WASHINGTON, D.C. – America First Legal (AFL) announced today that it has obtained internal meeting notes from the now-dissolved Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “Homeland Intelligence Experts Group.” AFL plans to release these documents in a multi-part series titled #DeepStateDiaries.
The group, which included figures such as James Clapper and John Brennan, was disbanded following a lawsuit filed by AFL on behalf of former Ambassador and Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell. The lawsuit claimed that the group was created in violation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
Newly obtained documents reportedly reveal the group's partisan leanings and their alleged efforts to influence public opinion. One document from a September meeting discusses "reporting and prevention" of domestic extremism. Despite Constitutional protections on privacy and the First Amendment, a group member is quoted asking: “How do we get [DHS] into local communities in a non-threatening way? How do people safely report a concern about their neighbors?”
AFL claims that these documents show an effort by the Biden Administration to use classified systems and covert techniques to target conservatives under the guise of preventing domestic terrorism.
Gene Hamilton, America First Legal Executive Director, stated: “We were proud to partner with Ambassador Grenell and stop the Biden Administration from using an illegally-formed, partisan intelligence board, filled with deep state actors like John Brennan and James Clapper. These alarming documents reveal the committee’s internal discussions and potential plans to weaponize DHS and surveil conservative Americans. Based on the contents of these documents alone, Congress should take further steps to stop any similar work at DHS and remedy any illegal actions.”
Statement from Former Ambassador and Acting Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell:
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