Trio of top Biden officials hit with subpoenas by House Judiciary over targeting of parents

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) announced Friday that his panel has subpoenaed a trio of top Biden administration officials over the alleged targeting of parents at school board meetings. 

“Today’s subpoenas require Attorney General [Merrick] Garland, FBI Director [Christopher] Wray, and Education Secretary [Miguel] Cardona to turn over all documents by March 1, 2023,” a press release by the committee read. 

Jordan is demanding that Garland, Wray, and Cardona turn over all documents related to the Justice Department’s alleged “misuse of federal criminal and counterterrorism resources,” according to the subpoena, reviewed by Fox News Digital.

“Since October 2021, Judiciary Committee Republicans have sent over one hundred letters to Biden administration officials requesting answers about how the administration used federal counterterrorism resources against American parents,” the committee said in a press release.

“Whistleblowers have disclosed how, shortly after Attorney General Garland formally directed the FBI to take action, the FBI’s Counterterrorism and Criminal Divisions created a specific threat tag for school board-related threats and even opened investigations into parents simply for speaking out on behalf of their children,” the panel’s statement continues.

“The Attorney General’s directive followed a letter from the National School Boards Association to President Biden, urging him to weaponize the Patriot Act against parents. Emails later showed how the Biden White House had advance knowledge of this letter and its contents and raised no objection,” the committee claims. 

The impetus for the Judiciary Committee’s investigation stems from an Oct. 4, 2021, memo sent by Garland tasking the FBI to collaborate with U.S. attorneys and local law enforcement authorities to probe potential threats from parents at school board meetings.

The memo came at a time when parents across the county were protesting allegations of critical race theory being taught in the classroom and school COVID-19 mitigation policies. 

“In recent months, there has been a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff who participate in the vital work of running our nation’s public schools. While spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution, that protection does not extend to threats of violence,” the memo read.

Garland’s missive came after the National School Boards Association sent a letter to him outlining disruptive behavior taking place at school board meetings and demanding for aggressive measures to be taken by government agencies.

The NSBA later withdrew the letter and apologized. 

Wray’s subpoena also asks for documents related to the DOJ task force assigned to identify school board threats and the FBI’s role on that task force.

The FBI told The Post on Friday that the bureau is not “in the business of investigating speech or policing speech at school board meetings” but that it is “fully committed to cooperating with Congress’s oversight requests.”

“As Director Wray and other FBI officials have stated clearly on numerous occasions before Congress and elsewhere, the FBI has never been in the business of investigating speech or policing speech at school board meetings or anywhere else, and we never will be. Our focus is and always will be on protecting people from violence and threats of violence,” the FBI said in a statement to The Post. 

“We are fully committed to preserving and protecting First Amendment rights including the right to free speech. Attempts to further any political narrative will not change those facts. The FBI recognizes the importance of congressional oversight and remains fully committed to cooperating with Congress’s oversight requests consistent with its constitutional and statutory responsibilities. The FBI is actively working to respond to congressional requests for information – including voluntary production of documents,” the bureau added.