The terminated Biden administration “National Intelligence Expert Group” allegedly planned a covert operation to encourage mothers and teachers to report dissident parents and students suspected of “domestic extremism,” according to internal documents obtained by a group called America First Legal (AFL). The panel included former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who were accused of inaccurately labeling reports about Hunter Biden’s laptop as Russian disinformation. AFL filed a lawsuit claiming the group was biased, violated federal regulations, and lacked transparency. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ultimately disbanded the group and provided AFL with internal records as part of a legal settlement in May.
The leaked documents from a September 2023 meeting revealed discussions within the group about increasing intelligence-gathering efforts on American citizens in local communities in a less threatening manner. The group recognized the hesitancy of Americans to report each other following the post-9/11 “See Something, Say Something” campaign. One proposed solution was to reclassify political dissent as a “public health” crisis to encourage reporting of concerning behavior to the federal government, potentially by mothers, teachers, or even businesses monitoring their employees.
The meeting notes indicated a distortion of the intent of the group, which was ostensibly created to advise on intelligence and national security efforts. The plans discussed in the meeting raised concerns about the potential implications of encouraging citizens to report on each other, drawing parallels to the tactics used by East Germany’s Stasi secret police.
Former acting Director of National Intelligence under the Trump administration, Ric Grenell, who worked with AFL on the lawsuit against DHS, described the leaked documents as revealing a strategy of monitoring and intimidating dissenting opinions. Grenell expressed shock at the intolerance and paranoia evident in the documents.
The AFL’s “Deep State Diaries” project aims to uncover more documents from the now-defunct group’s archives. The revelation of the group’s plans shed light on efforts by the Biden administration to gather intelligence on its citizens and potentially enlist them as informants.
In summary, the Biden administration’s National Intelligence Expert Group faced backlash and legal action from AFL for allegedly planning an influence operation to encourage reporting on dissidents. The leaked documents exposed discussions about reclassifying political dissent as a health crisis and using citizens, including mothers, teachers, and businesses, to gather intelligence. The parallels drawn between the group’s tactics and those of authoritarian regimes raised concerns about privacy and civil liberties. Former intelligence officials criticized the group’s strategy as intolerant and paranoid, sparking discussion about the implications of such operations in a democratic society.
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https://nypost.com/2024/06/20/us-news/how-biden-dhs-intel-experts-group-plotted-to-get-mothers-and-teachers-to-report-dissent/