A pro-life attorney alleged during a House hearing that the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) led a ‘systematic campaign’ against pro-life protesters who were charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and sentenced to several years in prison in 2020.

Peter Breen, the executive vice president and head of litigation at the Christian nonprofit law firm Thomas More Society, testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight on Tuesday about the Biden administration’s prosecution of 23 pro-life protesters, many of whom were part of a large-scale Washington, D.C., abortion clinic blockade. President Donald Trump pardoned all the activists in one of his first executive actions in January.

‘The Biden DOJ engaged in a systematic campaign to abuse the power of the federal government against pro-life advocates, while that same DOJ ignored hundreds of acts of vandalism and violence against pro-life churches, pregnancy help centers, and other advocates,’ Breen said.

The hearing, titled, ‘Entering the Golden Age: Ending the Weaponization of the Justice Department,’ included testimonies from Chris Swecker, former FBI assistant director of the Criminal Investigations Unit, Jonathan Fahey, a legal partner at Holtzman Vogel, and Brendan Ballou, a federal prosecutor.

The Thomas More Society represented several of the 23 pro-life activists who were imprisoned during the 2020 demonstrations and urged Trump during his first few days in office to pardon them.

‘They should not have been prosecuted,’ Trump said during the signing. ‘Many of them are elderly people. They should not have been prosecuted. This is a great honor to sign this.’

Breen said the Trump administration’s pardons sent a ‘powerful message.’ 

‘On behalf of our clients and the pro-life movement as whole, we are thankful to President Trump for his recent pardons and to the members of this House who supported that effort,’ he said. ‘Those pardons sent a powerful message to the country, and especially to the millions of Americans in the pro-life movement, that the federal government should not be weaponized against Americans because of their sincere beliefs in the sanctity of human life.’

Prosecutors from the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia argued the pro-life activists violated the 1994 FACE Act, a federal law that prohibits physical force, threats of force or intentionally damaging property to prevent someone from obtaining or providing abortion services.

‘Evidence presented at trial established that the defendants used force and physical obstruction to execute a clinic blockade that was organized by the group’s leaders,’ the Biden DOJ wrote in its announcement of several indictments. ‘The defendants’ forced entry into the clinic at the outset of the invasion resulted in injury to a clinic nurse. During the blockade, one patient had to climb through a receptionist window to access the clinic, while another laid in the hallway outside of the clinic in physical distress, unable to gain access to the clinic.’

However, the FACE Act is now a target of the pro-life movement, as opponents of the law say it infringes on the First Amendment, restricts the freedom to protest and unfairly targets anti-abortion activists.

‘Of course, we urge Congress to repeal the FACE Act, which is selectively and illegally enforced by pro-abortion presidential administrations,’ Breen said. ‘But in the immediate term, Congress has several other concrete steps it can take, working with the new Administration to define the proper scope of the laws and to defend the rights of pro-life Americans.’

House members and witnesses also spent much of the two-hour hearing discussing a Richmond FBI internal 2023 memo titled, ‘Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.’ 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the DOJ for comment.

The Trump administration will direct heads of agencies across the federal government to prepare to initiate ‘large-scale reductions in force’ and develop reorganization plans by mid-March, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the memo that will be sent Wednesday to agency heads by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought and acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Charles Ezell. The memo directs them to prepare to eliminate roles and submit plans for reorganization by March 13. 

The memo states, however, that government positions ‘necessary to meet law enforcement, border security, national security, immigration enforcement, or public safety responsibilities’ are exempt from the order, as well as officials nominated and appointed to positions requiring presidential appointment or Senate confirmation, officials in the Executive Office of the President and U.S. Postal Service workers. 

The memo is titled ‘guidance on agency RIF and reorganization plans requested by implementing the president’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ workforce optimization initiative.’ 

‘The federal government is costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt,’ the memo states. ‘At the same time, it is not producing results for the American public.’ 

