As of 2007, FBI officials attended CAIR events. In 2009, Fox News said that the FBI broke off formal outreach contacts with CAIR, and shunned all of its local chapters, concerned about CAIR's ties to Hamas. In 2011, "The New York Times" said that while the FBI and CAIR had no "formal relationship", CAIR officials and chapters worked regularly with FBI officials. Foreign policy scholar Lorenzo G. Vidino notes that there are reasons for the FBI's continued work with CAIR, as some believe they are a necessary ally in counter-terrorism operations, regardless of their controversial status, history, and association with the Muslim Brotherhood.