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April 23, 2008

Government Prosecution of Charities Questioned

Questions are being raised about how the federal government is prosecuting charities accused of ties to terrorists.

In an article in The New Yorker, the journalist Patrick Radden Keefe examines the case against the Al Haramain Islamic Foundation, in Ashland, Ore. The group had its assets frozen in 2004 for alleged ties to Al Qaeda, which the charitable organization denies.

Mr. Keefe looks at how the government has relied on classified intelligence information to build a case against the charity and its practice of “‘Al Capone-ing’ suspects — charging them on whatever will secure a conviction.”

During a Senate Finance Committee hearing this month, Sen. Max Baucus, a Democrat from Montana who chairs the committee, also raised concerns about how the U.S. Treasury Department is investigating charities.

“We have also seen prosecutions failing in some high-profile trials involving charities suspected of having ties to terrorist organizations. What happened here? Were these prosecutions off base? Does the administration need to do a better job of monitoring these organizations?” he asked in his opening statement.

OMB Watch, a government watchdog group in Washington that has criticized the government crackdown on nonprofit organizations, says the hearing left questions “unasked and unanswered.” The advocacy group says aides to Mr. Baucus have agreed to meet with nonprofit representatives to discuss their concerns.

— Ian Wilhelm

Wednesday April 23, 2008 | Permalink

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