The Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating whether a Muslim advocacy organization it previously linked to Hamas should maintain eligibility to receive taxpayer funds, according to emails obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review said June 30 that it was currently probing a complaint accusing the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) of irregularities in its financial reporting and support for terrorism. The review centers around federal funding California has allocated for immigration-related services to CAIR, a group that high-profile Democrats have embraced for years as a force for civil rights.
“We appreciate your patience as we thoroughly review the matter,” the DOJ wrote to watchdog group Intelligent Advocacy Network (IAN), which filed the complaint on March 13. “Should we require additional information, we will reach out to you.”
UPDATE!
After 3+ months, TODAY the DOJ confirmed to IAN: its investigation into CAIR-CA is active, ongoing, and thorough.
IAN’s evidence points to:
• Millions in mismanaged refugee funds
• Improper subgrants
• Misleading IRS filings
• Hamas-aligned rhetoric#DOJ… pic.twitter.com/CZ5ya7gPQe— Intelligent Advocacy Network (@IANempowers) June 30, 2025
UPDATE!Federal officials named CAIR as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 trial of activists who were convicted of running a charity funding Hamas, and the United Arab Emirates labeled CAIR a terrorist organization in 2014, IAN noted. The DOJ’s court filings said CAIR was part of a “Palestine Committee” led by a Hamas official advancing the Islamist group’s interests in the U.S.
CAIR’s local media team did not respond to multiple requests for comment. California’s Department of Social Services, which allocated the federal government’s funds to CAIR, did not respond to a request for comment.
IAN’s complaint also highlights past statements by Zahra Billoo, who leads CAIR California’s San Francisco Bay Area office, in which she praised Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel as “decolonization” and declared that a slain Hamas leader’s “martyrdom is not in vain” in July 2024. In 2018, former Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Billoo to an advisory panel tasked with informing California’s state librarian on “civil liberties and civil rights issues,” state webpages show.
IAN also accused CAIR California of failing to report some government funds on its tax forms, inexplicably awarding subgrants to itself through its regional offices and other discrepancies, citing state and federal documents it obtained. In one example, CAIR awarded more than $3.6 million to “CAIR LA,” a branch of CAIR California that is not a registered tax-exempt nonprofit but a part of CAIR California, records show.
CAIR California called IAN a “hate group” promoting a “smear campaign” in a March press release responding to the complaint.
“We operate in full transparency and cooperation with the State of California and their thorough reporting requirements,” CAIR California CEO Hussam Ayloush said at the time without addressing IAN’s specific claims. “Every penny—not just every dollar—of government grants is accounted for, and transparently and effectively used to empower vulnerable populations.”
The Muslim group denies supporting terrorists or having ties to them and dedicates a section of its website to debunking such allegations. It emphasizes that the DOJ was never required to prove its claims about CAIR in court.
CAIR’s website also argues that its national executive director, Nihad Awad, was not supporting terrorism when he publicly said that he is “in support of the Hamas movement” in 1994, a statement that IAN’s complaint references. Awad and CAIR opposed Hamas after it began suicide bombings and was declared a terrorist group by the U.S., CAIR’s website says. However, Hamas released a charter that called for eradicating Jews years before Awad expressed support for the organization.
“We welcome the DOJ’s confirmation last week that its investigation is ongoing,” IAN told the DCNF. “CAIR-CA’s financial misconduct, regulatory violations, and Hamas-aligned rhetoric make it unfit to retain its DOJ immigration accreditation.”
“Its parent organization, CAIR, was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism financing case involving Hamas in U.S. history. That legacy continues today through statements and actions by CAIR-CA’s top leadership,” IAN said. “Public money must never be used to subsidize organizations that flout statutory and regulatory obligations or undermine national security.”
The DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review and media team did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.
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