April 15, 2010
Rev. Wilifred Allen-Faiella
St. Stephens Episcopal Church
2750 McFarlane Road
Coconut Grove, FL 33133
Dear Reverend Allen-Faiella:
I want to alert you to possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) which apparently targeted you as the subject of a foreign influence operation. It is our opinion that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was operating as an unregistered foreign agent at the time that they solicited you to write a letter to Representative Sue Myrick (R-NC) calling on her to “immediately withdraw support” from the non-profit grassroots citizen network “Act for America.” We note that CAIR-Tampa published your letter in an “action alert” email sent on April 13, 2010 calling on recipients to sign a petition censuring Rep. Myrick. It is our assessment that CAIR’s influence operation against Representative Myrick should have been reported to FARA as required by law. In addition, CAIR has failed to register as a foreign agent with the FARA office, also required by law.
FARA § 611 (o) states that foreign agents who engage in any activity to “influence any agency or official of the Government of the United States or any section of the public within the United States” must register as a foreign agent and report such activity to the Department of Justice. At the CAIRObservatory.org website (http://www.cairobservatory.org) we provide documentation showing CAIR has met and coordinated with representatives of these foreign principals on more than 30 occasions, and engaged in over 50 political influence operations on their behalf, including this one against Representative Myrick. CAIR has failed to report these influence operations.
FARA § 612 (a) (5) requires that a foreign agent report “the nature and amount of contributions, income, money, or thing of value” that they receive from foreign principals. At the CAIRObservatory.org website we provide documentation showing that CAIR has received more than $6 million in cash and loans and more than $50 million in pledges from foreign principals based in Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. CAIR has failed to report these payments.
FARA §618 (a) states that any foreign agent who willfully violates any provision of the law may be “punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.” You may have information in your official schedule, emails and other correspondence with CAIR-Tampa or the national CAIR office which would be of material interest to any investigation of CAIR’s FARA violations. We urge you to send this information to the FARA Registration Unit of the Counterespionage Section (CES) in the National Security Division (NSD) of the Department of Justice (1400 New York Avenue, N.W., Suite 100, Washington, D.C. 20005). We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the FARA code at the Department of Justice website (http://www.justice.gov/criminal/fara/).
We realize this information may shock and even embarrass you, but it is our opinion that the evidence is conclusive. As John Adams wrote, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” And you are not alone as a target of these foreign influence operations. Hundreds of Americans including elected officials, community groups, corporations and private citizens have been targeted by CAIR.
In fact, CAIR has a long history of trouble with the law. CAIR was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in U.S. v. Holy Land Foundation, the largest terrorism finance trial in America’s history. CAIR is being sued by Muslim, African-American and Hispanic families for defrauding them instead of giving them promised legal help. Four CAIR leaders have been convicted of felonies including terrorism, and only 1% of CAIR’s latest reported revenues actually came from Muslim-American members. And according to the February 2, 2010 edition of the news website Politico.com, “A grand jury that subpoenaed documents relating to the Council on American-Islamic Relations is investigating possible violations of federal laws barring financial transactions with terrorist groups and countries subject to U.S. sanctions, according to a new court filing.”
It is our opinion that CAIR’s influence operations intimidate Americans, including Muslim Americans, endanger the First Amendment right to free speech, and threaten national security. We oppose the revival of ideological “litmus tests” in the 21st century, this time funded by foreign principals and enforced by CAIR and its Muslim Brotherhood partners in the form of false accusations of bias, racism and so-called “Islamophobia” without proper regard for the facts. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said nearly half a century ago, when he labored – as we hope you will – to protect American freedoms, “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”
We urge you to take Dr. King’s words to heart, and report your experience with CAIR’s influence operations to FARA. Join us in demanding that CAIR follow the law, register as a foreign agent with the FARA office, and report all political and public propaganda initiatives.
Sincerely,
Frank J. Gaffney Jr., Founder and President
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