VICTOR JOECKS: Biden administration sics FBI on political opponents

You’re not paranoid if they really are out to get you. And there are ample examples of the Biden administration using the government to target its political opponents.

This month, the FBI raided the homes of journalists associated with Project Veritas, including its founder James O’Keefe. This federal investigation reportedly centers around a diary.

Yes, you read that right, a diary. Before the 2020 election, someone approached Project Veritas claiming to have one belonging to Ashley Biden, the president’s daughter. Per O’Keefe, “tipsters” said she had left the diary behind in a room she had stayed in. Project Veritas said it was interested. It eventually decided not to publish it, concerned about its authenticity.

It attempted to give the diary to Ashley Biden’s lawyer, but the attorney declined to take it. The group then gave it to law enforcement.

Project Veritas has long been a thorn in the side of the institutional left. It uses undercover operatives to videotape what progressives say when they think they’re among like-minded individuals. Its journalists have gone undercover in Democrat campaigns and have found evidence of voter fraud in several states. It has even released undercover videos exposing liberal bias among media outlets such as CNN.

As you might guess, it’s not too popular among Democrats or the national mainstream media.

But then most of those national mainstream media outlets weren’t popular with former President Donald Trump. That doesn’t give a presidential administration carte blanche to sic the FBI on them. Media organizations have special legal protections, too. For instance, they can’t be prosecuted for stolen materials they obtained legally. Think of all the leaked material published during the Trump administration.

Making matters worse, someone in the FBI appears to be leaking information. After the FBI seized O’Keefe’s phones, The New York Times reported on internal discussions Project Veritas had with its lawyers. That is privileged information. If someone in the FBI shared that, the government should bring charges.

It’s not just high-profile individuals who are facing the threat of government agents breathing down their necks. Last month, I told you about a letter from Attorney General Merrick Garland instructing federal personnel to work with local law enforcement on “threats” to school personnel. The genesis of that pronouncement was a letter from the National School Board Association bemoaning parents upset with policies such as critical race theory. Garland’s letter was a thinly veiled attempt to intimidate parents challenging the status quo.

When questioned by Congress last month, Garland said he couldn’t imagine complaining parents being “labeled as domestic terrorists.” But a DOJ whistleblower recently revealed a memo that suggests Garland was dishonest or incredibly evasive. The memo stated the “Counterterrorism and Criminal Divisions created a threat tag” for school-related incidents.

Upset parents aren’t a security threat. Treating them as such is a major scandal, even if the national mainstream media aren’t interested.

There are more examples. In a Wednesday letter, Biden accused oil and gas companies of “anti-consumer behavior” and requested an FTC investigation.

This didn’t begin with Biden either. During the Obama administration, the IRS targeted conservative groups.

Government officials are supposed to enforce the law, not use their power to harass the administration’s political opponents.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.