For once, there is reason to believe that the lawless special agents at the FBI and the politicized lawyers at the Justice Department may pull in their horns a bit and become less abusive of the rights of Americans — at least for a while. Why? Because there is a new Sheriff in town. In the nation’s capital, where bureaucrats have been immune from accountability, things may be about to change.
The new GOP House majority moved quickly to implement promises made by Speaker McCarthy to investigate a myriad of abuses by the Department of Justice (DOJ), the FBI, and other federal agencies. On January 10, 2023, the House approved the creation of the “Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government” under the Judiciary Committee. Established as a Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, this new investigatory body is patterned after a Senate Committee established in 1975 to investigate abuses by these same Deep State agencies that was chaired by liberal Senator Frank Church (D-ID).
The new Subcommittee’s membership of nine Republicans and six Democrats has not yet been chosen, but it will be appointed by Judiciary Committee Chairman Constitutionalist Jim Jordan (OH). Chairman Jordan will choose the Subcommittee’s Republican members from a list of other Constitutional stalwarts serving on the Judiciary Committee, including Ken Buck (CO), Matt Gaetz (FL), Mike Johnson (LA), Andy Biggs (AZ), Tom Massie (KY), Chip Roy (TX), and Dan Bishop (NC). Several of these members of the House Judiciary Committee are the very same members of the House Freedom Caucus who demanded the Committee be created as a concession from incoming Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Reports have circulated that the Subcommittee will be chaired by Judiciary Chairman Jordan himself.
Jordan’s floor statement held back nothing in assailing Deep State Agencies: “Your right to practice your faith, your right to assemble, right to petition the government, freedom of the press, freedom of speech. Every single one’s been attacked in the last two years.”
H. Res. 12 establishes the Committee and gives it a broad investigative scope, including:
how executive branch agencies work with…non-profit entities, or other government agencies to facilitate action against American citizens, including the extent, if any, to which illegal or improper, unconstitutional, or unethical activities were engaged in by the executive branch or private sector against citizens of the United States…how executive branch agencies collect, compile, analyze, use, or disseminate information about citizens of the United States…[and] any other issues related to the violation of the civil liberties of citizens of the United States…
The text of the resolution would also grant Mr. Jordan’s panel the power to receive the same highly classified information that intelligence agencies make available to their oversight committee, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Intelligence Committee members have access to some of the most sensitive secrets in the government, including information about covert actions, which are not shared with other lawmakers.
The Subcommittee will face determined opposition by those who want to protect the Deep State from public exposure of its illegal and unconstitutional activities. As journalist Glenn Greenwald puts it: “A core plank of the Dem Party is unifying state and corporate power to censor their adversaries and critics from the internet. But an equally high priority is to shield the US Security State from investigative scrutiny because they perceive – accurately – they’re their allies.”
The manners in which the Subcommittee will operate are not yet set, but they will likely determine how successful it will be. Will the Subcommittee hearings be held in secret, with only occasional press statements being made by its members? Or will the hearings be made public so that Americans can see over a period of months the depth of the corruption? Will witnesses have immunity from prosecution for their testimony? Will witnesses who perjure themselves be held accountable? How will Congress hold three-letter agencies accountable for implementing reforms? Will any of these agencies that have been lawless since their creation be abolished?
The concept is excellent, and the right people seem to be in place. The American people must now support these efforts to reveal the true depth of the Deep State swamp, and then implement a workable plan to drain it!
