House Judiciary Republicans launch probe into National School Boards Association communications with DOJ

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Senate Committee questions Attorney General

Congressional correspondent Aishah Hasnie discusses the backlash Merrick Garland is facing from Senate Republicans on ‘Special Report’.

Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday requested the assistance of the National School Boards Association (NSBA) for their probe into what they called "troubling attempts" by the White House and the Justice Department to target parents.

"We are investigating the troubling attempts by the Department of Justice and the White House to use the heavy hand of federal law enforcement to target concerned parents at local school board meetings and chill their protected First Amendment activity," began the letter, which was signed by 19 members of Congress and addressed to NSBA president Viola Garcia and other officers of the organization's board of directors.

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., holds photos from the Jan. 6, attack on the Capitol as he questions Attorney General Merrick Garland during a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing of the Department of Justice on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)

The House Judiciary members mentioned the Sept. 29 letter that the NSBA sent asking the Biden administration to review threats and violence against education administrators and schools to determine if they violate the Patriot Act and hate crime laws. The letter said that some "acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials" could amount to domestic terrorism.

The request came amid clashes between angry parents and educators over COVID-19 policies and critical race theory being taught in classrooms.

Days later, on Oct. 4, Attorney General Merrick Garland sent a memo directing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to address the "disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence."

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Angry parents and community members protest after a Loudoun County School Board meeting was halted by the school board because the crowd refused to quiet down, in Ashburn, Virginia, June 22, 2021. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo)

The GOP members also pointed out the evidence that the NBSA was communicating with the Biden administration before the Sept. 29 letter, noting how less than a month later, the Biden administration announced that Garcia had been appointed by Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), which has oversight over the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

BIDEN ADMIN GIVES POST TO NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION CHIEF WHO SIGNED ‘DOMESTIC TERRORISM’ LETTER

After stoking outrage, the NSBA walked back its rhetoric, saying in an Oct. 22 memo that leaders "regret and apologize for the letter" and that "there was no justification for some of the language" used. Garland has also distanced himself from the letter's language, though Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee excoriated him for it when he testified Wednesday.

Attorney General Merrick Garland is sworn in during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing examining the Department of Justice on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Tom Brenner/Pool via AP)

GARLAND REFUSES TO BACK AWAY FROM DOJ MEMO AFTER SCHOOL BOARD APOLOGY

The members of Congress went on to ask the NSBA to offer documents and communications that took place between the organization and the Biden administration in the lead-up to the Sept. 29 letter.

The NSBA was also asked to answer whether it will urge Garland to withdraw or rescind his Oct. 4 memo.

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The organization was given a deadline of Nov. 10 to provide the requested information.

The NSBA did not respond to Fox News' request for comment in time for publication.

Fox News' Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.