From 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.
The Free Beacon further explains: 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.
“CAIR’s longstanding support for terrorism is clear. No organization that supports Hamas should be allowed to operate freely in the U.S.,” Sen. Cotton declared, sharing a link to the report.
Cotton has also called for the IRS to investigate CAIR’s tax-exempt status.
CAIR’s longstanding support for terrorism is clear.
No organization that supports Hamas should be allowed to operate freely in the U.S. https://t.co/iQENJDblE4
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) October 14, 2025
CAIR National posted a defiant rebuttal to Cotton’s post:
.@SenTomCotton is an Israel First politician who has spent the past year completely ignoring his constituents in Arkansas while constantly demanding witch hunts into Americans who dared to oppose the genocide in Gaza, all for the benefit of the Israeli government.
Unlike Mr. Cotton, who voted to fund the slaughter and starvation of children at the behest of his @AIPAC donors, CAIR is and always has been an independent voice. We answer to the American people, rely on donations from the American people, and oppose all unjust violence, whether hate crimes, terrorism, ethnic cleansing, or genocide.
That’s why CAIR spoke out against both attacks on civilians on Oct. 7th and the genocide in Gaza. It’s called moral consistency, something Mr. Cotton knows nothing about.
.@SenTomCotton is an Israel First politician who has spent the past year completely ignoring his constituents in Arkansas while constantly demanding witch hunts into Americans who dared to oppose the genocide in Gaza, all for the benefit of the Israeli government.
Unlike Mr.… https://t.co/zM7xmHHicB
— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) October 15, 2025
Meanwhile, CAIR’s social media page is filled with anti-Israel and pro-Palestine posts.
CAIR also went on an angry tirade condemning the Nobel Prize Committee for giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuela activist María Corina Machado, slamming her support for Israel and calling her an “anti-Muslim bigot.”
We strongly condemn the @NobelPrize committee’s unconscionable decision to award this year’s peace prize to @MariaCorinaYA. Ms. Machado is a vocal supporter of Israel’s racist Likud Party and earlier this year she delivered remarks at a conference of European fascists, including… https://t.co/pAod3aMIiT
— CAIR National (@CAIRNational) October 10, 2025
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