Education secretary accused of soliciting comments from school-boards group

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has been accused of actually soliciting a letter from the National School Boards Association that Attorney General Merrick Garland later confirmed was the reason he issued a threat to American public school parents.

Fox News said emails that have now been released that show Cardona was at the center of the controversy.

The letter, for which the NSBA later apologized, likened parents of school children to "domestic terrorists" and Merrick used the letter, which insisted the feds use the Patriot Act against parents, as a reason to call for federal spying on parents, and prosecutions if possible.

But Fox reported an Oct. 5 email confirmed NSBA Secretary-Treasurer Kristi Swett recounted that NSBA interim CEO "Chip Slaven 'told the officers he was writing a letter to provide information to the White House, from a request by Secretary Cardona.'"

It earlier had been revealed that the NSBA was communicating and coordinating with the White House and Department of Justice over an agenda to portray conservative parents – who object to leftist ideology condemning all of America as racist such as Critical Race Theory – as a danger.

The emails were obtained by the parents group Parents Defending Education in a Freedom of Information Act request, the report said.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona testifies to a Senate committee Sept. 30, 2021 (Video screenshot)

"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 Digital.

Neily continued, "Attorney General Merrick Garland unequivocally stated that he based his memo on the NSBA's letter – which in turn, mobilized the FBI and US Attorneys. If Secretary Cardona was truly involved in this ugly episode, it is a significant breach of public trust, and he should be held accountable."

According to the Daily Caller News Foundation, "the emails show collaboration between the Department of Education, Department of Justice (DOJ) and the NSBA, which advocated for the federal government to monitor and intervene in the activities of concerned parents regarding their children’s education."

The NSBA had claimed in the letter, "America’s public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat" and it asked for "federal law enforcement and other assistance to deal with the growing number of threats of violence and acts of intimidation occurring across the nation."

Fights have developed in schools over leftists' attempts to impose mask rules, COVID-19 shots, closures, instruction in the Critical Race Theory ideology, and more.

Just days after the NSBA letter was sent, Attorney General Merrick Garland released a memo that demanded the FBI "use its authority" against parents if they threaten or use violence against school officials.

But then, school boards have interpreted parents even attending a board meeting as a "threat."

The report said, "Email correspondence and a memorandum obtained by PDE showed the White House was in communication with the NSBA for 'several weeks' before the NSBA letter became public."

The report also explained, "A Department of Justice whistleblower leaked documents in November that showed the FBI ordered personnel to compile parent threat assessments through the creation of a 'threat tag' titled 'EDUOFFICIALS' to track threats against school officials, according to a joint statement sent on behalf of the Assistant Directors of the Bureau’s Criminal Investigative Division and the Counterterrorism Division the day before Garland’s testimony."

Boards also have considered warnings about recall efforts, or announced challenges to re-election, as "threats," too.

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https://www.wnd.com/2022/01/alarming-revelation-letter-calling-parents-domestic-terrorists/