Republican Rep. James Comer hinted at the possibility of subpoenaing Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen over what he claims is a reluctance to provide information regarding the bankrolling of some pro-Palestinian protests in the country.
Comer, head of the House Oversight Committee, began in May a probe into 20 nonprofit groups supporting protests on college campuses and across the U.S. They are seeking for documents that could potentially prove their ties with money laundering and terrorism financing activities.
In that context, both Comer and Virginia Foxx (R, N.C.), chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, asked the Treasury department to hand over "Suspicious Activity Reports" related to the institutions. One of the organizations targeted, CAIR, was identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in a 2009 case related to unlawful funding for Hamas, labeled a terrorist group in the country.
"The Palestinian Youth Movement, whose fiscal sponsor is WESPAC Foundation and regularly organizes events with Samidoun, recently took credit for releasing maggots and activating fire alarms in the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was staying," the lawmakers wrote. "The same day, Members of Jewish Voice for Peace illegally occupied the Cannon House Office Building, which resulted in the arrest of more than 200 people."
However, they argue that three months on they are being stonewalled by the Treasury Department and that many of the groups have continued with their "illegal and antisemitic activities." The government body in June asked the lawmakers to narrow the scope of the probe, something agreed upon. But they say that Treasury has been "unable to provide a timeframe for when it anticipates producing even these more limited records."
Should the situation continue, they said, they could end up issuing a subpoena. "It is imperative that Treasury immediately cooperate and provide the requested documents," wrote the lawmakers, who set August 28 as a deadline for the documents to be provided.
"If Treasury continues to fail to cooperate with this investigation voluntarily, the Committees are prepared to utilize other means to obtain this information, including use of compulsory process," they warned.
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