FGA-Backed Case Achieves Major Victory in Federal Court Against Biden’s Weaponized Department of Justice
- BY FGA
NAPLES, FL – Today, the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) praised a federal court ruling which blocks the Department of Justice (DOJ) attempts to stifle protected speech and bully a political enemy into silence.
On August 9, 2022, in the Alabama-based case, Boe, et al. v. Marshall, et al., DOJ subpoenaed five and a half years of private, constitutionally protected information from Eagle Forum of Alabama (EFA), a small, non-profit group which advocated for the law change at the center of the case. Given the overly broad and invasive nature of the order, EFA filed a motion to quash the subpoenas in an effort to protect the exercise of First Amendment rights against targeted attacks from the federal government. Today, the court ruled in EFA’s favor and quashed the DOJ subpoenas.
The court’s order stated, “…the Government’s eleventh-hour ‘narrowing’ of the requested material suggests that the subpoenas, as written, are overly broad and unduly burdensome given the limited resources of the nonparties. Considering the relevance (or lack thereof) of the requested material, the burden of production, the nonparties’ resources, and the Government’s own conduct, the Court finds that the subpoenas exceed the scope of discovery.”
“FGA recognizes the terrible threat a weaponized DOJ poses to the First Amendment rights of every American—especially those whose political views differ from the Biden administration—and that’s why we fought back,” said FGA CEO and President Tarren Bragdon. “This is a massive victory against bullying and attempts to suppress speech. Unless freedom-loving Americans continue to stand up, we risk losing our ability to freely express our deeply held beliefs. In this case, we fought back, and we won.”
On September 20, 2022, FGA joined a coalition of groups and individuals in filing an amici curiae legal brief in support of the First Amendment rights of the Eagle Forum of Alabama. Among the signers were several members of the Alabama congressional delegation including Rep. Robert B. Aderholt, Rep. Mo Brooks, Rep. Jerry L. Carl, Rep. Barry Moore, Rep. Gary Palmer, Rep. Mike Rogers, and members of the Alabama Legislature including Sen. T. Christopher Elliott, Sen. J.T. “Jabo” Waggoner, Rep. Chip Brown, Rep. Arnold Mooney, Rep. Matt Simpson, and Rep. Tim R. Wadsworth. FGA finds the DOJ subpoena targeting this non-profit group to constitute a clear-cut example of executive branch bullying aimed at chilling the free speech rights of all groups that oppose the administration on important policy issues and is proud to stand up against this despicable action by DOJ.
The full list of amicus signatories include:
Advancing American Freedom, Inc.
Alabama Center for Law and Liberty
America First Legal Foundation
American Family Association, Inc.
Americans United for Life
The Buckeye Institute
Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy
Center for Arizona Policy
Center for Family and Human Rights
Citizens United
Citizens United Foundation
The Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternative
Concerned Women for America
Faith & Freedom Coalition
The Family Action Council of Tennessee, Inc.
The Foundation for Government Accountability
Foundation for Moral Law
Frontline Policy Council
Independent Women’s Forum
John Locke Foundation
Judicial Watch, Inc.
The Liberty Justice Center
Louisiana Family Forum
Manhattan Institute
Michigan Family Forum
Mountain States Legal Foundation
The National Right to Work Committee
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Parental Rights Foundation
Pennsylvania Family Council
Private Citizen
Protect Our Kids
Public Interest Legal Foundation
The Religious RoundTable, Inc.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America
Tea Party Patriots Action, Inc.
Tennessee Eagle Forum
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Congressman Robert B. Aderholt
Congressman Mo Brooks
Congressman Jerry L. Carl
Congressman Barry Moore
Congressman Gary Palmer
Congressman Mike Rogers
Alabama Sen. T. Christopher Elliott
Alabama Sen. J.T. “Jabo” Waggoner
Alabama Rep. Chip Brown
Alabama Rep. Arnold Mooney
Alabama Rep. Matt Simpson
Alabama Rep. Tim R. Wadsworth
Caroline M. Aderholt
Allen Mendenhall
Hans von Spakovsky
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The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) is a non-profit, multi-state think tank that promotes public policy solutions to create opportunities for every American to experience the American Dream. To learn more, visit TheFGA.org.
