Follow the Money

'The Family' Got Money from Alleged Terrorists

The elite religious organization that is sometimes referred to as The Family—and that owns the infamous C Street House in Washington, D.C., where many congressmen live—received money from an alleged Islamic terrorist group, according to a group of Ohio ministers who’ve asked the IRS to investigate. ClergyVoice wrote a letter to the IRS Wednesday saying the Fellowship Foundation, which also sponsors the National Prayer Breakfast, violated the rules that allow it tax-exempt status, which don’t allow funding from such groups. In May and June of 2004, the foundation received two checks for $25,000 from the Islamic American Relief Agency, based in Missouri. That Islamic charity was named to a list of financial backers of terrorism that same year by the Senate Finance Committee. The foundation says it didn’t keep the money or use it to pay for overseas travel of lawmakers like Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK). The Islamic charity was raided by the feds in 2004, but began lobbying lawmakers to clear its name shortly thereafter.