WASHINGTON (ChurchMilitant.com) – President Biden’s Department of Justice is once again being weaponized against the American people, possibly in an attempt to create election interference.
The DOJ teamed up with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday in a move critics fear could result in First Amendment violations and political weaponization.
FEC Commissioner Trey Trainor
“I’m concerned that this memorandum only exasperates the growing trend in America to criminalize the participation of Americans in the political process,” FEC Commissioner Trey Trainor remarked in an April FEC meeting.
“We have seen campaign finance reports used as a weapon to go after donors to candidates, to causes, both criminally and civilly,” he added.
Trainor was the lone dissenter of the agreement, calling it “a grievous affront to the First Amendment.”
The FEC is an independent regulatory agency established in 1974 to oversee finances for federal elections and regulate election finance laws. It voted 5–1 in favor of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between itself and the DOJ that would allow sharing of information between the two agencies.
This is the first new MOU between the two government entities since 1977, although FEC Vice Chair Sean Cooksey claimed the new agreement serves a “transparency function” of the current dynamic already existing between the FEC and DOJ.
FEC Vice Chair Sean Cooksey
“The old MOU does not really reflect the current state of affairs. To a large extent, what this new MOU is doing is not so much changing the dynamic between the FEC and DOJ, but it’s actually codifying what’s already been going on,” declared Cooksey at the FEC’s April meeting.
Worsening FEC Investigations, Outcomes
Trainor warned that the memorandum “would allow the Department of Justice access to information before the Commission has completed an administrative prosecution — could cut off access to conciliation agreement defenses and the controlling sentencing guidelines.”
According to its website, the FEC has “exclusive jurisdiction over the civil enforcement of the federal campaign finance law.” If a candidate or supporter knowingly or unknowingly breaks a campaign finance law, it is the FEC’s duty to investigate the situation.
The remedy for the issue could be a fine, reimbursement or other means in order to uphold the law. If a “knowing and willful” criminal violation has been or is in the process of being committed, the FEC shares that information with the attorney general so the DOJ can undergo a criminal investigation.
With the new agreement, the DOJ could request for any reason information it would not otherwise have been sent.
When the DOJ conducts a criminal investigation into a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act, an FEC inquiry into the accused is put on hold until after the DOJ’s entire process has been completed, which could take years.
Suspects are left in the dark, as the FEC is not allowed to relay to them that their review has stalled and that they are now being probed by the DOJ. In some cases, the statute of limitations on FEC inquisitions is passed by the time the DOJ finishes its case.
Trainor notes the DOJ has used its power to halt approximately 40 FEC investigations in the past five years. But the DOJ’s intervention could result in much harsher sentencing for a suspect than if the accused had been able to complete the FEC civil process first, before being criminally charged.
Weapon of Targeted Destruction?
There is also concern about the DOJ purposely casting a bad light on candidates by using probes against them.
Without specifying a reason, the DOJ could announce it is criminally investigating any candidate, rendering that person’s campaign more difficult and voters unduly suspicious.
“The campaign finance system will continue to be used to hunt down those who we disagree with politically, and the agency itself will continue to be a tool of those looking to harm their political and ideological opponents,” Trainor warned colleagues.
While there are different laws on how much can be spent and on what, donating money to campaigns and campaign expenditures fall under the First Amendment. The DOJ having unnecessary and potentially unlimited access to campaign finances without probable cause for a criminal investigation could infringe upon the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans.
The Federalist’s John Davidson
Another critic, The Federalist’s John Davidson, is deeply suspicious of the DOJ under President Biden.
“It’s become painfully obvious over the past year that the Justice Department under Attorney General Merrick Garland has been weaponized and politicized to the point that it represents an active threat to the rule of law and the separation of powers,” Davidson asserts.
In 2021, Garland released a memo ordering a collaboration between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and federal law enforcement authorities to target parents pushing back against critical race theory or mask mandates in their children’s school systems.
The DOJ under Biden also did nothing in May 2022 when U.S. Supreme Court justices were threatened with violence and harassed when draft court documents were leaked, suggesting the high court might overturn Roe v. Wade.
In September 2022, heavily-armed FBI agents stormed the home of pro-life activist Mark Houck. An abortion activist claimed Houck shoved him to the ground outside of a Pennsylvania abortion mill. Houck was found innocent in January.