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Biden’s Education Secretary ‘Solicited’ NSBA Letter Comparing Parents To Domestic Terrorists: Report

   DailyWire.com
WILMINGTON, DE - DECEMBER 23: Miguel Cardona speaks after President-Elect Joe Biden announced him as his nominee for Education Secretary at the Queen theatre on December 23, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. Cardona, the Connecticut Education Commissioner, will face the urgent task of planning to reopen schools safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joshua Roberts/Getty Images

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona reportedly “solicited” the National School Boards Association (NSBA) letter which compared parents protesting issues like Critical Race Theory (CRT) in schools to domestic terrorists, according to an email exchange reviewed by Fox News.

President Biden’s Justice Department used this NSBA letter — which suggested that “as these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes” — to justify the creation of their own memo which directed the FBI to assist local law enforcement, and to use federal law, including the PATRIOT Act, to “examine appropriate enforceable actions.”

“The email exchange indicates Cardona was more involved with the letter’s creation than previously known,” Fox News reported. “In the Oct. 5 email, NSBA Secretary-Treasurer Kristi Swett recounted that NSBA interim CEO Chip Slaven ‘told the officers he was writing a letter to provide information to the White House, from a request by Secretary Cardona.’”

“Previous emails had revealed that the NSBA was in contact with the White House and Justice Department in the weeks before it publicly sent the letter,” Fox added.

These emails were obtained via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Parents Defending Education (PDE).

“Should this allegation be true, it would reveal that this administration’s pretextual war on parents came from the highest levels,” PDE President Nicole Neily told Fox News Digital. 

“Attorney General Merrick Garland unequivocally stated that he based his memo on the NSBA’s letter — which in turn, mobilized the FBI and US Attorneys,” Neily added. “If Secretary Cardona was truly involved in this ugly episode, it is a significant breach of public trust, and he should be held accountable.” 

In a statement, the Department of Education said that “[w]hile the Secretary did not solicit a letter from NSBA, to understand the views and concerns of stakeholders, the Department routinely engages with students, teachers, parents, district leaders and education associations.”

In late October 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland told Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley that he would not rescind the DOJ memo which directed the FBI and other federal agencies to investigate school board meetings, despite a memo from the National School Boards Association walking back its claims that confrontations at school board meetings could rise to the level of  “domestic terrorism’ and “hate crimes.”

The NSBA apologized for the language used in a memo sent to NSBA members from the organization’s board of directors.

“On behalf of NSBA, we regret and apologize for the letter,” the memo states. “To be clear, the safety of school board members, other public school officials and educators, and students is our top priority, and there remains important work to be done on this issue. However, there was no justification for some of the language included in that letter.”

“[W]e deeply value not only the work of local school boards… but also the voices of parents, who should and must continue to be hurt when it comes to decisions about their children’s education, health, and safety.”

Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.

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