A new investigation alleges a sweeping legal breach by CAIR Action, accusing the group of operating nationwide without the licenses, registrations, or legal authority required in any of the 22 states where it solicits funds or conducts political work. The legal breach detailed in the watchdog report raises questions about compliance, oversight, and potential exposure to criminal penalties.
According to the joint probe by the Network Contagion Research Institute and the Intelligent Advocacy Network, CAIR Action “never obtained the Basic Business License (BBL)” needed to “legally operate or solicit funds” in Washington, D.C., where it is incorporated. Investigators also described CAIR Action as “an unlicensed interstate political-solicitation enterprise operating entirely outside the legal framework required for entities seeking funds across state lines,” warning that the group’s conduct could amount to “wire fraud,” “deceptive solicitation,” and “false statements to the IRS.”
The report states that no “required corporate registration, charitable filings or solicitation licenses” could be found in any of the 22 states in which the organization is active. In California, the attorney general’s office wrote that CAIR Action “has received no authorization to solicit funds,” despite continuing to collect donations, issue endorsements, and run targeted voter campaigns.
Texas governor Greg Abbott recently ordered an investigation into CAIR after labeling it a Foreign Terrorist Organization. On Capitol Hill, Sen. Tom Cotton urged several federal agencies to review CAIR’s partnerships and tax status after the group’s national leader, Nihad Awad, said he was “happy to see” Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack.
CAIR Action denies wrongdoing, saying it “fully complies with all applicable federal and state laws” and calling the report’s findings “inaccurate and misleading.” The group said that as its activities expand, compliance reviews will continue.
