Jordan warns FBI Director Wray of contempt for ‘targeting’ parents, Catholics.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Threatens Contempt of Congress for FBI Director
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has issued a strong warning to FBI Director Christopher Wray. Jordan threatens to hold Wray in contempt of Congress if the bureau fails to comply with two subpoenas related to its alleged targeting of concerned parents and Catholics.
In a letter dated July 17, Jordan expressed his dissatisfaction with the FBI’s response to the subpoenas, which he deemed “wholly inadequate.” He believes that this inadequate response has hindered the committee’s oversight efforts.
“Of particular interest to the Committee is the FBI’s weaponization of its law-enforcement powers against Americans who exercise their First Amendment rights,” wrote Jordan (pdf).
Subpoenas and Lack of Compliance
The first subpoena, issued on Feb. 3, requested documents and information regarding the “FBI’s targeting of concerned parents who speak out at school board meetings.”
The second subpoena, issued on April 10, focused on the ”FBI’s profiling of traditional Catholics as domestic extremists.”
“To date, the FBI’s compliance with these subpoenas has been wholly inadequate and has materially impeded the Committee’s oversight efforts,” stated Jordan.
“After several accommodations, months of persistent outreach by the Committee, and attempts to negotiate and work with the FBI in good faith, we write to notify you that if the FBI does not improve its compliance substantially, the Committee will take action—such as the initiation of contempt of Congress proceedings—to obtain compliance with these subpoenas.”
The deadline for the FBI to provide the requested documents is set for July 25 at 12 p.m.
A waits in line while holding a sign with parents gathered to express their concerns over mandatory vaccine mandates for their children at the Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School District building in Placentia, Calif., on Oct. 12, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
The committee has already received some documents from the FBI, but believes that there are additional materials still not provided.
“The FBI’s productions to date have not included material the Committee knows is, or has reason to believe may be, in the FBI’s possession and that is responsive to the subpoena,” wrote Jordan.
One specific record the committee wants is an email that might shed light on the connection between the National School Boards Association’s (NSBA’s) 2021 letter to President Joe Biden and the FBI’s focus on alleged threats made by vocal parents at school board meetings.
“America’s public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat,” the NSBA wrote in the 2021 letter to Mr. Biden. The letter asked for federal law enforcement support, as school board members faced parents expressing concerns about COVID-19 masking and the teaching of critical race theory.
The association later apologized for the letter.
FBI Did Not ‘Sufficiently Comply’
The subpoenas were initially issued in response to a memo from Attorney General Merrick Garland.
