Why Didn't The DOJ Tell Congress What They Knew About White Supremacist Domestic Terrorism?

White supremacists were accountable for all race-based domestic terrorism incidents in 2018, according to a U.S. Department of Justice report obtained by Yahoo News on Friday, August 8.


According to Yahoo, the report, which was prepared by New Jersey’s Office of Homeland Security Preparedness, was made public while the Trump administration was “unable or unwilling to allocate intelligence to Congress on white supremacist domestic terrorism.” It shows that 25 of the 46 people involved in 32 different domestic terrorism incidents were identified as white supremacists.


However Congressmembers never saw the report — as the Justice Department would not give them the figures.


“This is disappointing however unfortunately not surprising. In April, the Justice Department and the FBI briefed Senate Judiciary Committee employees on domestic terrorism, nearly six months immediately after Sen. Durbin’s office first requested the briefing,” an aide to Senator Dick Durbin (D-Il), a member of the Judiciary Committee, told Yahoo News. “At the briefing, the DOJ and the FBI were unable or unwilling to allocate precise intelligence on white supremacist terrorism, and neither organization has responded to our repeated follow-up questions since the briefing.”


A spokesperson from the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from MTV News.


“While white supremacy isn't a new phenomenon In the United States, it’s incredibly troubling the way the movement has been emboldened and the administration’s efforts to obfuscate the intelligence on these terrorist incidents simply defies logic,” Senator Cory Booker, also a member of the Judiciary Committee, told Yahoo News in an email.


The FBI is already facing intense scrutiny over its handling of domestic terrorism and white supremacy at a time when, according to the Washington Post, the threat of white nationalist violence usually be rising.


“I think in several ways the FBI is hamstrung in attempting to investigate the white supremacist movement like the old FBI would,” Dave Gomez, a former FBI supervisor who oversaw terrorism cases, instructed them Post. “There’s some reluctance among agents to bring forth an investigation that targets what the president perceives as his base. It’s a no-win situation for the FBI agent or supervisor.”


This report became public much less than a week right after a white supremacist opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas and killed 22 people. It was a blatant act of domestic terrorism, and will be treated as such, NBC News reported. The FBI hasn't classified it as white nationalism-fueled violence. At least one other white supremacist has since been arrested for threatening similar attacks.