Treasury investigation could pull back curtain on CAIR’s closely held foreign funding sources
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) are urging the Trump administration to investigate the Council on American-Islamic Relations’s links to Hamas, according to a letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
In a letter sent Tuesday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Republicans argue that CAIR’s “pattern of historic ties” to Hamas, combined with the rhetorical encouragement CAIR leaders have offered for Hamas, may constitute “material support for terrorism.” They cite CAIR’s designation as an unindicted co-conspirator in a 2009 federal court case against the Holy Land Foundation, a Hamas front group, and pro-Hamas rhetoric from CAIR leaders in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.
CAIR executive director Nihad Awad, for example, said in November 2023 that he was “happy to see” Hamas attack the Jewish state, and applauded Hamas operatives for “breaking the siege” against Israel. Cotton and Stefanik noted that Awad is a former leader of the Islamic Association of Palestine, a propaganda arm of Hamas.
“We urge the department to immediately investigate whether CAIR maintains financial links to Hamas that constitute a violation of U.S. sanctions on Hamas and ensure that none of its assets are being used to advance the objectives of Hamas,” said Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, and Stefanik, a top House Republican who is considering a run for New York governor.
If the Treasury Department acts on it, the request could pull back the curtain on CAIR’s foreign funding sources, which the group has gone to extensive lengths to keep secret. CAIR does not disclose donors on its website or in its tax filings. The group quietly settled a lawsuit in March filed by a former board member that would have revealed the group’s foreign donors.
Like many anti-Israel groups, CAIR has falsely portrayed Israel as the unilateral aggressor in Gaza, all but ignoring Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack and its years-long refusal to release hostages taken during the war. CAIR initially urged a ceasefire in the region, but in the wake of the ceasefire deal this week, it is now calling for “international tribunals” for Israeli leaders and their unnamed “enablers.”
The latest request comes after Cotton urged the IRS to investigate CAIR’s tax-exempt status, arguing the agency “should not subsidize organizations with links to terrorism.” Cotton also petitioned the Department of Education last month to investigate a CAIR initiative with Philadelphia public schools to provide lessons on “American Jews and Political Power” and “Teaching September 11, 2001 in Diverse Classrooms,” the latter of which advises teachers to avoid terms like “jihadists” and “radical Islamic terrorists.”
Republicans have scrutinized CAIR for years, but the group has maintained extensive support from Democrats in Washington. CAIR’s website lists statements of support from more than 150 lawmakers, all but one of them Democrats.
“New York State and the rest of the country are fortunate to have civil organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations fighting for the sake of our freedoms,” reads a statement from Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) in 2022.
“The council’s work in Connecticut and across the nation is greatly appreciated,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.) said in 2019.
CAIR faced a rare rebuke from Democrats after Awad praised Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack. The Biden White House condemned Awad’s remarks as “anti-Semitic” and kicked CAIR off of its task force to combat anti-Semitism.
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