Emails Just Exposed What Garlands Own Officials Called His School Board Crackdown

Joe Biden's DOJ once called concerned parents the biggest threat to American schools.

Now newly released emails prove his own officials called it a political hit job.

Newly released emails just revealed what his own senior officials said when Garland sent the order down – and it ends with one word.

The Setup: NSBA, the White House, and a Memo Built on Nothing

It started with a letter.

In September 2021, the National School Boards Association appealed to the Biden White House claiming that parents showing up at school board meetings to oppose critical race theory and gender ideology constituted – in their words – "domestic terrorism."

Biden's White House didn't just sympathize. Internal documents later confirmed the administration was actively coordinating with the NSBA before that letter ever went public.

Within two weeks, Merrick Garland issued his October 4, 2021 memo directing the FBI to open dedicated lines of communication for threat reporting against school officials.

His own department already knew it was manufactured.

The House Judiciary Weaponization Subcommittee later found, after subpoenaing DOJ, FBI, and Department of Education documents, that local law enforcement across the country described the threat as "manufactured" and warned of misapplied federal priorities.

Garland issued the memo anyway.

The Internal Revolt Nobody Heard About Until Now

Newly released emails obtained by Fox News expose what happened inside the DOJ the moment Garland sent that order down.

His own deputy assistant attorneys general revolted.

"I don't think it's possible to state how strongly I object to this," one wrote. "It will completely and totally nuke our election threats efforts, and will damage the reputation of the Public Integrity Section into the bargain."

"It's like they've affirmatively trying to make this thing not work and look political."

Then came the line that sums up the entire Biden DOJ in five words.

"If they do this, they might as well rename the damn thing the Anti-MAGA Task Force."

The Public Integrity Section chief's response?

One word: "Exactly!"

Then he added: "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

A principal deputy assistant attorney general refused outright – writing that there was no connection to public integrity and no federal interest of any kind he could identify.

One participant warned that following Garland's lead would turn the DOJ and FBI into the "threat police."

Garland sent the memo anyway.

The Pattern That Followed

The school board memo wasn't a one-off.

In January 2023, the FBI's Richmond Field Office produced an internal document designating traditional Catholics – those who attend Latin Mass and oppose abortion – as potential domestic violent extremists.

Multiple FBI field offices, including Portland and Los Angeles, coordinated on the document.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan's investigation later revealed that the analysts who wrote it couldn't define what a "radical traditionalist Catholic" was when questioned by investigators.

They also admitted they knew their sources had political bias and included no credibility caveats anyway.

The FBI quietly withdrew the memo only after a whistleblower leaked it.

Garland Overruled His Own Officials and Did It Anyway

Here's what these emails prove that congressional reports couldn't fully capture.

Garland didn't stumble into a policy mistake.

He pushed a politically motivated crackdown over the written objections of the senior career officials whose entire job was protecting the DOJ's integrity.

The people specifically tasked with watching for this kind of abuse told him it was political, told him it had no legal basis, and told him it would destroy their credibility.

He ignored every one of them.

That's not a miscalculation.

That's a man who decided going after parents at school board meetings was worth burning down the reputation of the Justice Department to accomplish.

The NSBA eventually apologized for the letter that started all of this – admitting there was no justification for the language they used.

Garland never apologized for anything.

When Rep. Chip Roy pressed him under oath on whether the memo was ever rescinded, Garland acknowledged it wasn't – then claimed there was "nothing to rescind."

He said those words after his own Public Integrity Section chief had already called the whole thing stupid in writing.

Sources:

• Fox News Digital, "DOJ Officials Revolted Against Garland's School Board Memo, Emails Show," Fox News, June 12, 2026.
• Fox News Digital, "NSBA Chief Had Advance Notice of DOJ's Controversial School Board Memo: Email," Fox News, February 14, 2022.
• House Judiciary Committee, "A 'Manufactured' Issue And 'Misapplied' Priorities: Subpoenaed Documents Show No Legitimate Basis for the Attorney General's Anti-Parent Memo," Weaponization Subcommittee Report, March 21, 2023.
• House Judiciary Committee, "The FBI's Breach of Religious Freedom: The Weaponization of Law Enforcement Against Catholic Americans," December 4, 2023.
• Fox News Digital, "Garland Says Incendiary Memo Directing FBI to Use Counterterrorism Tools on Parents Never Rescinded," Fox News, 2023.