Vice President Kamala Harris’ brother-in-law, who once defended the notorious “American Taliban,” has joined her revamped campaign team, according to a report.
Tony West, 58, will serve as a “powerful adviser” to the Harris’ presidential campaign, according to Axios, a move that comes after his 5-year-stint in the Obama administration’s Justice Department and subsequent high-level roles at PepsiCo and Uber.
West, who is married to Harris’ sister, Maya, also worked as an attorney for the San Francisco-based law firm Morrison & Foerster, where he defended the infamous John Walker Lindh, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
Lindh, who abandoned the US to train with Osama bin Laden and fight for the Taliban in Afghanistan, was captured by American forces as an enemy combatant in November 2001.
The following year, West agreed to defend the traitor, arguing at trial that Lindh was no terrorist.
“He is not a terrorist,” Harris’ new hire told the Washington Post in 2002.
“He did not go to Afghanistan to kill Americans,” West said of the then 21-year-old Lindh.
Lindh faced 10 federal charges, including conspiracy to murder US citizens and contributing services to al Qaeda.
He was offered and accepted a plea deal in 2002 which had him admit to supplying services to the Taliban and carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony for which he served 17 years of a 20-year sentence.
The Biden administration came under fire this week for offering plea deals to three alleged plotters of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that would have spared them the death penalty.
In a shock move, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Friday that he had revoked the pre-trial agreements handed to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — the accused mastermind of the al Qaeda attacks — and his two alleged helpers, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.
In addition to West, Harris has made a number of new hires in recent days with ties to former President Barack Obama.
David Plouffe, who was manager of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and a senior aide to the former president during the 2012 campaign, has joined team Harris as a senior adviser, according to Reuters.
Also joining the Harris campaign are Stephanie Cutter, Obama’s White House communications director and deputy campaign manager, and Mitch Stewart, a veteran of both Obama campaigns, the outlet reported Friday.
The Harris campaign did not respond to The Post’s request for comment on the new hires.