‘Instead, tax dollars are being siphoned off to fund unproductive and unnecessary programs that benefit radical interest groups while hurting hard-working American citizens,’ it continued. ‘The American people registered their verdict on the bloated, corrupt federal bureaucracy on November 5, 2024 by voting for President Trump and his promises to sweepingly reform the federal government.’ 

The memo points to the president’s February executive order, which directed agencies to ‘eliminate waste, bloat and insularity’ in order to ’empower American families, workers, taxpayers, and our system of Government itself.’ 

The memo provides guidance to agency heads about the reduction-in-force and reorganization plans, along with instructions for how those plans should be submitted to OMB and OPM. 

‘President Trump required that ‘Agency Heads shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force, consistent with applicable law,’’ the memo states, noting that agencies have to submit reorganization plans ‘no later than March 13, 2025.’ 

The reorganization plans, according to the memo, should provide ‘better service for the American people; increased productivity; a significant reduction in the number of full-time equivalent positions by eliminating positions that are not required; a reduced real property footprint; and reduced budget topline.’ 

OMB and OPM directed agency heads to focus on ‘maximum elimination of functions that are not statutorily mandated while driving the highest-quality, most efficient delivery of their statutorily-required functions.’

OMB and OPM also directed agencies to consolidate areas of their organization charts that are ‘duplicative,’ and consolidate management layers ‘where unnecessary layers exist.’ 

They are also directing agencies to ‘maximally reduce the use of outside consultants and contractors.’ 

As for office space, the memo says agency heads should close or consolidate regional field offices and should align those closures or relocations of bureaus and offices with agency return-to-office actions ‘to avoid multiple relocation benefit costs for individual employees.’ 

The memo says ‘Phase 1’ of reorganization plans should be submitted by March 13, with ‘Phase 2’ being submitted by April 14. 

‘Phase 2 plans shall outline a positive vision for more productive, efficient agency operations going forward,’ the memo explains. ‘Phase 2 plans should be planned for implementation by September 30, 2025.’ 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) appeared to defy President Donald Trump’s executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization (WHO) after the U.S. agency said it would participate in a conference with the global organization.

The CDC confirmed this week that it will go ahead and partake in a biannual conference on the influenza vaccine led by the WHO.

‘CDC will be actively participating virtually at the WHO vaccine consultation meeting for the recommendation of viruses for 2025-26 Northern Hemisphere Vaccine this week,’ a CDC spokesperson told Fox News. 

The agency did not clarify if it received an exemption from Trump’s executive order, which required all officials to stop working with the WHO. 

Trump signed the executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the WHO just hours after taking office last month. The president cited reasons such as WHO’s ‘mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic,’ the ‘failure to adopt urgently needed reforms,’ and ‘unfairly onerous payments’ forced on the U.S. 

Days after signing the order, Trump said during a Las Vegas rally that he was open to potentially rejoining the WHO if the global body were ‘to clean it up a bit.’

The WHO issued a statement shortly after Trump’s order, lamenting the president’s decision and expressing hope that the U.S. will rethink the move.

During Trump’s first term, in July 2020, he took steps to withdraw the U.S. from the WHO but his successor, former President Joe Biden, eventually reinstated the nation’s participation in the global health initiative. 

Fox News Digital’s Alex Schemmel contributed to this report.

Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett caused a social media firestorm after telling Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk to ‘f— off’ in the latest example of her public opposition to the newly formed agency’s push to cut government waste and spending. 

‘F— off,’ Crockett told reporter Joe Gallina outside Capitol Hill on Tuesday when asked what she would tell Elon Musk if she could tell him anything.

Crockett’s reaction immediately drew blowback from conservatives on social media, who took issue with the liberal firebrand’s tone.

‘The face of the American left, ladies and gentlemen,’ conservative account Johnny MAGA posted on X.

‘Classy,’ conservative commentator Benny Johnson posted on X.

