Among the dubious foundations for investigative work by the House GOP is outrage over talk from the Justice Department about working against threats to people involved in education like members of school boards and teachers.
In tandem with the work of a special panel established in this new Congress for examining the so-called weaponization of the federal government, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who chairs the body, has issued a series of new subpoenas demanding documents from officials at the Justice Department, FBI, and Department of Education related to the federal push to stop violent threats — and what would also include actually violent action. There is no indication that there was some kind of federal conspiracy to thwart the free speech of parents or others expressing their opinions at school meetings and those of local governing bodies, and ignoring the fact that officials in the Justice Department specifically singled out those responsible for the threat of violence is just profoundly disingenuous.
A federal judge also concluded that a challenged memo from Attorney General Merrick Garland about steps to address the situation didn’t even constitute the kind of substantive policy some insinuated. “We are nearly a month into this new Congress and House Republicans have issued more partisan subpoenas than passed bills to create jobs, fight inflation or lower costs for American families,” Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-V.I.), who is the top Democrat on Jordan’s panel against so-called weaponization, said. “The conspiracy theories underpinning today’s subpoenas have been debunked with facts time and time again, but Republicans do not want to be bothered by this inconvenient truth. There is no amount of documents that will satisfy the MAGA obsession with conspiracies.”
“The Department of Justice has been working with Chairman Jordan and his staff in good faith to be responsive where they can (unlike Republican members who ignore subpoenas),” Plaskett continued. “It seems clear however, that Mr. Jordan is not interested in working cooperatively and has instead resorted to publicity-seeking stunts. While I am disappointed that Republicans have resorted to this type of aggressive arm-twisting and performative politics, I am confident that what they have asked for will once again disprove this tired right-wing theory. I and the Democratic members of the Subcommittee are ready to work on evidence-based inquiries, not wild conspiracy theories.”
The national conversation about the seriousness of threats against people involved in education emerged amid outrage from many on the Right about steps taken against COVID-19 in and around schools, where since the emergence of the virus many protective measures have been pursued, like masking (when students are even present). The legal dispute directly over the memo in which a federal judge ruled against plaintiffs was from a group of parents. “The alleged AG Policy is not regulatory, proscriptive, or compulsory in nature because it does not impose any regulations, requirements, or enforcement actions on individuals,” federal Judge Dabney Friedrich, who was picked for the bench by Trump himself, said last September. “None of the documents that the plaintiffs allege establish the policy create an imminent threat of future legal actions against anyone, much less the plaintiffs.” That’s succinct!
