Biden administration Education Secretary Miguel Cardona appears to be the person behind the letter sent from the National School Boards Association letter that compared concerned conservative parents to "domestic terrorists," emails released on Tuesday show.
The emails, obtained by Parents Defending Education through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, show that Cardona was a critical part of the process, according to the emails, which were first reported on by Fox News.
The letter, sent to President Joe Biden on Sept. 29, spurred Attorney General Merrick Garland to issue a memo on Oct. 4 for the FBI to be on the lookout for what he termed a "disturbing spike" of "harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence" against school administrators, board members and other school personnel by parents angry over critical race theory, transgender policies masking in schools and other issues.
The letter was withdrawn after NSBA board of directors members expressed frustration that officials sent out the letter without their approval, but Garland has never rescinded his directive, saying that the claims in the letter are valid.
Emails showing that the White House was aware of the letter before it was crafted have been reported previously by Newsmax, but the newly released emails show that NSBA Secretary-Treasurer Kristi Swett said that the interim chief executive Chip Slaven "told the officers he was writing a letter to provide information to the White House, from a request by Secretary Cardona."
"Should this allegation be true, it would reveal that this administration's pretextual war on parents came from the highest levels," PDE President Nicole Neily told Fox News.
The letter inflamed tensions even more after they had started to die down from a summer of protests and heated complaints and school board meetings.
"Concern over the current climate for school board members is also a top priority as disruptions at school board meetings grow and members face growing threats," Garcia wrote at the time, according to a memo obtained by the FOIA request. "NSBA has been actively engaged with the White House, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Education, Surgeon General, and other federal agencies on pandemic related issues."
"In the September 14, 2021 meeting of the [NSBA Organization of State Association Executive Directors] liaison group, they were informed there had been a meeting with White House staff that morning and that NSBA was preparing to send a letter to the President. Subsequently, on September 17, 2021, the interim Executive Director emailed notice to the state association executive directors that indicated a letter requesting federal assistance would be sent."
The White House had not responded to a request for comment to Newmax early Tuesday evening.
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