CAIR-related probe focuses on possible sanctions violations

A grand jury which 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.

The filing shows that a subpoena issued for CAIR records in November referenced possible violations of 50 U.S.C. sections 1701-1706. Those sections are part of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law under which President Clinton banned dealings with groups he determined to be disrupting the Middle East Peace Process.

Hamas was one of the organizations on the list. However, many other groups and nations are also subject to sanctions under IEEPA. There was no indication in the new document of which group CAIR is thought to be linked to, or even whether the investigation is directed at CAIR. However, in a letter to Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) last year, the FBI said concerns about ties between CAIR and Hamas led the FBi to sever ties with CAIR.

The new filing came in a lawsuit CAIR brought in November against David Gaubatz and his son Chris over their alleged theft of documents from the group during a sting operation in which Chris took an internship at CAIR as part of an effort to develop evidence about the Muslim group’s alleged ties to terrorism. Some of the CAIR documents became part of a book co-authored by David Gaubatz, “Muslim Mafia.”

CAIR won a restraining order requiring return of some of the documents and the Gaubatzes later agreed to an order requiring that all the documents be returned pending resolution of the lawsuit.

The document which disclosed the laws at issue in the CAIR-related probe was a January 13 letter from a lawyer in the national security section of the U.S. Attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., Lynn Haaland, to lawyers for the Gaubatzes. The letter indicates that CAIR initially objected to the subpoena but later dropped its objection. WorldNetDaily, a website connected to the publisher of “Muslim Mafia,” said last month that some 12,000 pages of documents were turned over to the government .

While the Gaubatzes and WorldNetDaily publicized the subpoena, an unusual motion the Justice Department filed in the suit was placed under seal as were most successive filings on the issue and the transcript of a closed-door hearing Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly held, apparently on the DOJ request. Haaland’s letter was attached as an exhibit to a legal brief filed Saturday by the Gaubatzes’ attorneys.

CAIR has previously denied ties to Hamas or terrorism more generally. A spokesman, Ibrahim Hooper, declined to make any further comment Monday night. A spokesman for the U.S Attorney’s Office also declined to comment on the investigation.

Government lawyers and personnel are barred from commenting publicly on grand jury matters. However, the recipient of a subpoena and his or her attorneys are free to discuss the subpoena. Lawyers for the Gaubatzes previously declined to discuss details of the subpoena or the sealed court filings with POLITICO.

While Haaland’s letter does not describe the nature of CAIR’s objection to the subpoena for the documents, CAIR complained in other, public legal filings that some of the documents taken by the Gaubatzes included privileged attorney-client communications. Ordinarily, prosecutors would not be permitted to subpoena such records. A hint about CAIR’s gripe may be found in a brief reference in Haaland’s letter to a “filter team” which is DOJ lingo for a separate group of attorneys who look for privileged or tainted material and remove it before lawyers involved in the substance of the prosecution or investigation get access to the records.

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