Rep. Torres: Unprecedented Concerns from Former Trump WH Official Show Urgent Need for Release of FBI Report Detailing White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) today renewed her call for the Department of Justice to release a 2006 FBI Intelligence Assessment entitled, "White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement," following unprecedented concerns raised by Elizabeth Neumann, a former assistant secretary of counterterrorism and threat prevention under the Trump Administration.
Congresswoman Torres first called for the release of the FBI report in June following the murder of George Floyd and demonstrations across the country.
After a month of inaction from the Trump Administration, Torres included language in the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill that requires the Justice Department to update the Committee on the 2006 report's findings, and on the steps they've taken to address white supremacy in law enforcement.
Those efforts have new urgency today following an interview published by NPR in which Elizabeth Neuman describes the threat Americans face from right-wing domestic terrorism as, "a tinder box ready to explode."
Neumann – who was responsible for coordinating U.S. policy against threats of domestic extremism – details in the interview how she saw scattered and diffuse white supremacist groups use tactics first deployed by ISIS to recruit new members.
Neumann also outlines how Trump White House staff is reluctant to take a systemic approach to right wing terrorism because of partisan politics.
Congresswoman Torres released the following statement:
"Elizabeth Neumann's concerns validate what so many Americans have long feared – that President Trump is stoking the flames of racism for his own political gain, and that innocent American lives are at risk as a result," Rep. Torres said. "We must know what the FBI learned about white supremacists infiltrating law enforcement because this President will do everything he can to empower them.
"Look no further than the Presidents own actions to know where his heart lies: He's made no effort to speak with the family of Jacob Blake, the most recent unarmed black victim of police aggression, but he made sure to say words of encouragement to both the police officer who shot him seven times in the back, and the 17-year-old gunman who murdered two people at subsequent demonstration for justice.
"President Trump's embrace of hate and bigotry endangers every American life, regardless of race, religion, or political party," Torres continued. "Someone determined to harm others will not stop to check for MAGA hats before carrying out an attack, but one thing is for sure: this president would exploit such an attack for his own gain no matter who the victims are.
"It falls to every good and decent American to protect innocent life in light of the fact our president won't," Torres added. "We demand to know who is walking our streets in uniform, and any affiliations that would raise alarms as unarmed Black Americans continue to die at the hands of law enforcement."
Congresswoman Norma Torres has a long and productive history of working with law enforcement. She spent nearly 18 years as a 9-1-1 dispatcher for LAPD, and maintains close ties with many in the law enforcement community to this day.
More information about Rep. Torres' letter is available here.
###