Charity Raided by Feds Seeks Files

August 23, 2007

Author: Paul Egan

Source: The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070823/METRO/708230362/1003

When FBI agents raided the Muslim charity Life for Relief and Development last September, they carted away computers and records but charged nobody and allowed the agency to continue operating.

Nearly one year later, the charity is today asking U.S. District Judge Nancy G. Edmunds to order the return of nearly 200 boxes of paperwork it says are critical to its operations, including tasks such as filing its federal tax return.

The U.S. Attorney's Office is willing to provide the records, but only if Life for Relief pays copying charges of between $21,000 and $115,000, the charity said in a recent federal court filing. Those charges are higher than normal because the government insists copies be made inside FBI offices by a company with a U.S. security clearance.