New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen on Thursday avoided questions in the hallway of a Senate office building about why the committee she sits on failed to take up legislation calling for Boko Haram to be named a terrorist organization in 2012.
Shaheen was approached in the Dirksen building by a tracker after a hearing titled, “Addressing The Threat of Boko Haram.” Video of the encounter was exclusively provided to The Daily Caller.
Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist group, has been in the news because of its kidnapping of 300 girls in Nigeria. The group was officially designated a terrorist organization by the United States at the end of last year.
“Sen. Shaheen, why were you silent two years ago when a bill came before your committee to designate Boko Haram a terrorist organization?” the tracker asked.
Republican Scott Brown is challenging Shaheen for her seat this year. In 2012, Brown introduced the “Boko Haram Terrorist Designation Act of 2012” but it died in the the Foreign Relations Committee. Shaheen is a member of the committee.
Being placed on the terrorist list gives the United States a number of tools to try to harm the group, like making it illegal for American entities to do business with the group in question.
The State Department under former Secretary Hillary Clinton did not designate Boko Haram a terrorist organization. It wasn’t added to the list until November 2013 under Secretary of State John Kerry.
TheDC has requested a comment from a Shaheen spokesman.
Here’s the video: