March 23, 2011
The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
Dear Attorney General Holder:
Recent media reports suggest that the former director of the Service Employees International Union’s (“SEIU”) banking and finance campaign has threatened to seriously endanger the welfare of the United States. In a forum at Pace University earlier this month, Stephen Lerner, the former SEIU official, revealed a “secret plan” to “cause a new financial crisis . . . destroy J.P. Morgan . . . and weaken Wall Street’s grip on power” by using “civil disobedience” to create “the conditions necessary for a redistribution of wealth and a change in government.”[1]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”[2] The escalation of Mr. Lerner’s threats would clearly constitute domestic terrorism and pose substantial harm to the American people and the economy. I am therefore requesting that you investigate Mr. Lerner’s terrorist plans and notify me how the Department of Justice plans to respond to these threats.
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal oversight committee of the House of Representatives and may at “any time” investigate “any matter” as set forth in House Rule X. An attachment to this letter provides additional information about responding to the Committee’s request.
If you have any questions regarding this request, please do not hesitate to contact [redacted]. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
_______________________
Jason Chaffetz
_______________________
Jason Chaffetz
cc: The Honorable Darrell Issa, Chairman
cc: The Honorable Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Minority Member
[1] Henry Blodget, Caught on Tape: Former SEIU Official Reveals Secret Plan to Destroy JP Morgan, Crash The Stock Market, And Redistribute Wealth in America, Bus. Insider, (Mar. 22, 2011), available at http://www.businessinsider.com/seiu-union-plan-to-destroy-jpmorgan (last visited Mar. 22, 2011).
[2] Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, (Oct. 26, 2007), available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/topics/crime/terrorism/ (last visited Mar. 22, 2011).
Thank you for your service to the country and taking action against such dangerous financial terrorism Congressman Chaffetz.
ReplyDeleteCongressman Chaffetz, I applaud your efforts regarding the better understanding of Mr. Lenners statements and his current influence with in the Executive branch. The concept of "checks and balances" within our goverment system is becoming very in effective. I would guess with the Justice Department directly under the President very little will be done with your request.
ReplyDeleteThere is however another avenue called congressional oversite. This tool has been little used by the Congress in the past two years and has given the president the opportunity to appoint Czars, Advisors,etc. circumventing the senates obligaton to scrutinize and approve. I fear if the House of Representitive will not exercise their ability to call witness the American People will never get to the bottom of purposes outlined by Mr. Lerner and others in the adminstration.
Our constitution has carried this country in good stead for hundreds of years. I want my children to have the opportunity to grow up under it's protection.
Please ask my representitive, Aaron Shock, to join you in this historic effort. Lincoln said a "house divided against itself will not stand."
We are heading in this drection.
Brad, Peoria,Illinois
Darrell Issa is the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee and Rep. Cheffetz CC'ed him, therefore he may have the Oversight Committee investigate this too.
ReplyDelete