Ron DeSantis is playing chess while his opponents play checkers.
The Florida Governor just turned the tables on a powerful special interest group.
And Ron DeSantis dropped one bomb about CAIR’s lawsuit that has them scrambling.
DeSantis springs trap on CAIR with one devastating statement
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a terrorist organization through executive order on December 8.
CAIR immediately announced plans to sue DeSantis, calling his order "defamatory and unconstitutional."
But DeSantis wasn't worried about the lawsuit.
In fact, he welcomed it with open arms for one strategic reason.
"I look forward to discovery—especially the CAIR finances," DeSantis posted on X.¹ "Should be illuminating!"
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1998235796458049799?s=20
That one statement revealed DeSantis's entire game plan and sent CAIR scrambling.
The Governor just turned CAIR's lawsuit into a weapon against them.
If the case proceeds past the inevitable motion to dismiss, discovery would force CAIR to hand over internal financial documents they've kept hidden for years.
Bank records, donor lists, funding sources—all of it would become fair game in court.
DeSantis's executive order blocked state and local agencies from giving CAIR contracts, employment, funding, or benefits.
The order also directed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Florida Highway Patrol to prevent "unlawful activities" by the organization.
CAIR filed their federal lawsuit in Tallahassee on Monday, arguing DeSantis violated the Constitution by unilaterally declaring them a terrorist organization without due process.
But DeSantis made clear during a December 9 press conference in North Miami Beach that he had been waiting for this moment.
"I welcome the lawsuit because what will happen is that will give the state of Florida discovery rights to be able to subpoena the bank records," DeSantis explained.² "And honestly, it gives us even more reason."
His Attorney General is "ready, willing and able" to fight this battle, according to the Governor.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1999246427214774368?s=20
Pattern of targeting pro-Palestinian activism backfires spectacularly
This isn't the first time CAIR and DeSantis have clashed in court.
In November 2023, CAIR sued DeSantis after he tried to shut down Students for Justice in Palestine chapters at Florida universities.
A federal judge dismissed that lawsuit in January 2024, ruling the ban hadn't actually been enforced.
CAIR attorney Omar Saleh pointed to that history during a Tuesday press conference in Tampa.
"It is retaliatory," Saleh said.³ "This isn't the first time we've sued the governor for trying to squelch speech."
But CAIR's legal victories might have made them overconfident.
DeSantis has been building his case against CAIR for years, citing their role as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case.
That 2009 trial was the largest terror financing prosecution in American history, where five leaders were convicted of funneling millions to Hamas.
CAIR was listed among more than 300 organizations as unindicted co-conspirators.
The FBI severed its liaison relationship with CAIR after that trial.
Now DeSantis gets to dig into exactly where CAIR's money comes from and where it goes.
"People forget CAIR was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial, the largest terror financing trial in the history of the United States of America," DeSantis said.⁴
CAIR claims their funding comes from "generous people of different faiths and backgrounds across America" and charitable foundations.
https://twitter.com/RonDeSantis/status/1998159838959067445?s=20
But they've never had to prove that claim under oath with documentary evidence.
That's about to change if their lawsuit survives the motion to dismiss.
DeSantis's communications director made the administration's position crystal clear this week.
"We don't negotiate with terrorists," Alex Lanfranconi told reporters.⁵
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a similar order against CAIR last month, and CAIR filed a lawsuit there too.
The difference is DeSantis appears to have been planning for this legal fight from the start.
He knows CAIR's greatest vulnerability isn't their legal arguments about constitutional authority.
It's what their financial records might reveal about who really funds their operations and what they do with that money.
CAIR's lawsuit argues DeSantis exceeded his authority because only the federal government can designate terrorist organizations.
But President Donald Trump issued an executive order in November establishing a process to designate Muslim Brotherhood chapters as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
DeSantis's order simply followed Trump's lead at the state level.
The real question isn't whether DeSantis had the authority to issue his executive order.
The question is what's in CAIR's bank records that has them so concerned about discovery.
And Florida taxpayers are about to find out.
¹ Ron DeSantis, post on X, December 9, 2025.
² Ty Russell, "CAIR files federal lawsuit against DeSantis over terrorism claims," WFLA, December 16, 2025.
³ Elizabeth Andarge, "CAIR officially files lawsuit against Governor Ron Desantis," WGCU, December 16, 2025.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Gregory Svirnovskiy, "Ron DeSantis Responds to CAIR Lawsuit After He Designated It a Foreign Terror Org," The Daily Signal, December 17, 2025.
