Jim Jordan: The FBI is treating parents as terrorist threats
The Republican Ohio representative slammed Biden's Attorney General Merrick Garland for either intentionally misleading Congress or being clueless about his Justice Department
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, took aim at Attorney General Merrick Garland during an appearance on Fox News’ "The Ingraham Angle" on Tuesday night.
Earlier in the day, Jordan revealed that an unnamed whistleblower had disclosed documents showing an FBI unit wanted agents to use counter-terrorism measures against parents who criticize local school boards. Specifically, the unit wanted agents to use a so-called "threat tag" – in this case "EDUOFFICIALS" – when tracking such incidents.
The leaked email was dated Oct. 20 – one day before Garland appeared on Capitol Hill and denied that any such activity was occurring. Host Laura Ingraham had kicked off the segment by showing video clips of Garland’s testimony from that day.
"The Justice Department supports and defends the First Amendment right of parents to complain as vociferously as they wish," Garland said in the first clip.
"The Justice Department supports and defends the First Amendment right of parents to complain as vociferously as they wish."
Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies at a House Judiciary Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 21, 2021. (Getty Images)
"I can’t imagine any circumstance in which the Patriot Act would be used in the circumstances of parents complaining about their children, nor can I imagine a circumstance where they would be labeled as domestic terrorism," Garland added in the second clip.
Jordan, responding to Ingraham’s questions, said there were only two possible conclusions to be drawn about Garland after comparing the attorney general’s testimony to the whistleblower’s disclosures.
"He either lied to us or he doesn’t know," Jordan said, referring to Garland. "Either one is bad for the country, bad for justice in America. As we speak the FBI is -- not maybe, is -- treating parents as a terrorist threat. And the attorney general came in front of the committee and said just the opposite.
"You just played the clip," Jordan continued. "He says, ‘I cannot imagine any circumstance where we treat parents like terrorists or we give them the label of domestic terrorists.’ But in fact, the day before … an email gets sent out to agents across this country saying just the opposite.
"They spy on parents, give them this ‘threat tag’ – categorize, label parents."
Jordan then said the idea of the FBI tracking American citizens sounded familiar from a past example.
"When I first read this memo, I thought this is no different than what the IRS did just a few years ago," Jordan said.
"Remember the ‘BOLO’ list? ‘Be on the lookout’ for these kind of organizations using these kind of words’? And they had a list of American citizens, just like the FBI is doing now."
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Jordan was referring to Obama-era allegations that the IRS was used as a political weapon to target tax-exempt conservative organizations. The Trump administration eventually settled lawsuits related to the scandal. Senate Republicans have since introduced legislation intended to help prevent similar incidents from occurring.
During Tuesday night’s interview, Jordan said the oversight panel would need to invite Garland back to Capitol Hill to ask him about the leaked documents.
"So, he either didn’t know – which is terrible – or he misled the committee when he came in front of us," Jordan told Ingraham, "and we need to have him back [before the committee], plain and simple."
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this story.