The complaint, filed on Tuesday in federal court by the Washington, D.C.-based Center to Advance Security in America, accuses the U.S. Agency for International Development of stonewalling the watchdog’s July request for records on USAID’s grants and contracts to foreign groups behind anti-Israel boycott campaigns.

US GOVERNMENT ROUTES MILLIONS TO FOREIGN NGOS BEHIND ANTI-ISRAEL BOYCOTT CAMPAIGNS

That funding was first reported by the Washington Examiner in July as part of an investigation into taxpayer-backed awards dating back to 2008.

“Extreme, anti-Israel nongovernmental organizations are receiving millions of dollars from federal agencies like USAID without proper transparency and oversight,” said James Fitzpatrick, CASA’s director.

“CASA brings this lawsuit after USAID has stalled in providing records and communications that may shed light on why these extreme NGOs were chosen to receive large sums of taxpayer dollars, and the officials at the agency who were involved in the selection process,” Fitzpatrick, a U.S. Army veteran, added.

In July, a Washington Examiner analysis of funding records found that USAID and the State Department have long routed grants and contracts to the Netherlands-based Center for Research on Multinational Corporations, Norwegian People’s Aid in Norway, and the Ireland-based Catholic Church agency Trocaire. The foreign NGOs join pro-Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaigns against Israel and release reports calling on the United States to cut off aid to the Jewish state.

In response to the report, the State Department insisted it is “a strong partner in opposing efforts to delegitimize Israel.” Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) criticized the anti-Israel funding, with Ernst saying USAID and the State Department “are undermining our ally and our own national security.”

CASA, which is nonpartisan and aims to help the public “become better-informed about what their government is doing to protect their safety and security in a dangerous world,” filed a Freedom of Information Act request in late July for records based on the Washington Examiner’s report.

“Recent reports suggest that these organizations have received significant funding, which could conflict with official U.S. foreign policy,” the FOIA read. “Clarifying these transactions is essential to maintaining transparency and reinforcing international diplomatic commitments.”

The FOIA asked for communications between USAID Administrator Samantha Power and other USAID officials concerning the anti-Israel NGOs dating back to Oct. 7, 2023, the day Hamas terrorists launched their deadly attack on Israel and killed 1,200 people. Moreover, the watchdog group requested calendar records for the USAID officials, documents show.

However, months later, and as the Biden administration winds down, USAID has not provided CASA with any documents in connection to its request, CASA said in its Dec. 17 complaint.

“USAID has not produced responsive documents to CASA, has not communicated to CASA the scope of the documents it intends to produce or withhold — along with the reasons for any such withholding —and has not informed CASA of its ability to appeal any adverse portion of its determination,” CASA said.

“Given these facts,” the watchdog added, “USAID has not met its statutory obligations to provide the requested records, and it appears USAID does not intend to meet them absent litigation. Through USAID’s failure to make a determination within the time period required by law, CASA has constructively exhausted its administrative remedies and seeks immediate judicial review.”

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. USAID did not respond to a request for comment.