House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan sent out the first subpoenas of the new Republican majority to Biden administration officials on Friday, Politico reported.
The Ohio Republican is targeting documents related to how the FBI treated parents in the wake of alleged threats against school officials during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Attorney General Merrick Garland detailed the "disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence" in a 2021 memorandum encouraging coordination with local law enforcement.
"The Department takes these incidents seriously and is committed to using its authority and resources to discourage these threats, identify them when they occur, and prosecute them when appropriate," Garland wrote.
Republicans panned the FBI response as excessive at the time, despite the Justice Department claiming its directive was not intended to "silence those with particular views about COVID-related policies, school curricula, or other topics of public discussion."
Now those same Republicans are in control of top House panels, with Jordan dishing out demands that Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona produce records on the initiative by March 1.
Jordan is requesting any correspondence between DOJ employees and the National School Boards Association, any further guidance that stemmed from Garland's memorandum, and details regarding the attempted prosecution of any parents.
The subpoenas come despite the Biden administration reportedly working behind the scenes with Jordan to produce documentation, with a Jan. 20 letter obtained by Politico showing that the Justice Department offered "staff-level meetings."
Jordan previously signaled in January letters to Wray, Garland, Cardona, and others that he would use subpoenas if they did not comply with his initial requests for all related files.
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