House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee found the Biden administration had “no legitimate basis” for deploying counterterrorism resources against concerned parents who showed up at school board meetings, a Tuesday report concluded.
The House Judiciary Committee published the interim staff report with the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, accusing Attorney General Merrick Garland of colluding with left-wing interests to intimidate parents.
“It appears, from these documents and the information received previously,” read the report, “that the Administration’s actions were a political offensive meant to quell swelling discord over controversial education curricula and unpopular school board decisions.”
Republicans on the Judiciary Committee led by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan launched an investigation into the Department of Justice (DOJ) days after the attorney general issued an October 2021 memorandum directing the FBI to label activist parents with “threat tags.” Garland’s guidance came five days after the White House approved recommendations from the National School Board Association (NSBA) that encouraged using counterterrorism measures against parents who spoke up at meetings. The letter itself was commissioned by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona as parental rights in education became a focal point in the competitive Virginia gubernatorial contest.
“The NSBA shared the draft language of its letter with the White House, which apparently raised no concerns with the reference to counterterrorism tools of the inclusion of the Patriot Act in the letter,” the Judiciary report read.
Garland established a task force in response, including agencies responsible for enforcing counterterrorism statutes. The attorney
