ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is urging the U.S. Department of the Treasury to scrutinize the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for potential violations of sanctions or financial connections to Hamas, a group recognized by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. In response, CAIR, the largest Muslim civil rights group in the country, criticized Stefanik’s letter to the Treasury as an incitement of a “McCarthy-era witch hunt.”

Stefanik, alongside Senate Republican Conference Chair Tom Cotton, addressed a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday. The duo requested an immediate investigation into whether CAIR has financial ties to Hamas that might breach U.S. sanctions against the group.

In their argument, the lawmakers noted that federal authorities have previously identified the Islamic Association for Palestine, once led by CAIR’s Executive Director Nihad Awad and co-founder Omar Ahmad, as a propaganda outlet for Hamas. They highlighted a 1993 meeting in Philadelphia attended by Awad and Ahmad, where discussions reportedly took place about forming an organization to support Hamas while masking these connections. CAIR was established the following year, in 1994.

The letter also referenced the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial, where CAIR was labeled as an unindicted co-conspirator. According to the lawmakers, evidence from the trial showed direct financial dealings between CAIR and the now-defunct charity linked to Hamas.

The legislators also accused CAIR officials of making public statements in defense of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. They noted that Awad, speaking at an American Muslims for Palestine event, described the attacks as actions taken by people “breaking the siege,” while other CAIR leaders used the term “decolonization” when referring to the events.

The lawmakers also detailed direct support for anti-Israel campus protests, offering legal and organizational support to protest leaders. One such was New Yorker Mahmoud Khalil, who said October 7 was “unavoidable” and whom CAIR honored at its annual banquet. Furthermore, CAIR sued Columbia University, Khalil’s school, to block records from congressional oversight.

Stefanik perceives a pattern of historic ties to Hamas and took issue with public statements that she said align with Hamas narratives, raising serious questions about whether CAIR’s is providing material support for terrorism. The letter noted that CAIR settled a lawsuit rather than disclosing its funding sources, which the lawmakers characterized as concerning.

CAIR countered with their own letter on Wednesday, calling Stefanik’s suspicions baseless. Government Affairs Department Director Robert McCaw said that the demand for an investigation “has nothing to do with national security and everything to do with anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bigotry.” He wrote to Bessent about its mission, to “protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.”

He noted that its 25 chapters and have spent decades advancing “free speech, religious freedom, and racial equality.” CAIR also won a unanimous ruling from the Supreme Court in 2024 in a “historic lawsuit meant to protect all Americans from discrimination.”

CAIR rebuked “long-debunked conspiracy theories.” The group pointed out that the government’s baseless smear of organizations listed as unindicted coconspirators in the Holy Land Foundation trial was ruled unconstitutional by the Fifth Circuit in 2010.

CAIR clarified their opposition to any group designated a foreign terrorist organization. “We unequivocally condemn all acts of terrorism, whether carried out by al-Qa’ida, the Real IRA, FARC, Hamas, ETA,” the letter said. “CAIR is not and has never been an agent, affiliate, offshoot, subsidiary, supporter, partner, funder, representative, supporter, or pen pal of any foreign militant group.”

McCaw’s response acknowledged CAIR’s opposition to “the Israeli government’s violent, racist oppression of the Palestinian[s].” But the letter also highlighted consistent opposition to “violence against Israeli civilians, from such attacks on Oct. 7th, 2023, to the wave of suicide bombings that began in the 1990s.”

The letter also called Stefanik and Cotton “major recipients of funding from the Israel lobby group AIPAC.” The civil rights group suggested that federal agencies should instead investigate whether the consistent Israel-First agitation from Stefanik “violated statutes governing bribery or the Foreign Agents Registration Act” in the form of campaign contributions or free travel.

Here’s the letter from Stefanik and Cotton:

And the rebuttal from McCaw: