Legislators
Many members of the Senate and House of Representatives have been diligent in raising concerns about CAIR’s activities with the U.S. government. Here we will feature case studies of their oversight activities. The following is a short and by no means complete list of those who have shown exemplary leadership in protecting the country:
Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Senator John Kyl (R-AZ)
Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY)
Representative Paul Broun (R-GA)
Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ)
Representative Pete Hoekstra (R-MI)
Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC)
Representative Sue Myrick (R-NC)
Representative John Shadegg (R-AZ)
Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA)
Congressional Action on the CAIR Issue
November 16, 2009
Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) joined members of the House Antiterrorism Caucus Reps. Sue Myrick, (R-NC), John Shadegg (R-AZ), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Paul Broun (R-GA), and Patrick McHenry(R-NC) in writing a letter to the Internal Revenue Service requesting an investigation of CAIR’s lobbying activities and non-profit status.
A copy of the letter is available from World Net Daily.
October 14, 2009
U.S. Representatives Paul Broun (GA-10), Trent Franks (AZ-02), John Shadegg (AZ-03) and Sue Myrick (NC-09) called on federal officials to investigate the actions and non-profit status of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).
In response to claims made in the book Muslim Mafia, Myrick, Shadegg, Broun and Franks called on:
1) The US Department of Justice to share with each member of Congress and their Chiefs of Staff an executive summary of the findings that led them to name CAIR as a co-conspirator in a terrorism case;
2) The House Sergeant at Arms to work with the Staff Directors and Committee Chairmen of the House Judiciary, Homeland Security and Intelligence Committees to see if CAIR was successful in placing interns in any of said committees since the drafting of this memo in January of 2007;
3) The Internal Revenue Service to launch a full investigation into the legality of the lobbying activities of CAIR to judge if they are in violation of their federal non-profit status.
“This Congress must be deliberate in taking a strong stance against those groups and organizations that align themselves with terrorists, and standing with organizations that are standing against Islamic extremism and terrorism, and are committed to protecting and preserving the cause of freedom we treasure so deeply in America. Asking the Justice Department to take a long, hard look at the underlying positions of CAIR, its actions, and its affiliations is one critically important step in this process.” – Rep. Franks
You can view the original press release at Rep. Shadeggs website.
June 12, 2009
Representative Frank Wolf delivered a detailed speech on the House floor on the history of CAIR’s terrorist ties in light of the FBI’s severance of relations with CAIR.
A transcript of the Congressman’s speech is available in PDF format at the Investigative Project on Terrorism.
February 24, 2009
Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK), Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) wrote a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller supporting the FBI’s decision to severe ties with CAIR. They also recommended that the ban be extended to all government agencies.
A copy of the letter is available courtesy of the Investigative Project on Terrorism.
February 2, 2009
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) wrote a letter to Michael J. Heimbach of the FBI Counter Terrorism Division asking him to clarify the FBI’s position on CAIR following a Fox News report that said the FBI had cut ties with CAIR. He also asked a pointed question about CAIR’s foreign connections:
“To your knowledge, does CAIR receive financial contributions from foreign sources? If so, which ones and how much?”
The letter is available at the Investigative Project on Terrorism website.
January 30, 2009
A “Dear Colleague” letter entitled “BEWARE OF CAIR,” was signed by Reps. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., co-chair of the Anti-Terrorism Caucus; Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich.; Trent Franks, R-Ariz.; Paul Broun, R-Ga.; and John Shadegg, R-Ariz. The letter warned their House colleagues about CAIR’s ties to Hamas and emphasized that the FBI had cut ties with CAIR.
The letter cited this article published by the Investigative Project on Terrorism.
On February 2, 2009, CAIR National Legislative Director Corey Saylor wrote a letter of response to Rep. Myrick.
