[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 18, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E228]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPOSING BIDEN LAWFARE PERSECUTION
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HON. JOE WILSON
of south carolina
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to former
Congressman Bob Livingston for courageously exposing the shocking
mistakes and abusive lawfare of former Attorney General, Merrick
Garland. Innocent Americans have been persecuted by the subversion of
the Justice Department under the Biden Administration, beginning with
the deranged, maniacal persecution of President Donald Trump.
Under the Republican trifecta of the House, Senate, and Presidency,
the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation will
work on behalf of the people, not against them. American families can
trust Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, both with
proven records of professional competence.
I include in the Record the following letter below, written by Bob
Livingston to the Wall Street Journal, regarding his own experiences
with former Attorney General, Merrick Garland and the Justice
Department:
``Dear Mr. Attorney General, Your time in office won't run
out a moment too soon. You will be remembered as a tool in
the Democratic Party's strategy of misusing the Justice
Department to visit injustice on innocent people with
differing political views. I am a victim of your
dysfunctional leadership, but unlike many of your targets, I
have survived unscathed.
I am 81. At the outset of my career, I enlisted in the U.S.
Navy and sewed on active duty for two years, followed by an
additional four in the reserves. When I returned to civilian
life, I completed my undergraduate studies and law school.
After some years of private practice, I successfully served
as a prosecutor in three separate government offices.
I was then elected to Congress, where I served for 22
years. Shortly thereafter I created and ran the Livingston
Group, a lobbying firm. For 25 years we represented defense,
education, energy, health and corporate clients of all kinds.
We also represented international clients, private and
sovereign, but only if we were assured their interests
coincided with those of the U.S.
In 2022 two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents came to
my home in New Orleans and questioned me about incidents
involving our representation of an international client in
2018. Having nothing to hide, I spoke with them for 2\1/2\
hours.
I told them everything I could remember. I told them the
truth. They quibbled with me about facts and reminded me of
incidents that for whatever reason I couldn't recall. I have
been interviewed by FBI agents in the past about varying
matters under investigation, never about me, and I thought
this no different. I was given to believe that they were
looking only for background information.
At the end of the interview, the agents presented me with a
search warrant for all my company's records related to their
questions. As the lead agent left, she thanked me for my
service to the country. But as I read the search warrant, I
realized that this meeting was neither benign nor simply for
background. The next day, with my wife listening, I called
the agent and asked directly: ``Am I a target?'' To my great
shock, the agent said yes.
In all my years as a lobbyist, I have bent over backward to
comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act. My company
has always filed reports pursuant to the law when we thought
they were due. I have repeatedly told my clients that we must
comply with FARA to avoid any possibility of transgressing
the law. The company has employed a full-time officer to
assure compliance.
Yet Justice Department prosecutors said on several
occasions that I was the target of felony charges. Every day
and night for 20 months, I lived with the possibility that
the hammer could drop at any moment. Everything I worked for
would be tarnished. My firm would collapse, my employees
would lose their jobs, all of us would be ruined in the
press, and I could go to prison.
The conduct of law enforcement was torturous. In January
2024, a prosecutor interviewed a member of my staff, using
curse words and accusing her of lying. In December 2023 an
FBI agent harassed our FARA compliance officer, David Lonie,
who had been a congressional staffer on the House Rules
Committee before working with us for many years.
Lonie was an honorable and decent man, the epitome of
integrity and honor. The agent nevertheless told him that if
he knew what was good for him, he would talk. Dave was scared
to death. He went to bed on Dec. 31, 2023, and didn't wake
the next day. His family is devastated.
My company and I were innocent of all charges, and while I
am pleased this Kafkaesque harassment is over, I am not
content to simply shrug my shoulders and move on. We spent
incredible amounts of money on legal counsel, more than three
times what we earned by representing the client at issue. Our
attorneys prepared an 88-page brief rebutting all charges.
They succeeded in backing prosecutors down, but I am
convinced the department's actions were political and
malicious, targeting me as a lobbyist who has supported
Donald Trump and been critical of President Biden.
Under your leadership, Mr. Garland, the Justice Department
has been guilty of lopsided enforcement. Hunter Biden was
nearly given a sweetheart immunity deal following receipt of
millions of dollars from foreign sources for which he didn't
file income tax returns or acknowledge his probable
obligations under FARA. He was subsequently convicted for
only a few of his crimes but has now been given a blanket
pardon by his father. Members of the Trump administration and
Mr. Trump himself have been hounded and arrested. They've had
their lives ruined for minor white-collar infractions. Mr.
Trump has prevailed over attempts to destroy him, but others
have been less fortunate.
As for our case, as we detailed in our brief, a Democratic
firm wasn't as compliant regarding similar facts over a much
longer period and to my knowledge was never investigated. If
we had been charged and tried for six-year-old incidents
despite our constant efforts to comply with the law, our case
would have become additional evidence that you have led a
department that has overtly ignored its obligation to provide
justice.
The statute of limitations expired on our case in November,
and prosecutors have said they are no longer interested in
pursuing charges. That's nice but hardly satisfactory. As a
matter of justice, Mr. Garland, you owe us and the American
people a profuse apology.''
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