The War on Terror Comes To Defund Left & Liberal Nonprofits

 Edited by Sam Thielman

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ONE OF THE THROUGHLINES OF REIGN OF TERROR, my (critically-acclaimed, sorry not sorry) book about the role that the War on Terror played in America's resurgent reactionary turn, is the right's understanding that counterterrorism was a potent, politically expedient weapon to aim at its domestic opponents. Now the ascendant right no longer sees itself having domestic opponents but domestic enemies. And apparently as soon as tomorrow, when the lame-duck congressional session begins, it's launching a first strike aimed at the finances of those enemies. 

Noah Hurowitz reports for The Intercept that the House plans on voting on a bill, the Stop Terrorist Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, that would permit the Treasury Department to revoke the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit organization that the Secretary of the Treasury unilaterally declares to be supporting terrorism. The secretary apparently does not even have to explain their decision. In such a case, a denial of whatever due process exists under such circumstances would be the point. Hurowitz:

Under the bill, the Treasury secretary would issue notice to a group of intent to designate it as a “terrorist supporting organization.” Once notified, an organization would have the right to appeal within 90 days, after which it would be stripped of its 501(c)(3) status, named for the statute that confers tax exemptions on recognized nonprofit groups.

The law would not require officials to explain the reason for designating a group, nor does it require the Treasury Department to provide evidence.

Charities, civil-rights groups, legal assistance, nonprofit media, antiwar groups, I'm also going to guess philanthropic entities as well—all have reason to fear. Targeted organizations "couldn’t get banks to service them, they won’t be able to get donations, and there’d be a black mark on the organization, even if it cleared its name," the National Iranian American Council-Action's policy director Ryan Costello observed to Hurowitz. As someone who sat in I don't know how many congressional hearings about Scary Muslim Threats Within and Their Damning Connections To The Left, this sounds like something someone like, say, Peter King dreamt of. 

Should the bill pass, you can be certain that organizations supporting Palestine will be first in the crosshairs. But they absolutely will not be last, and the first crucial test, post-passage, will be which groups will curtail or abandon solidarity with Palestine in the hope of sparing themselves, their clients and their work. Because the point isn't just to defund these groups, but to intimidate and divide MAGA's opposition, real or perceived. Anyone who said MAGA was opposed to counterterrorism overreaches—particularly after January 6—is an idiot or a liar. Its objective was always to suppress their opponents, and any available route would be taken. 

In this measure we can see an apotheosis of material-support for terrorism laws that took flight in the 1990s and achieved escape velocity with the 2001 PATRIOT Act.