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Bill Hagerty (R-TN)
Bill Hagerty
Republican·Tennessee

Hagerty Opposes Biden-Era Weaponization of the DOJ against Conservatives on Senate Floor

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Home About Biography Committee Assignments Services Agency Help Academy Nominations Veterans Resources Student Resources Internships Flag Request Judicial Appointments Schedule A Meeting Visiting DC Grant Help Tennessee Tuesdays Legislation Introduced Co-Sponsored Newsroom Press Releases Columns/Op-Eds Hagerty Hits Press Packet Subscribe to Hagerty Happenings Contact Bill Email Bill Office Locations Newsletter Signup Follow Follow Follow Follow Hagerty Opposes Biden-Era Weaponization of the DOJ against Conservatives on Senate Floor June 17, 2026 Senate Democrats attempted to codify language against the Trump Administration’s Anti-Weaponization Fund into law WASHINGTON— On Tuesday, United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) spoke on the Senate floor to speak out against the Biden administration’s weaponization of the Department of Justice (DOJ) against conservatives and expose the hypocrisy of Senate Democrats. *Click the photo above or click here to watch* Remarks as prepared for delivery: “[President Donald Trump] made clear that he would not seek any compensation from the Anti-Weaponization Fund. I have made it clear that I won’t seek any compensation from the Anti-Weaponization Fund. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, under oath, said ‘We are not moving forward with a fund. Period.’ Why is that not enough for my colleagues from across the aisle? Because they have a deeper and much darker motive. They want to erase the Biden Justice Department’s unprecedented weaponization by abolishing every means of holding it accountable. I am not going to stand for it. Has there ever been a more systematic effort to surveil and oppress the political operation of a sitting president’s opponents than under [former President] Joe Biden? We all know the answer. In fact, my esteemed colleague from Iowa, [Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck] Grassley, has called it worse than Watergate. The Biden DOJ’s Arctic Frost operation involved a taxpayer-funded army of lawyers obtaining financial information on over 400 individuals in groups that supported President Trump in the 2020 election. Yet, serious internal concerns and objections were raised within the DOJ that this was not a proper basis for a search. President Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago was raided in a made-for-TV operation. This witch hunt has extended to the halls of the United States Senate. By now, everyone is familiar with how the Biden DOJ subpoenaed the records of eight Republican senators—myself included—specifically because of conversations that we had in anticipation of an upcoming vote. That is a serious affront to congressional privileges, and it was a clear violation of the [United States] Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause. Did the Constitution matter to the Biden DOJ, or to their allies at Verizon? It seems not. The Biden DOJ and Verizon violated the constitutional rights of numerous Republican senators. Several of my staff were among those who had the temerity to serve in the Trump administration. Without thinking they were involved in any wrongdoing, members of my staff were subpoenaed, forced to hire counsel, and they were subjected to depositions. The cost can be ruinous, and as my staff was tortured, I saw firsthand how the process was the punishment. If you can ruin someone’s financial future, there is no need to prove them guilty. If you can set an example that working in a Republican administration will get you put on a ‘Do Not Hire List’ by left-leaning law firms or make you the target of taxpayer funded investigations by a Democrat-controlled and weaponized DOJ, then you achieve another chilling objective: suppression. Democrats in the last administration were not satisfied with targeting Republican officials and staffers. They went even further. To take just one example, the DOJ under President Biden brought its enormous power to bear on the groups that it hates the most in my home state: pro-life demonstrators. When violent crime had skyrocketed in American cities across the nation, the Biden DOJ devoted precious resources to criminally prosecute peaceful pro-life demonstrators in my home state, Nashville, Tennessee. They were letting go of criminal illegal aliens­—who would strike again—just so they could prosecute those whose politics they disagreed with. What a disgrace. My colleagues across the aisle are simply trying to cover up and sweep under the rug the fact that the Department of Justice under President Biden became a tool to destroy his political opponents. This is far from the first political controversy involving the DOJs settlement authority. I will not recount

Source: https://www.hagerty.senate.gov/press-releases/2026/06/17/hagerty-opposes-biden-era-weaponization-of-the-doj-against-conservatives-on-senate-floor
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Record ID: 0d2cc2dd-ca48-4990-bf3f-b648940c9a57

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