In a critical letter addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) has accused the Trump administration of mounting “a dangerous attack” on the nation’s domestic counterterrorism mechanisms, NOTUS reported Wednesday.
Raskin warned that this dismantling now threatens the country’s capacity to detect and stop deadly plots.
The six-page letter comes amid bipartisan shock over politically motivated shootings in Minnesota last week that left former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark dead and another state lawmaker and spouse hospitalized.
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The Maryland Democrat tied the murders directly to President Donald Trump's policy failures.
He raised concern about the Justice Department’s reassignment of senior career attorneys from the National Security and Criminal Divisions to a “sanctuary cities” unit — a move that prompted many to resign and, Raskin asserts, “deprived the Department of decades of counterterrorism and national security experience.”
“The success of planned attacks like these is not inevitable; many such plans have been prevented in the past by early detection, careful monitoring, and zealous investigation and intervention by your respective agencies,” the letter said.
Raskin also criticized the FBI, claiming that the agency has slashed staff in its domestic terrorism unit, dismantled a national database tracking domestic terrorism and hate crimes, and instituted bureau‑wide polygraph screenings that he argues have spawned a morale‑crippling “witch hunt.”
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Raskin urged urgent congressional briefings, seeking clarity on what he described as the “complete scope of your dangerous attack on the programs, offices, task forces, and professionals who have worked conscientiously to keep us safe.”
“In its first 149 days, the Trump Administration has gutted the federal government’s ability to monitor, prevent, and prosecute domestic extremism, antisemitism, and hate crimes," the lawmaker wrote.