GOP puts FBI on notice over 'targeting of concerned parents' at school board meetings
WASHINGTON (CITC) — House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is escalating demands for transparency surrounding the FBI's alleged "targeting of concerned parents" at school board meetings, threatening the agency's leader with contempt if details are not produced.
Jordan sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray Monday condemning the agency's "wholly inadequate" compliance with two subpoenas issued earlier this year. A subpoena issued in February by the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee sought documents related to an October 2021 memorandum directing federal law enforcement to investigate "a disturbing spike in harassment" at school board meetings nationwide.
The memorandum, issued by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, followed a since-retracted National School Boards Association (NSBA) letter describing parents' actions at such meeting as "domestic terrorism" and "hate crimes."
Jordan alleges the FBI has since failed to provide all relevant documents, including an October 2021 email to President Joe Biden "that was the impetus for the Attorney General's memorandum." He says the FBI "committed" to producing the email, along with others, during both an interview and "informal discussions."
"There remain open questions about how the FBI quickly operationalized the Attorney General's directive, and whether the Bureau objected to the civil liberties concerns inherent in the Attorney General's memorandum," Jordan wrote. "The Committee has provided the FBI with ample time to provide answers to these questions, yet the FBI continues to be unresponsive."
At a House Judiciary Committee hearing last week, Wray said that the FBI, to his knowledge, "has not opened investigations on any parent for exercising speech at school."
Jordan is also demanding full compliance with an April subpoena related to a since-withdrawn January 2023 memo from the FBI's field office in Richmond, Virginia. Jordan says the memo linked "racially or ethically motivated violent extremists" with "a radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology."
Monday's letter states that the House Judiciary Committee is looking for the FBI to "substantially improve its compliance" with both subpoenas by July 25, and the committee will "take action, such as the invocation of contempt of Congress proceedings" if it believes that deadline is not met.
“The FBI recognizes the importance of congressional oversight and remains fully committed to cooperating with Congress’s oversight requests consistent with its constitutional and statutory responsibilities," a spokesperson for the FBI told Crisis in the Classroom (CITC).
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House Republicans are currently weighing an additional contempt vote against Wray following a Wednesday testimony regarding several ongoing investigations, including that of Hunter Biden. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., says Wray failed to provide answers "about unlawful surveillance of Americans and political capture at the FBI."
CITC reached out to Jordan for further comment, but did not receive a response prior to publication. This story will be updated if a response is received.