DOJ report alleges Biden-era weaponization against pro-life Americans
US President Joe Biden clasps his hands as he delivers his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 15, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Ima
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group on Tuesday released a report alleging the Biden administration misused the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act to target anti-abortion activists.
The report, based on a review of more than 700,000 internal records, also outlines steps the current DOJ says it is taking to address past actions.
What they're saying:
"This Department will not tolerate a two-tiered system of justice," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a news release. "No Department should conduct selective prosecution based on beliefs. The weaponization that happened under the Biden Administration will not happen again, as we restore integrity to our prosecutorial system."
Dig deeper:
After reviewing internal discussions, case files, and prosecutorial decisions, the Justice Department concluded the Biden-era DOJ used the FACE Act in a biased manner.
The report alleges officials coordinated with abortion-rights groups to track and build cases against anti-abortion activists, engaged in prosecutorial misconduct, supported a group’s funding efforts, sought harsher penalties for pro-life defendants, and unevenly enforced the law by prioritizing abortion clinics over pregnancy resource centers.
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What's next:
The report says the Biden-era DOJ’s actions were improper and outlines steps the Trump administration is taking in response.
Those include pardons for some anti-abortion activists, settlements and personnel actions, dismissal of several FACE Act cases, new limits on bringing such prosecutions, and the release of materials from a review of roughly 700,000 internal records.
"The behavior unearthed in this report is shameful," Assistant Attorney General Daniel Burrows, Office of Legal Policy added. "Lawyers who should have known better withheld evidence, worked to keep committed religious people off juries, and generally allowed the Department of Justice to be used as the enforcement arm of pro-abortion special interests."
The Source: The information in this story comes primarily from a report released by the Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group. This story was reported from Los Angeles.