FIRST ON FOX: A conservative legal group revealed a tranche of correspondence on Friday from the Biden administration's Department of Justice (DOJ) shedding new light on the behind-the-scenes discussions about a controversial directive former Attorney General Merrick Garland gave about school boards.
The document dump included an email from a deputy attorney general aide that said the DOJ was searching for a "federal hook" to use to address a letter by the National School Boards Association (NSBA) raising alarm about parents who were, at the time, expressing outrage at school board meetings across the country over COVID-19 mandates, critical race theory, and transgender policies.
"We’re aware; the challenge here is finding a federal hook. But WH has been in touch about whether we can assist in some form or fashion," deputy attorney general aide Kevin Chambers wrote to a colleague on Oct. 1.
Garland issued a directive to the FBI in October 2021 about a "disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence" against school administrators.
Garland said during a congressional hearing soon thereafter that he had issued the order just after the NSBA sent a letter to the White House, which the NSBA later retracted, that had asked the White House to investigate parents displaying threatening behavior at school board meetings as possible "domestic terrorists."
The emails were uncovered by America First Legal, a conservative group aligned with President Donald Trump.
The organization's president, Gene Hamilton, said in a statement that the emails revealed a "conspiracy that was ultimately aimed at depriving parents of two fundamental rights--the right to speak, and the right to direct the upbringing up their children."
The revelation comes as the White House has changed its posture during the Trump administration to overtly coordinate with the DOJ, including to investigate the president’s political opponents. Trump signed executive orders in April directing the DOJ to investigate former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor and former cybersecurity official Christopher Krebs. Fox News Digital reported this week that the White House counsel’s office is coordinating with the DOJ to investigate Biden’s use of an autopen.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-doj-white-house-coordinated-controversial-school-boards-memo-documents-reveal