‘Jasmine Crocket = trash,’ comedian Tim Young posted on X.

‘Please make Jasmine Crockett the spokesperson of the Democrat Party,’ former GOP congressional candidate Kathleen Anderson posted on X.

‘Classy as ever…,’ Washington Examiner White House correspondent Paul Bedard posted on X.

Crockett’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Many Democrats in Congress have been highly critical of Musk and DOGE, arguing that the billions in cuts the agency has announced are slashing important government resources and being done too quickly.

‘DOGE is pretty cruel. Let’s be blunt about that,’ Gov. Josh Green, D-Hawaii, said during a press conference last week with other Democratic governors. ‘These are people in our states that have worked long careers, very dedicated servants, and they’re getting kicked out of their lives.’

A recent poll, amplified by Musk on social media, suggests that a majority of the American people support DOGE’s mission.

The Harvard CAPS-Harris poll revealed a majority of Americans support reducing wasteful government spending. Most voters agree there should be a government agency dedicated to efficiency and that DOGE is helping to make major spending cuts, the nonprobability-based poll found. 

The FBI is reportedly beginning an investigation into allegations that the agency, when headed by then-Director James Comey, launched a ‘honeypot’ operation to infiltrate the 2016 Trump campaign with two female agents.

The Washington Times reported that the agency is looking into an alleged 2015 operation, which was revealed by a whistleblower in a disclosure to the House Judiciary Committee last year and was said to involve two agents acting as ‘honeypots’ while traveling with the Trump team.

‘Honeypots’ typically refer to undercover agents who act romantically interested in a target in order to draw out information.

In the disclosure, a copy of which was obtained by Fox News Digital, the whistleblower is said to be an FBI employee and was involved in an ‘off-the-books’ investigation targeting then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. The whistleblower reportedly claimed that they knew Comey had ordered a probe into Trump and had ‘personally directed it’ shortly after Trump announced he was running for president. 

The whistleblower claimed two agents were inserted into the high levels of the campaign and were directed to act as ‘honeypots’ and travel with Trump and his campaign staff. However, the investigation was allegedly closed because a media outlet obtained a photograph of one of the agents and was about to publish it. The whistleblower said they observed one or more employees being directed to never discuss the operation with anyone, including those involved in the operation. 

The Washington Times reported that the bureau, now headed by FBI Director Kash Patel, is looking for those employees. 

‘The FBI has no comment,’ the agency told Fox News Digital when reached for comment on Wednesday.

Patel was sworn in as FBI director last week and promised to rebuild trust in the FBI and end what he saw as the politicization of the agency.

‘The politicization of our justice system has eroded public trust — but that ends today,’ he told Fox News Digital. ‘Let good cops be cops,’ he said. ‘And rebuild trust in the FBI.’ 

‘Working alongside the dedicated men and women of the bureau and our partners, we will rebuild an FBI the American people can be proud of,’ he said.

Patel previously served as the chief investigator for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Throughout his investigation, he led the effort to uncover FISA abuse and exposed the FBI and the DOJ’s unlawful actions before federal court to illegally surveil Americans, including members of the 2016 Trump campaign. 

The alleged honeypot investigation is said to be separate from a 2016 FBI investigation, known as ‘Crossfire Hurricane,’ which investigated whether the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia to influence the outcome of the election. 

Trump fired Comey in May 2017. Days later, Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel to take over the ‘Crossfire Hurricane’ probe and investigate whether the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election cycle. That investigation yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 election.

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on Tuesday was slated to discuss billions of dollars in government waste identified by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), but first devolved into chaos when one Democrat repeatedly referred to the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as ‘President Musk’ and to President Donald Trump as the ‘grifter in chief.’ 

Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., kicked off the hearing by accusing Democrats of declining to participate with Republicans in their oversight plan. 

