Correspondence between the House Judiciary Republicans and the FBI: What Their Disclosures Indicate About the Politicization of the FBI And Justice Department
Jordan sent a letter to the DOJ and the FBI requesting documents related to the committee investigations in the future. The report, titled FBI Whistleblowers: What Their Disclosures Indicate About the Politicization of the FBI And Justice Department, alleges political corruption at the highest levels of the FBI, according to a House Judiciary Republicans press release. Republicans assert in the report that whistleblowers have brought to their attention, “allegations of political bias by the FBI’s senior leadership and misuses 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.
NPR asked the FBI about the report and letter and they said they have to testify to Congress to make sure there is an accurate account of their work. It claimed that its members are devoted to protecting Americans from terrorism and other dangers 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.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security recently released a report stating that domestic violent extremists are one of the nation’s most persistent threats. The report listed more than 30 incidents from 2020 and 2021 it categorized as significant cases of domestic terrorism incidents.
The report says that these individuals are radicalized online and look to conduct attacks with easily accessible weapons. “Many of these violent extremists are motivated and inspired by a mixture of ideological, socio-political and personal grievances against their targets.”
The FBI and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: Why FISA should be used improperly in domestic e-mail crimes
The FBI failed to comply with restrictions on the use of foreign intel in domestic crimes, making it extremely difficult for the US intelligence community. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the so-called crown jewel of US intelligence, grants the government the ability to intercept the electronic communications of overseas targets who are unprotected by the Fourth Amendment.
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.