House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., told the Washington Examiner that the select committee investigating the weaponization of government "absolutely" is prepared to issue subpoenas to expose "corruption."
Stefanik, a member of the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, said Republicans will use subpoenas to compel documents and testimony as they demand transparency from the Biden administration, the Examiner reported.
"Absolutely," Stefanik told the Examiner after being asked about using subpoenas. "I anticipate there will be subpoenas, not just from this select subcommittee but from many of the agencies that have refused to comply with document requests.
"We will fight for transparency and accountability and shining sunlight on the corruption in these federal agencies, and it is telling that already the Democrats and the Biden administration and Joe Biden himself are trying to stonewall our efforts to access information. These agencies work for the American people, not the other way around."
The select committee's investigations will include the Department of Justice's efforts to criminalize protesters at school board meetings and labeling parents as domestic terrorists.
"You're talking about the federal government targeting parents who are asking valid questions about their kids' education, including violent acts committed against their kids in schools," Stefanik told the Examiner. "It is government weaponization at its worst, and that's why we're focused on getting to the truth."
Republican members of the panel held their first closed-door meeting Friday, the Examiner reported.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who also chairs the weaponization panel, sent letters demanding information and testimony for investigations that include the targeting of parent protesters at school boards.
In October, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo deploying the FBI to investigate threats against school boards. He continued to defend the memo despite the National School Boards Association withdrawing its letter asking the DOJ to investigate threats against school board members that likened parent protesters to domestic terrorists.
"That is the appropriate role of the Department of Justice to make sure that we are addressing criminal conduct and violence," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said of Garland's memo.
Republicans seek to further expose ties between the DOJ and the White House on the NSBA letter.
"Sunshine is the first step," Stefanik told the Examiner. "Obviously, legislative reforms in our role in Congress will follow and also accountability for officials who committed those illegal acts."
Jordan's letters also included investigations on the politicization of the Department of Justice and FBI; and Nina Jankowicz, former head of the Department of Homeland Security's Disinformation Governance Board, the Examiner reported.