‘Instead of working together that the Democrats informed us that they have amendments to the plan but are refusing to discuss them with me in advance. They kept any changes. They wanted a secret,’ Comer said in opening remarks. ‘Democrats have rejected every opportunity offered to contribute to the oversight plan. So how am I supposed to incorporate secret opinions that they refuse to share? You may be asking yourself, ‘Why would the Democrats do that?’ Democrats say they want to participate in oversight, but if that were true, why would they decline multiple opportunities to actually engage in the plan for that oversight? Because they don’t want to participate. They want to stonewall and engage in theater.’ 

Comer further charged that Democrats ‘would rather hear themselves talk about President Trump and the evil Elon Musk than work together on actual oversight that the American people are demanding,’ adding that polling this week suggests ‘the American people overwhelmingly support the work President Trump and DOGE are doing.’ 

Ranking Member Gerry Connolly, D-Va., shot back, criticizing the Republicans’ oversight plan over what he deemed leniency toward the Trump administration. 

‘The sins of omission in this plan are damning,’ Connolly contended. ‘My amendment would restore the committee’s proper role as a watchdog, not a lapdog.’ 

Tensions across the aisle escalated when Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., addressed the committee. 

‘People like the grifter in chief Trump and President Musk are openly using their public offices to enrich themselves to the tune of billions of dollars,’ Frost charged. ‘So if we want to look at waste, fraud and abuse, which I’m down to do, why is there a complete silence on the other side of the aisle about looking at the complete grifter that is the President of the United States and the richest man on the earth…. Why don’t we investigate the real corruption?’

An objection was raised by Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., and Comer called a point of order. Frost contended he could refer to Elon Musk as the president and Connolly asserted that the First Amendment had not been suspended. 

Comer asked Frost if he would like to ‘revise’ his remarks regarding the president, who is protected by House and committee rules of decorum, but Frost did not back down. 

‘I’ll say President Musk and grifter in chief Trump,’ Frost began, before another point of order was called.  

Committee members began to shout over one another, until Comer again gave Frost a chance to revise his statements.

‘President Musk and the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who is engaged in grifting of the American people, often use their public offices to enrich themselves,’ Frost said, until Comer stopped him. 

Addressing the motion against Frost for ‘disparaging the president,’ Comer told Frost, ‘If you’re willing to request unanimous consent to withdraw the disparaging comments about President Trump, I guess you can disparage Elon Musk if you want.’ 

‘I will withdraw grifter in chief,’ Frost said. ‘I will say the president’s grifting because you spent the last two years saying President Biden was corrupt.’ 

‘I can say that Trump is grifting. What I will withdraw is calling him grifter in chief,’ Frost added. 

Comer said Frost was barred from further participating in the hearing, but Connolly challenged the chair’s ruling and called for a vote. 

It was voted that Frost’s words should be taken down, and he was not permitted to speak for the rest of the hearing, but he interjected, ‘It’s despicable that this committee is going to silence me.’ 

‘Mr. Ranking Member, I’m going to have the sergeant remove him if he doesn’t refrain,’ Comer said. 

Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., and other Democrats further shouted in defense of ‘free speech,’ before Comer again attempted to get the hearing back on course. 

‘We have a hearing on waste, fraud and abuse that hasn’t even begun,’ Comer said. ‘The organizational thing just normally lasts five or 10 minutes. We’ve been in here 35 minutes arguing over the same things…. We’ve got to get to business. If we want to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse, we’ve got witnesses waiting. We have tried to do this. The debate has gone on well beyond what was expected.’ 

After about 40 minutes of back and forth, the hearing went into recess. When it returned, the committee heard from GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro regarding the watchdog’s recommendations for DOGE.

Frost continued the feud online, writing in an X post, ‘James Comer can hide behind the Sergeant in Arms and try to have me removed, arrested, and silenced… But that’s not going to stop me from calling out Donald Trump’s grift and his bullsh–‘ 

‘These snowflakes are really pissed off about me saying President Musk and calling Trump the Grifter-in-Chief. I guess the truth can be tough for some people,’ he added from his campaign account.