In mid-September, Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before the House Judiciary Committee, where House Republicans are working to expose the Left's attempts to politicize and weaponize the Department of Justice (DOJ) against conservative Americans. What was missing from the hearing, however, was a clear answer from Garland on how we got to this point and who is responsible for the weaponization of the federal government.
Over the past two years, concerned parents have been labeled domestic terrorists, pro-life activists have been arrested, and the DOJ has repeatedly targeted a former U.S. president. Violent attacks on Catholic churches and pregnancy resource centers have gone unprosecuted, and top federal officials have continued to ignore serious allegations of corruption and influence peddling from the Biden family.
Though this politicization of our federal government has become more obvious since President Joe Biden took office, it didn't happen overnight. It is the result of a long-term and well-funded scheme by Left-wing operatives to attack conservatives at all levels of government.
Behind the liberal politicians pushing open lawfare against citizens is a network of Left-wing, dark-money groups. One example is Arabella Advisors, which manages a vast network of Left-wing groups, including the Hopewell Fund, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, the Hub Project, and the New Venture Fund.
How exactly do these dark-money groups work to weaponize government? For an example, consider Democratic D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb's investigation into conservative stalwart Leonard Leo's network of organizations. Leo, the co-chairman of the Federalist Society, advised President Donald Trump on judicial selection. Clearly an unpopular figure with the Left, Leo was also influential in the selection and confirmation process for both Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
The basis for Schwalb's investigation is reportedly a complaint made by the Campaign for Accountability, an organization that has ties to Arabella, and whose executive director sits on the board of a separate organization dedicated to advocating for Supreme Court "ethics reforms." The Campaign for Accountability was started at the Arabella-linked Hopewell Fund and has received approximately $2.2 million from the New Venture Fund, according to tax records.
Arabella also has ties to Schwalb's former law firm, Venable LLP. The firm represented groups within the Arabella network against charges before the Federal Election Commission and even hosted a seminar on structuring nonprofit organizations with Arabella Advisors' general counsel. According to D.C. campaign finance filings, Schwalb received campaign contributions from individuals connected with Left-wing groups, including Arabella, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the Rockefeller Foundation.
As a tool of these dark-money groups, Schwalb is wasting valuable taxpayer dollars to investigate conservatives while turning a blind eye to the surge of violent crime in Washington. During Schwalb's tenure, juvenile crime (which he is responsible for handling) has skyrocketed, with more than 363 juveniles arrested for violent crimes during the first half of this year. Despite identifying public safety as a priority for his office, Schwalb has also publicly supported a move to decrease criminal penalties.
While it came to light this week that Schwalb recently launched an inquiry into Arabella, it remains to be seen whether he will give it the same attention as the investigation into Leo, or if it is merely an attempt to save face after a dozen Republican attorneys general called him out in a letter for politicizing the office.
Schwalb, however, is not the only dark-money-backed politician using his position to harass conservatives. Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse filed an ethics complaint against Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and urged the Department of Justice to investigate Justice Clarence Thomas. As it turns out, Whitehouse has his own connections with dark-money groups. The Washington Examiner recently reported that Whitehouse's wife consulted for an ocean-related charity that received funds from groups affiliated with Arabella while Whitehouse backed legislation on ocean issues.
By mobilizing Left-wing politicians and government institutions against conservatives, liberal dark-money groups are trying to fundamentally alter our country simply by spending more money than anyone else. Their massive war chest and outsized influence among the Left amounts to an undemocratic tyranny of the leftist elite, by the leftist elite, and for the leftist elite.
The Left's weaponization of the government undermines our country's core values and institutions. If left-wing dark-money groups are allowed to continue attacking Americans who disagree with their extreme ideology, paid-for investigations and unjust prosecutions will, sadly, become commonplace in this country.
Jessica Anderson is President of The Sentinel Action Fund.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
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