“It appears that Senator Graham wanted to ‘reward’ the Egyptian government for finally resolving the 2011 to 2013 convictions against mostly US-based NGOs. But this step…carried no domestic political cost for President Sisi.”

“[Poor treatment in Egyptian prisons] drives people underground, widening the base of people who have serious grievances against the regime.”

“What is known is that Morsi suffered from chronic diabetes and was repeatedly denied medical treatment, and was detained in inhumane conditions.”

“House appropriators, like their Senate colleagues, are increasingly concerned with the trajectory of Egypt, its harsh crackdown on any and all opposition and its impact on US national security interests.”

“[The U.S. governmeent designating the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization would] politicize the designation process, which would undercut the strength of actual designations against terrorist groups.”

“Do you think that pursuing [the Muslim Brotherhood] is so important that you are willing to risk pulling resources from groups that have not just the intent and capacity to strike the United States but also a demonstrated track record?”

“[Given al-Sisi’s] penchant for labeling all of his critics as Muslim Brotherhood members, [a terrorist designation] would help delegitimize his opponents domestically and on the international scene.”

“In both Tunisia and in Morocco, Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated parties are represented in the parliaments and they’re major players… [I]t would become impossible for the U.S. government to have diplomatic relations with them.”

“[C]itizens in highly repressive countries can sometimes manage to mobilize against autocrats and remove them from office. Sisi, of course, is betting that he will be an exception to this trend.”