For Subscribers GOP candidate rails against Sharia law while trying to expand ‘100% halal’ pizza shops in the Middle East

Casey Askar, a Republican congressional candidate, has denounced Sharia law, yet CNN reports his business career shows a friendlier posture toward Middle Eastern customers. While seeking to grow his restaurant chains there last year, he worked with a firm that advertised his pizzerias as "100% halal," a dietary requirement from the same Islamic tradition he calls dangerous. He also traveled widely in the region, appearing in photographs with executives and royalty in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. Askar said he has "neither invested in or received investments from the Middle East."

His holdings also carry a history of legal disputes. An electrician who sold him a limousine in 2001 sued after a bad check and won a settlement in 2002. After a 2007 merger, former partner Frank Lombardo sued, and a court ruled Askar's business owed more than $900,000. The Seminole Tribe of Florida sued his fuel distribution company in 2016, and a tribal court found it owed more than $2.5 million before a 2024 settlement.

A Hartford, Connecticut office tower his company bought in 2020 has brought liens, lawsuits and a place on the mayor's "problem landlords" list, and the city plans a November auction to collect more than $860,000 in delinquent taxes. Askar also put $3 million from a bank credit line into his 2020 congressional bid, though mortgage documents described the loan as for remodeling Dunkin' stores. A complaint to the Federal Election Commission followed; his campaign's lawyer said no violation occurred.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CNN’s reporting. Read the full story at CNN →