FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, the attorney general, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt met to discuss expanding the FBI’s domestic surveillance in 1938. They agreed this should proceed “with the utmost degree of secrecy” to avoid public criticism or objections “by either ill-informed persons or individuals having some ulterior motive.” In fact, they decided against asking Congress for additional authority to spy on Americans because it would “draw attention to the fact of what is being done.”
In 1975, the Church Committee uncovered widespread abuses by intelligence agencies, revealing FBI programs aimed at disrupting and discrediting groups to prevent dissent by the public. Does this sound familiar? It should. In the last several years, government intervention has increased in a way that would likely appall the late Sen. Frank Church.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, the FBI has targeted supporters of President-elect Donald Trump, labeled Catholics as possible domestic terrorists, and even proposed infiltrating Catholic churches. During COVID-19, the FBI monitored social media users voicing concerns about government actions and labeled opposition to stay-at-home orders as possible threats.
Statements about COVID-19 now supported by overwhelming evidence were flagged as disinformation. My own statements regarding the efficacy of masks, naturally acquired immunity, and the origins of COVID-19 were labeled as “disinformation.” However, we now know the most significant source of disinformation during the pandemic was actually the U.S. government.
Recently, the FBI has gone as far as attempting to revoke security clearances of its own employees for their political beliefs or vaccine hesitancy. Employees have been compelled to answer questions such as, “Do you vocalize support for President Trump?” or “Do you object to COVID-19 vaccination policies?” If this is how it treats its own employees, imagine what it’s doing to the public.