If the GOP regains the House, they may have to investigate the FBI and DOJ
House Judiciary Report: FBI Investigations Are Predictive of Domestic Terrorism, Hunter Biden’s Son, and Trump’s Home
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, who heads the DOJ, and another to FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting documents pertaining to committee investigations lurking in the not-too-distant future. According to a House Judiciary Republicans press release, there is a report that states political corruption at the highest levels of the FBI. The Republicans say in the report that there are allegations of political bias by the FBI’s senior leadership and misuse of the agency’s federal law-enforcement powers. The report, while primarily focused on the FBI, also targets the Justice Department as well.
Republicans will more than likely retake the House, and possibly the Senate, with the party heavily favored to win midterm elections in several congressional districts.
In response to a request for comment on the letter and the report, the FBI told NPR that it has testified to Congress and responded to letters from legislators on numerous occasions to ensure there is an accurate account of their work. It went on to say that its members are dedicated to protecting Americans against terrorism, violent crime and other dangers, all without a political agenda.
Both letters and the report come mere days before the close of the 2022 midterm elections, touching on a handful of Republican hot button issues, including but not limited to: domestic violent extremism; allegations against President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden; and the FBI raid on former-President Trump’s home where agents seized classified documents, which have become the subject of an ongoing legal battle.
A report published by the Department of Homeland Security and FBI in October asserts that domestic violent extremists are one of the most persistent threats to the country. The report listed more than 30 incidents from 2020 and 2021 it categorized as significant cases of domestic terrorism incidents.
“These individuals are often radicalized online and look to conduct attacks with easily accessible weapons,” the report reads. “Many of these violent extremists are motivated and inspired by a mix of ideological, socio-political and personal grievances against their targets.”
Why is the FBI’s secondary use of the data troubling? Commentary on Goitein, M.D., S.E. Anderson, C.L. Brown, P.J. Fisher, et al
That authority is set to expire at the end of the year. The FBI’s secondary use of the data could inflame the debate about whether law enforcement agents can be trusted with such a tool.
Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s national security program at New York University School of Law, says that while troubling, the misuse was entirely predictable. “When the government is allowed to access Americans’ private communications without a warrant, that opens the door to surveillance based on race, religion, politics, or other impermissible factors,” she says.
