House Approves Formation of ‘Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government’

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted to launch an expansive investigation into federal law enforcement and national security agencies, The New York Times reports.

Republicans, who now have the majority, have pledged to examine what they perceive as a concerted effort by the government to silence and punish conservatives, from protesters at school board meetings to former President Trump.

In a party-line vote of 221-211, with all Democrats opposed, the House approved the formation of the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.

The subcommittee will be chaired by Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), the incoming chairman of the Judiciary Committee and a staunch ally of Trump.

Rep. Jordan has been investigating the alleged bias in federal law enforcement against conservatives for months.

With Republicans now in the majority, he intends to use his subpoena power to escalate and expand this inquiry, including searching for evidence of politicization among federal workers and demanding documents about ongoing criminal investigations.

In a floor speech, Jordan said that his goal was not to target Democrats or law enforcement officers who have scrutinized Trump’s behavior.

He stated his interest was solely in “protecting the First Amendment” at a time when he believes the right is being unfairly targeted.

“We don’t have any intentions to go after anyone,” Jordan said. “We just want it to stop.”

The subcommittee has such broad reach that it appears poised to become a main instrument for Republicans to challenge the Biden administration, potentially leading to conflicts over access to highly classified information and the details of criminal inquiries.

The subcommittee will have the open-ended jurisdiction to scrutinize any issue related to civil liberties or to examine how any agency of the federal government has collected, analyzed, and used information about Americans, according to The Times.

It also has the authority to obtain some of the most sensitive secrets in the government, including information about covert actions that is usually the exclusive territory of the congressional intelligence committees.

Republicans have modeled the new subcommittee after the well-respected Church Committee, referring to a 1970s investigation by Senator Frank Church, Democrat of Idaho, that uncovered decades of intelligence and civil liberties abuses, including the surveilling of civil rights groups.

Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma, said in endorsing the legislation on the floor, “It is undeniable that in recent years, the executive branch of the federal government has abused its authority and violated the civil liberties of American citizens often for political purposes.”

The resolution appears to grant Jordan the authority to issue subpoenas to the Justice Department for information about the special counsel inquiry into Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents, along with other politically charged matters such as an open tax investigation into President Biden’s son Hunter Biden, The Times notes.

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