Hamas transformed Holy Land Foundation into CAIR, survived convictions, former FBI agent says

Retired FBI agent Lara Burns testified to a US Senate subcommittee that Hamas's support network in the US survived the 2008 Holy Land Foundation convictions and remains active through groups like CAIR, AMP, and SJP. Burns, who led the HLF investigation, described a 1993 wiretap of a Palestine Committee meeting where leaders agreed to pursue their agenda by 'cloaking themselves under the cover of legitimacy.' She called for federal investigations into these organizations.

A retired FBI agent who led the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) case told a US Senate subcommittee on Wednesday that Hamas's support network in the United States survived the 2008 convictions and remains active today through groups including the Council on Arab and Islamic Relations (CAIR), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), and American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). Lara Burns, who led the investigation from 2001 to 2008, testified about a 1993 FBI wiretap of a Philadelphia meeting of Palestine Committee leaders, where they defined a conspiracy to support Hamas and infiltrate US institutions. She said the leaders agreed to pursue their agenda by 'cloaking themselves under the cover of legitimacy' out of fear of exposure. Burns noted that CAIR co-founder Nihad Awad participated in that meeting and remains its executive director. She testified that CAIR, AMP, and SJP have been 'reframing the atrocities [of October 7] as legitimate resistance' and that their conduct since October 7, 2023, suggests they have not withdrawn from the conspiracy. Burns called on the FBI, IRS, and DOJ to investigate these organizations for violations of the Foreign Agent Registration Act, material support to terrorism, and tax evasion, and urged enhanced transparency for 501(c)(3) organizations.