‘Muslim American Civil Rights Group’ That Celebrated Hamas Attack Must Reveal Donors, Judge Rules

A judge ruled on Monday that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) must open its books and potentially reveal foreign funding sources, the New York Post reported.

The ruling from U.S. Magistrate Judge David Schultz came after the group’s defamation suit against a former employee backfired. Former CAIR employee Lori Saroya filed a defamation complaint against the group in January after CAIR dropped its lawsuit against Saroya. In its lawsuit against Saroya, CAIR alleged that the former employee’s social media posts and emails to CAIR supporters implied that the group is funded by terrorist organizations, the Post reported.

CAIR, often referred to as a “Muslim American civil rights group,” ultimately dropped its suit against Saroya, fearing that her legal team would “demand the names of CAIR supporters who have donated to us,” but Saroya’s lawsuit against CAIR has resulted in Judge Schultz ruling that any assets CAIR owns are within the “scope of permissible discovery.”

Schultz wrote that “the thrust of CAIR’s allegations against Saroya in the 2021 complaint is that Saroya falsely implied CAIR received funding from foreign governments and terrorists when she stated CAIR accepted ‘international funding through their Washington Trust Foundation.’”

“CAIR points to no public admission that it received funding from terrorists or that it received funding through the Washington Trust Foundation,” but “discovery into these matters is proportionate to the needs of the case,” he added, ruling, “CAIR has not shown that the burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit, or that it unwarrantedly taxes its resources.”

Saroya’s lawyer, Jeffrey Robbins, told the Post that the ruling is “the mother of all legal boomerangs.” He said that the decision means CAIR must “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.”

CAIR was at the center of controversy last year, which caused the Biden White House to distance itself from the group. After Hamas’ brutal October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said he was “happy to see” Gazans “breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land.”

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CAIR’s official X account also posted on October 7, condemning Israel as Israelis were being slaughtered by Hamas.

“We join @USCMO and the American Muslim community in reaffirming our support for the Palestinian people’s right to freedom and calling for an end to the Israeli occupation, which kills hundreds of Palestinian civilians every year, subjects millions of Palestinians to racist oppression, and sparks the deadly violence that we see again and again, including today,” CAIR wrote.