Republican California Rep. Kevin Kiley asked FBI Director Christopher Wray point-blank if he will apologize for a memorandum targeting parents attending school board meetings at the House Weaponization Committee hearing Wednesday.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memorandum to Wray and two senior Justice Department attorneys in October 2021 following a request from the National School Board Association (NSBA) that the administration consider “acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials” adjacent to “domestic terrorism.” The FBI launched 25 assessments against parents after many allegedly endured harassment and threats.
Republican California Rep. Kevin Kiley told Wray about the Biden administration’s effort as it “mobilized the sweeping powers of federal law enforcement” to “target the parents” fighting against the treatment of their children as schools reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic. He questioned the lead-up to the memo and whether there had actually been any evidence of increased violence towards school officials.
“Director Wray, did Attorney General Garland consult with you or the FBI before issuing that memorandum?” Kiley asked.
“I can’t get into discussions that did or, maybe more importantly, did not happen between the FBI and the department in advance of the—” Wray responded.
“Why do you say, ‘more importantly did not?'” the representative asked.
“Well, because I will say to you the same thing that I said to all 56 of our field offices as soon as I read the memo, which is that the FBI is not in the business of investigating or policing speech at school board meetings, or anywhere else for that matter, and we’re not gonna start now. Now, violence, threats of violence, that’s a different matter.”
Wray said he was not aware of any evidence of an uptick in violence or threats towards school officials from parents after Kiley read a letter sent from Wray to acting Assisting Director Christopher Dunham in March saying the FBI “did not observe an uptick of threats directed at school officials.” (RELATED: ‘The American People Are Losing Count’: GOP Rep. Mike Johnson Rattles Off FBI Scandals Right To Director’s Face)
Wray said there was no uptick and that the FBI did not federally charge any parent attending a school board meeting.
The committee concluded that the Justice Department found there was “no compelling nationwide law enforcement justification” for the memo. Wray told Kiley he found no reason to dispute that finding.
“So, we had an investigation of parents, we had a sweeping mobilization of federal power against the most protected, core First Amendment activity: the right of citizens to speak and petition their government on the most important of issues — the education of their children,” Kiley said. “And you are telling me that the entire basis for that, there was no evidence to support it?”
Wray said the FBI did not investigate “people for exercising their rights.”
“Will you apologize for the FBI’s own role?” Kiley asked.
“I think the FBI conducted itself the way it should here, which is that we’ve considered to continue to follow our longstanding rules and have not changed anything in response to that,” Wray said.
Wray refused to comment on whether Garland should apologize for the memo.