Alabama lawmakers are alleging that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has engaged in political harassment after its subpoena of a conservative nonprofit that assisted in the writing of a bill prohibiting puberty blockers and transgender surgery on people under 19 years of age.
In a Sept. 20 letter (pdf) addressed to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Congressman Gary Palmer called the subpoena an attack on the nonprofit’s First Amendment right “to advocate for change in public policy.”
“However, through the DOJ’s subpoena you are seeking to limit those rights, by either intimidating Eagle Forum of Alabama from advocacy, or bankrupting or delaying the organization from doing additional good work through a burdensome document request,” Palmer said in the letter, which was signed by Republican Reps. Robert Aderholt, Barry Moore, Mo Brooks, Jerry Carl, and Mike Rogers….