Treasury investigation could pull back curtain on CAIR's closely held foreign funding sources
THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON -- 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.