The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a group that has faced its fair share of controversy, is reportedly set to disclose its funding sources.
This development is part of a defamation lawsuit filed by Lori Saroya, a former chapter leader of the organization.
As reported by The Post Millennial, US Magistrate Judge David Schultz ruled on Monday that all donors, including those from foreign countries, and any assets owned by CAIR fall within the "scope of permissible discovery" in Saroya's lawsuit. Saroya initiated a federal defamation complaint against CAIR in January after the group withdrew its lawsuit against her. The organization had accused Saroya of a "defamation campaign" against them, alleging that CAIR is funded by terrorist organizations and foreign governments.
Saroya is seeking $75,000 in damages and an injunction that would compel the group to retract a press release from January 2022, which she claims defamed her. CAIR had previously claimed that Saroya's statements, which were shared on social media and emailed to the group's supporters, had negatively impacted their fundraising efforts. However, in January 2022, the organization dropped the lawsuit over concerns that Saroya's lawyers would "demand the names of CAIR supporters who have donated to us."
Jeffrey Robbins, Saroya's lawyer, described the ruling as "the mother of all legal boomerangs" in a conversation with The Post. He further elaborated, "Its a very important rulingvery methodical, very careful, very detailed and very analytical." As a result of this ruling, CAIR will be required to "turn over evidence about everything from fundraising practices, such as having raised money from foreign sources and concealed it; whether it deceived donors; whether it mismanaged donor money; whether it retaliated against employees or threatened to retaliate against employees for raising concerns about sexual harassment or the like."
The IRS has designated CAIR as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization. However, a September 2013 report from the Justice Department Office of Inspector General highlighted evidence from the 2008 federal case against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, a Muslim charity in the US. This case, the largest terror trial in US history, revealed that the charity had funneled millions of dollars to Hamas. The case "linked CAIR leaders to Hamas, a specially designated terrorist organization, and CAIR was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the case."
In 2023, the Biden administration removed CAIR from the White House task force on antisemitism. This decision came after Nihad Awad, the groups co-founder, expressed happiness about the atrocities committed by Hamas against Israel on Oct 7, 2023. Steve Emerson, the founder and director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, told the Jewish News Syndicate that "CAIR was created as a Hamas front group and still functions as a propaganda arm of Hamas to this day."
The Anti-Defamation League has also criticized CAIR, stating, "Antisemitism is in the DNA of CAIR. It is part of CAIRs intrinsic fiber. CAIR leaders often traffic in antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric...some of its leaders have cultivated suspicion among the public toward a wide array of American Jewish institutions." This case, therefore, could have significant implications for CAIR and its operations.
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