WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — A committee of the U.S. House of Representatives set to investigate the weaponization of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other federal agencies is set to hold its first hearing Thursday at noon. According to leading House members, the committee will also investigate the weaponization of federal agencies against pro-lifers.
A primary focus of the Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government’s investigation into the weaponization of federal agencies against pro-lifers will be the disparity of enforcement of the Freedom to Access Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, said Russell Dye, Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan’s communications director, to Catholic News Agency. Jordan, who established the committee last month, also serves as its chairman.
The committee’s first hearing follows shortly after the acquittal of Catholic pro-life leader Mark Houck on federal charges of violating the FACE Act. Houck was arrested in a dawn raid by the Biden FBI in September, with dozens of heavily armed agents swarming the Houcks’ Pennsylvania property.
The DOJ charged Houck with two felonies for allegedly violating the FACE Act when he pushed abortion clinic “escort” Bruce Love, 73, during sidewalk altercations on two separate occasions in 2021.
READ: Mark Houck details Planned Parenthood escort’s vulgar harassment of his son in Fox News interview
Weeks after Houck’s arrest, pro-life activist Paul Vaughn was raided by the FBI for allegedly violating the FACE Act in 2021. Ten other activists were charged with FACE Act violations for the same incident. Similarly, Red Rose Rescuer Fr. Fidelis Moscinski was found guilty on January 23 of violating the same federal law.
In contrast, only two people face charges under the FACE Act for vandalizing a pro-life pregnancy center in Florida, though in November, FBI Director Christopher Ray announced that nearly 70 percent of abortion-related violence after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision was directed against pro-life groups.
The committee is set to consider 11 instances of alleged politicization of the FBI and the DOJ, including the use of the FACE Act to arrest pro-lifers like Houck and Vaughn.
As previously reported by LifeSiteNews’ Doug Mainwaring, the committee will also investigate the “politicization of the FBI” in relation to the agency’s involvement with the allegations of Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election; the connections that Big Tech has with the federal government, to see if government pressure led to the censorship or harassment of conservative social media accounts; Anthony Fauci’s position on COVID misinformation; the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) attempt to investigate parents who protested school COVID policies; and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) attempt to establish a Disinformation Governance Board.
The committee will have the power to issue subpoenas and is expected to release a report on its findings on January 2, 2025. Jordan himself has stated that he will not hesitate to issue subpoenas in order to force federal agencies to cooperate with investigations.
Panelists of the first hearing have already been made public. One panel consists of U.S. Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, as well as former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. Grassley and Johnson previously launched an investigation into Hunter Biden’s business dealings, and Johnson called for an investigation into the alleged FBI suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story. In an interview with Fox News last year, Grassley also noted at least one possible example of the FBI suppressing an investigation into Hunter Biden’s laptop.
Another panel consists of George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley and former FBI agents Thomas Baker and Nicole Parker. Turley is expected to discuss censorship, Baker is expected to discuss the necessity for an independent FBI, and Parker is expected to discuss her reasons for leaving the bureau, which she claims had become increasingly politically weaponized.
Last Friday, Jordan sent subpoenas to the DOJ, FBI, and Department of Education (DOE) with regard to a government task force designed to investigate parents who protested school COVID policies.
Speaking Tuesday, Jordan explained that dozens of whistleblowers approached the House Judiciary Committee discussing “how the Justice Department is now operating and operated in such a political fashion and manner.” Jordan also referenced the Twitter Files disclosure of the suppression of a New York Post story first covered Hunter Biden’s laptop, claiming that the suppression shows how “big tech and big government are colluding to keep information from ‘We, the people.’”
LifeSite asked Jordan’s office for comment but has yet to receive a response.