‘Partisan Power Grab’, Sen. Cruz grills assistant AG Kristen Clarke over DOJ school board memo

Ted Cruz, R-Texas, grilled Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke on on 10/6/2021 about the controversial Department of Justice memorandum mobilizing the FBI to address alleged threats against school board members nationwide. After a brief exchange in which Clarke refused to say whether she participated in drafting the memo, Cruz pointedly asked, “Do you believe parents objecting to critical race theory have civil rights in the democratic process?” Clarke replied that she didn’t “follow the question,” inspiring a follow-up from Cruz.

“You don’t understand the question, whether parents objecting to critical race theory have civil rights?” Cruz said. “The First Amendment is a core value in our core democracy,” Clarke replied, leading Cruz to interject, saying, “I didn’t say free speech. I said civil rights. School board meetings are democratic — they are petitioning your local government. Do they have civil rights that the [Justice Department] gives a damn about?”

“Ms. Clarke, with all due respect, this demonstrates why the Democrat proposal to take someone with as long of a partisan record as you have and to put you in charge of striking down any voting rights law in the country that you disagree with is nothing but a partisan power grab,” Cruz said.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued an Oct. 4 memorandum ordering the FBI to meet with local leaders across the country to address potential threats and harassment against school board members, teachers and staff at future board meetings.

Union Boss Randi Weingarten explains that she agrees in total with the letter from the National School Board that asked Joe Biden to declare parents angry about the indoctrination of their children as “domestic terrorists.”