Challenge MacArthur,” Observer, 4/27/17) In 2014, while at the White House, Kim attended a meeting with a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood, a non-secular organization tied to Osama Bin Laden and Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi: • In 2014, A senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood was recently hosted at the White House for a meeting with President Barack Obama. “A senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood was recently hosted at the White House for a meeting with President Barack Obama, prompting an outcry from critics of the global Islamist organization. Anas Altikriti, a top British lobbyist for the Muslim Brotherhood whose father heads Iraq’s Muslim Brotherhood party, recently met with the president and Vice President Joe Biden as part of a delegation discussing problems in Iraq.” (Adam Kredo, “Muslim Brotherhood Leader Meets Obama In White House,” The Washington Free Beacon, 2/5/14) o “Others present in the meeting included "Puneet Talwar, senior director for Iraq, Iran, and the Gulf at the [National Security Council], Philip Gordon, special assistant to the president and White House director for the Middle East, Brett McGurk, deputy assistant secretary for Iraq and Iran, and Andrew Kim, director for Iraq," according to the White House pool report filed on that day.” (Adam Kredo, “Muslim Brotherhood Leader Meets Obama In White House,” The Washington Free Beacon, 2/5/14) o Kim is pictured in the background of the photo. (Adam Kredo, “Muslim Brotherhood Leader Meets Obama In White House,” The Washington Free Beacon, 2/5/14) o Kim used this same photo in his launch ad for Congress in 2017. (Andy Kim For Congress, Official Launch Video, YouTube, 9/20/17) • The Muslim Brotherhood, “a religious and political group,” “advocates a move away from secularism, and a return to the rules of the Quran.” “The Muslim Brotherhood is a religious and political group founded on the belief that Islam is not simply a religion, but a way of life. It advocates a move away from secularism, and a return to the rules of the Quran as a basis for healthy families, communities, and states.” (Bryony Jones and Susannah Cullinane, “What Is The Muslim Brotherhood?” CNN, 7/3/13) • While the Muslim Brotherhood is “officially committed to nonviolence,” “brotherhood- affiliated groups, such as Hamas, have endorsed and used violence in pursuit of their goals.” “The Muslim Brotherhood is officially committed to nonviolence; however, some brotherhood-affiliated groups, such as Hamas, have endorsed and used violence in pursuit of their goals.” (Tom Gjelten, “Push To Name Muslim Brotherhood A Terrorist Group Worries U.S. Offshoots,” NPR, 3/24/17) • In 2017, Hamas said it would end its association with the Muslim Brotherhood. “The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Monday dropped its longstanding call for Israel’s destruction, but said it still rejected the country’s right to exist and backs ‘armed struggle’ against it. In a policy document presented in Doha by its leader Khaled Meshaal, Hamas also said it would end its association with the Muslim Brotherhood, a move apparently aimed at improving ties with Gulf Arab states and Egypt, which view the Brotherhood as a terrorist group.” (Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Tom Finn, “Hamas Softens Stance On Israel, Drops Muslim Brotherhood Link,” Reuters, 5/1/17) • The Muslim Brotherhood has served as a bridge for young Islamists, including Bin Laden and al-Baghdadi. “As the progenitor of the modern Islamist movement, the Muslim Brotherhood (i.e. the Brotherhood) has had a profound influence on the belief system that fuels al-Qaeda and ISIS. These groups share ideological underpinnings based on the writings of the late Brotherhood ideologue Sayyid Qutb. The Brotherhood has also served as a bridge for young Islamists—including bin Laden, al-Baghdadi, and al-Zawahiri—to more violent jihadist groups. Although their execution strategies may differ, at their core, all three groups maintain a shared Islamist vision of establishing a global caliphate.” (“The Muslim Brotherhood’s Ties To ISIS And Al- Qaeda,” Counter Extremism Project, Accessed 2/1/18) Many foreign countries over time including Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization: • In 2003, Russia’s Supreme Court banned the Muslim Brotherhood and labeled it a terrorist organization. “One reason could be the Russian perception of the Muslim Brotherhood, in power in Egypt today. The Brotherhood has been banned in Russia since 2003 by a decision of the Supreme Court which labeled it a terrorist organization.” (Hicham Mourad, “What next for Egypt and Russia,” Ahram Online, 4/23/13) • In 2013, the Egyptian government labeled the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. “The Egyptian government intensified its crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday, formally listing the group as a terrorist organization after accusing it of carrying out a suicide bomb attack on a police station that killed 16 people.” (Shadia Nasralla, “Egypt designates Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist group,” Reuters, 12/25/13) • In 2014, Saudi Arabia labeled the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. “The United Arab Emirates backed Saudi Arabia’s decision to label the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group supported by Qatar, a terrorist organization amid diplomatic discord between the three countries.” (Alaa Shahine and Glen Carey, “U.A.E. Supports Saudi Arabia Against Qatar-Backed Brotherhood,” Bloomberg, 3/9/14) In December 2011, Andy Kim was the notetaker for a bilateral meeting between then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then-Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari: Editor’s Note: There are multiple spellings listed throughout this document for Faleh al-Fayyadh’s name. Editor’s Note: ‘NEA’ stands for Near Eastern Affairs, the bureau that Kim worked under during his time at the State Department. • Andy Kim was the notetaker for a December 12, 2011 bilateral meeting between then- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then-Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. (U.S. Department of State Virtual Reading Room, Schedule for Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, 12/12/11) o Iraqi National Security Adviser Faleh al-Fayyadh was also present. (U.S. Department of State Virtual Reading Room, Schedule for Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, 12/12/11) • A 2018 article in NJ Globe confirmed Kim was the notetaker in the 2011 meeting with Hoshyar Zebari. “An internal December 2011 email between State Department Aides obtained by the MacArthur campaign and shared with The New Jersey Globe refers to Kim as a “notetaker,” which Russell said would make Kim the lowest-ranking staffer in a meeting with then-Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, which was attended by two ambassadors and a stable of senior State Department officials, according to the email.” (Nikita Biryukov, “MacArthur says Kim was just a ‘notetaker’,” NJ Globe, 5/11/18) On December 31, 2019, protestors stormed and attacked the U.S.