The Oct. 12 NSBA memo raises serious questions about whether the White House ordered Attorney General Merrick Garland to have the FBI investigate confrontations and other incidents at local school board meetings across the US.
The memo, made public Thursday by the group Parents Defending Education, detailed at least one specific meeting with White House staff on Sept. 14, just over two weeks before the NSBA sent their letter to President Biden.
In his own memorandum, Garland announced the FBI would take the lead in investigating what he called “a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff.”
His order has since received massive criticism from parents and Republican lawmakers who claim it targets parents voicing concerns about the implementation of mask mandates and critical race theory in schools, given the language used in the NSBA’s letter.
The attorney general was urged to recall it again during an Oct. 27 hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee just days later.
“So last week, the organization disavowed it, sent you and the White House, based your memo on this delegitimize letter. I assume you’re going to revoke your extremely divisive memo that you said was instigated because of that letter. That’s a question,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said to Garland.
“Senator, the memo — which I refer to as one page — that responds to concerns about violence, threats of violence, other criminal conduct,” Garland responded. “That’s all it’s about and all it asks is for federal law enforcement to consult with, meet with local law enforcement to assess the circumstances, strategize about what may or may not be necessary to provide federal assistance if it is necessary.”
nypost.com/2021/11/11/white-house-engaged-with-nsba-before-domestic-terror-letter-memo/