A judge wants to know why the charity's assests were frozen.
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - A judge says the U.S. government must show it had probable cause in 2006 to freeze the assets of an Ohio-based charity it suspects of having ties to the militant Islamic group Hamas.
U.S. District Judge James Carr on Monday ordered a post hoc review of the government's action. He previously called the government's action unconstitutional and halted aspects of its investigation. He says an after-the-fact review of probable cause is atypical but necessary in an unusual case.
He declined to speculate what would happen if the government failed to show probable cause.
Officials with KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development in Toledo have denied any terror group connection.
The judge ruled in August the Department of the Treasury should get permission before freezing an organization's funds under terror financing laws.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWNWO