Allegations of Coordination Rock Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission Hearing on Antisemitism

Eyewitness allegations of behind-the-scenes coordination have emerged as the central flashpoint from a Religious Liberty Commission hearing on antisemitism, raising questions about how a commissioner’s questioning was prepared and delivered.

Jason Bedrick, a Heritage Foundation fellow, Orthodox Jew, and member of the commission’s advisory board, was present at the February 9 hearing at the Museum of the Bible.

In a widely circulated post on X, Bedrick described what he observed involving fellow advisory board member Sameerah Munshi and Commissioner Carrie Prejean Boller:“I was at the Religious Liberty Commission hearing. I saw Islamist Sameerah Munshi (a fellow advisory board member) pull out her phone to record the exchange with Carrie Prejean Boller before she started speaking. Moreover, I spoke to the man sitting behind Munshi, who said she was texting Prejean questions/comments that she then read verbatim on stage. (Go look at the video and you’ll see she’s often reading from her phone.) Prejean is clearly in cahoots with Islamists. Just like Tucker.”

A Wall Street Journal opinion piece corroborated that Munshi began recording right before Prejean Boller’s first question. The two women have since appeared to strengthen their alliance, with joint public posts and appearances alongside anti-Zionist figures.

During the hearing, which focused on rising antisemitism in the United States, particularly on college campuses, Prejean Boller, a former Miss California USA 2009 and recent Catholic convert, shifted the discussion. She pressed witnesses on whether criticism of Israel, references to “genocide in Gaza,” or opposition to Zionism should be considered antisemitic. She defended commentators Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson against antisemitism accusations and invoked her Catholic faith in the exchange.

The line of questioning prompted rebuttals from other commissioners, including references to Vatican II documents.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the commission chair, eventually intervened.

Munshi, a Muslim activist, serves on the commission’s advisory board alongside Bedrick.The full video of the hearing, available on C-SPAN, shows Prejean Boller frequently looking down at her phone while speaking, consistent with Bedrick’s observation about her reading from it.

On February 11, Patrick announced Prejean Boller’s removal from the commission. “No member of the Commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their own personal and political agenda on any issue,” he stated. “This is clearly, without question, what happened Monday in our hearing on antisemitism in America.”

Prejean Boller has disputed the chair’s authority to remove her, arguing it rests with President Trump, and has framed the backlash as suppression of her views on Palestine and religious conscience. Munshi has publicly objected to the removal, citing concerns over viewpoint discrimination.

While the WSJ piece independently confirmed the timing of Munshi’s recording, the texting detail relies on Bedrick’s conversation with the man seated behind her.The commission continues its work, with additional hearings planned and a final report due later in 2026.