Rep. Jason Smith (R-Calif.) questioned the chapter’s handling of federal refugee legal-aid funding, as well as its “connections to Hamas.”
Jason Smith (R-Mo.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has referred the Council on American-Islamic Relations, California chapter, to the IRS for investigation and “potential revocation of its tax-exempt status.”
In a Jan. 13 letter to the IRS, addressed to Acting Commissioner Scott Bessent and CEO Frank Bisignano, Smith said CAIR-CA has engaged in conduct including “material support for activity resulting in violation of the law” and providing “misleading information to the IRS.”
He wrote that “this conduct, coupled with CAIR’s troubled history, connections to Hamas and recent designation as a terrorist organization by the State of Texas, raises questions regarding whether CAIR-CA meets the standards required to maintain tax-exempt status.”
