Yesterday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit upheld the Treasury Department's decision to freeze the assets of the Islamic American Relief Agency-USA (IARA), in Columbia, Missouri. In 2004 Treasury Department designated IARA as a supporter of terrorism, freezing all accounts, funds and assets of IARA in the United States. The Islamic charity was designated for ties to an affiliate of a Sudanese charity, Islamic African Relief Agency that was accused of financing al-Qaeda. The decision upheld the ruling that the group is a branch of the Sudanese agency; however IARA argued that the two groups have different leaders and bank accounts. In 2004, federal agents raided the group's headquarters in Columbia, Mo., as part of a criminal investigation. No criminal charges have been filed against the charity or its employees. While the court found the unclassified evidence was "not overwhelming," the three-judge panel noted that its review of national security cases is "extremely deferential" to the government. The Associated Press story can be read here along with the court's opinion.