Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) have sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to investigate the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), claiming that the entity is linked to Hamas or other terrorist groups.
According to the letter, CAIR’s leadership “previously led the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), which federal authorities identified as a propaganda front for Hamas.”
CAIR has further “focused its efforts on supporting anti-Israel campus protests,” many of which have “led to incidents of antisemitic harassment and violence.”
Describing activities involving CAIR, the lawmakers wrote that this “pattern of historic ties to Hamas, recent public rhetoric aligned with Hamas narratives, and support for radical activism, raises serious questions about whether CAIR’s support for Hamas amounts for material support for terrorism.”
“We urge the department to immediately investigate whether CAIR maintains financial links to Hamas that constitute violation of U.S. sanctions on Hamas and ensure that none of its assets are being used to advance the objectives of Hamas,” Stefanik and Cotton wrote.
Cotton previously called for the IRS to launch a full investigation into CAIR, arguing that its terror ties violate its tax-exempt status.
In a letter to IRS commissioner Billy Long, Cotton cited the group’s “ties to terrorist organizations, including Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood” and urged a review of the organization’s “financial records, affiliations, and activities.”
Cotton noted that tax-exempt status “is a privilege, not a right, and it should not subsidize organizations with links to terrorism.”
Furthermore, a recent investigation found that CAIR launched a campaign spreading anti-Israel and pro-terrorist lesson plans across public schools in multiple states.
