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.

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.

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.

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."

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. 

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.