Vicky Arias, FISM News
In an effort to promote government transparency, American First Legal (AFL) has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) to compel them to release documents related to Biden administration political appointees.
The AFL, a non-profit organization that works to prevent government overreach, through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), requested records, including ethics pledges, salaries, names, titles, and positions, on Biden administration political appointees to more clearly understand who is working for the DOJ.
According to the lawsuit, the FOIA request was made by the AFL on July 12, 2021 but the information has still not been received from the DOJ.
Gene Hamilton, America First Legal Vice President and General Counsel, asserted that the Biden administration has weaponized the DOJ for political gain.
“As the Biden administration continues to weaponize the Department of Justice against law-abiding citizens who disagree with his political agenda, it’s crucial that the American people have transparency when it comes to who is actually doing Biden’s dirty work,” Hamilton stated. “We will continue to do everything in our power to hold the Biden administration accountable for violating the law and concealing these records.”
According to the AFL, “as the DOJ continues to become weaponized against the American people, it is more important than ever that the public know exactly who is planted throughout the Department to propel this anti-American agenda.”
The lawsuit contends that “questions remain about whether the individuals selected to lead various agencies have adequate qualifications … [and] that transparency must … include sufficient information to assure citizens that those leading our most powerful agencies are not influenced by conflicts of interest from previous experiences.”
Conservatives have criticized the DOJ, and other government agencies, for having a double standard of justice when investigating Democrats versus Republicans, saying the agencies deal with conservatives in a much harsher and more aggressive way.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, which is investigating the weaponization of government agencies for political gain.
In a Fox News report, Jordan explained the “double standard” in government agencies regarding the presidential mishandling of classified documents. Jordan asserts that Democrat presidents were treated lightly over the matter, while former Republican President Donald Trump’s home was raided.
“Clinton mishandles classified information, Biden mishandles classified information, and they get treated a certain way,” Jordan said in an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. “Then, of course, President Trump gets his home raided 91 days before [the 2022] midterm election” for being in possession of classified materials.
Jordan, during a Feb. 9, 2023 subcommittee hearing, stated in his opening remarks that FBI whistleblowers have come forward and cited political weaponization within the organization.
On “November 18, 2021, an FBI whistleblower disclose[d] to Republicans on the House Judiciary [Committee] that the FBI created a ‘threat tag’ for parents voicing their concerns at school board meetings,” Jordan stated. “[On] April 26, 2022, another FBI whistleblower disclose[d] that … FBI employees are being run out of the bureau for attending conservative political events.”
Jordan continued, saying that on
June 27, 2022, [an] FBI whistleblower disclose[d] that agents are pressured to reclassify cases as domestic violent extremism cases to hit self-created performance metrics … [and on] September 19, 2022, another FBI whistleblower disclose[d] that the Washington field office is deliberately manipulating Jan. 6 case files to make it appear that domestic violence extremism is on the rise. [That whistleblower] has been suspended.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) stated in 2022 that the political weaponization of federal government agencies began with President Barack Obama and is “profoundly dangerous.”
“Obama and Biden’s weaponization of the IRS, FBI, CIA, and DOJ is profoundly dangerous and it’s a fundamental threat to our liberty!” Cruz tweeted.
In a Fox News report, Cruz asserted that “now with Joe Biden as president, [the weaponization] has fully metastasized into the most political and the most abusive Department of Justice and law enforcement apparatus our country has ever seen.”