Justice Dept. faces allegations of First Amendment free speech, press violations in Project Veritas case
By jdheyes // 2022-04-14
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We have written for quite some time about how increasingly politicized and lawless the Justice Department and the FBI have become since the age of Barack Obama, and now, it appears as though the DoJ may have stepped over the line in a way that cannot be taken back. As reports noted in February the FBI launched what appeared to be a politically motivated probe into investigative journalism organization Project Veritas in regards to the alleged disappearance of a diary owned by Ashley Biden, daughter to President Joe Biden. In connection with that investigation, Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe announced that prosecutors from the Southern District of New York and the FBI raided the homes of some of the organization’s journalists for the horrendous “crime” of exposing corruption. Eventually, his own New York home was also raided. "The FBI raid is in connection to the publication of a diary thought to belong to Ashley Biden, in which the President’s daughter describes her resentment of Hunter and Joe. It’s believed that Project Veritas originally obtained the diary, parts of which were later published by conservative website National File," Big League Politics noted at the time. In light of these developments, noted Georgetown Law School Prof. Jonathan Turley noted in a post on his website that "[t]he use of the FBI in the case raises, again, the question of whether federal officials are being used to address a family scandal." In particular, the involvement of the Feds and the FBI in this manner raises serious constitutional issues regarding Project Veritas' First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of the press. In a subsequent column published by The Hill, Turley frames the issue this way: With smash and grabs raging across the country, prosecutors have struggled to assure the public that they are cracking down on the crime wave and using every possible means to deter the organized thefts. One group notably missing in this effort has been the federal prosecutors. While Attorney General Merrick Garland was criticized for launching a federal task force on threats against school boards (based on a handful of local cases), he has been largely silent on any federal effort to deal with this actual crime wave. That is despite the fact that these attacks are organized on social media and experts think it’s likely the stolen items are being sold on the internet. That is all interstate conduct and would allow for federal enforcement. There is, however, one allegedly stolen item that did bring a full-scale FBI investigation: the missing diary of Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden. All of which begs the question: Why are tens of thousands of dollars worth of purses stolen in major cities being considered just local matters while the alleged theft of one diary in Florida is a federal matter? While there are plenty of laws and other enforcement tools available to federal prosecutors, the FBI, and the Justice Department as a whole to go after the theft rings, instead, federal law enforcement authorities are being used to pursue the Biden diary, which is more than concerning, Turley writes. "I am more concerned that for over a year, the FBI has been conducting raids, issuing subpoenas, and questioning witnesses across the country — not in response to smash-and-grabs proliferating around the country, but for one woman’s missing diary," he wrote. "The investigation led to a rare raid on the home of a publisher, seizure of computers and cellphones, and the targeting of conservative figures. According to the New York Times, the investigation is looking into 'whether there was a criminal conspiracy among a handful of individuals to steal and publish the diary,'" Turley added. Even so, if the diary was valued at $5,000 or more -- a stretch at best -- Section 2314 of the National Stolen Property Act would apply. It criminalizes the transportation of stolen goods. Still, this is a federal matter? Hardly, but Turley has a theory: This is all about containing a political scandal. "The concern is whether the FBI is acting on a justified federal crime or acting like a type of Praetorian Guard for the First Family," he wrote, adding that federal officers -- Secret Service agents, to be exact -- were also used to retrieve a handgun Hunter Biden bought, but was thrown into a trash bin behind a grocery store in Delaware by Hallie Biden, the widow of Hunter's brother, Beau, with whom she was having a romantic relationship. Hunter Biden, who is a known drug abuser, is not legally allowed to have a firearm, so to get it, he had to have lied on his federal firearm form in response to a question about whether he'd ever abused drugs. Secret Service agents showed up and asked the gun store for the paperwork; it's still not clear why, Turley writes. The Bidens are likely dirtier than the Clintons, and that is saying something. Worse though, Biden is continuing to abuse Americans' trust by using federal law enforcement as his own personal political hit squad. Sources include: JonathanTurley.org NaturalNews.com
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