Hello, Friends —
Despite the House of Representatives still being in August recess this week, I continued the fight to assert Congress' constitutional oversight authority related to January 6, 2021. Today, I introduced a resolution to censure and condemn United States District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, the judge presiding over the political case brought against President Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith, for exhibiting open bias and partisanship in her official duties on the bench.
During her tenure on the bench, Judge Chutkan has inappropriately expressed support for the violent Black Lives Matters riots that occurred in the summer of 2020, all the while handing down multiple harsh sentences to non-violent January 6th defendants. Additionally, during a sentencing hearing in October 2022, she inappropriately lamented that President Trump "remains free to this day," which is now even more concerning in the context of her presiding over his case. Her behavior signifies a notable departure from the expected impartiality and commitment to the rule of law. Justice may be blind, but the American people are not—we see Judge Chutkan for her actions, and we rebuke them in the greatest possible sense.
REP. GAETZ FIGHTS TO DEFUND USPIS' "INTERNET COVERT OPERATIONS PROGRAM"
On Tuesday, I reintroduced the "USPIS Surveillance Protection Act," which would defund the Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP) operated by the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). iCOP is not only outside USPIS' jurisdiction and infringes on American citizens' civil liberties but is more evidence of the government-sanctioned spying on its own citizens.
In April 2021, a report from Yahoo News exposed USPIS’ iCOP surveillance government bulletin that was distributed by the Department of Homeland Security. The bulletin reported the program's findings of “inflammatory” posts on social media accounts, including on Facebook, Parler, and Telegram.
In March 2022, following pressure from the House Oversight and Reform Committee, the USPS Inspector General released a report stating that “certain proactive searches iCOP conducted using an open-source intelligence tool from February to April 2021 exceed the Postal Inspection Service’s law enforcement authority.” Since then, there has been no indication that USPIS has shut down iCOP, likely meaning that this surveillance program is still violating our privacy and seeking to curb our First Amendment rights.
Instead of running a covert surveillance program to monitor political behavior on social media, the Postal Service should be focused on delivering the mail on time and on budget. If passed, my legislation would prohibit any federal funds, including amounts available in the Postal Service Fund, from being used by USPIS to carry out iCOP, or any other similar program. It is incumbent upon to Congress to immediately abolish this program once and for all.
Click here to read my press release in its entirety.
AROUND THE DISTRICT
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING MOSQUITO-BORNE ILLNESS
The Florida Department of Health has reported that Escambia County is under a mosquito-borne illness alert. Two cases of West Nile Virus have been reported in Escambia County since July. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Florida Department of Health have published helpful guidelines on how to prevent the spread of West Nile Virus:
- Drain standing water to stop mosquitoes from multiplying.
- Cover your skin with clothing and use mosquito repellent.
- Cover doors and windows with screens to keep mosquitoes out.
For more information, please visit the links below. If you think you or a family member might have West Nile virus disease, talk with your healthcare provider.
- Florida Health Mosquito-Borne and Other Insect-Borne Diseases
- Florida Health Mosquito-Borne Disease Prevention
- CDC West Nile Virus Prevention
THE 2023 CONGRESSIONAL APP CHALLENGE HAS BEGUN!
The Congressional App Challenge is a public effort to encourage kids to learn how to code. Students compete to code original applications for the chance to be selected for recognition, win prizes, and have their work put on display in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
Official registration for the 2023 Congressional App Challenge is now open! Students can register for the 2023 Congressional App Challenge and start coding their apps for 2023 using the link below. The competition deadline is November 1, 2023.
Click here to register for the Congressional App Challenge!
UPCOMING SERVICE ACADEMY NOMINATIONS
One of the most important duties I have as a Congressman is to nominate students to the United States service academies. These include the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
The students nominated represent the very best of our district and the entire country. This year, I will nominate up to ten individuals for each vacant academy slot allotted to our district. To request a military academy nomination from our office, please click here and complete the form. Submissions are due by Friday, October 13. If you have not submitted your printed form, please do so to my district office as soon as possible!
I wish you the best as you pursue your goal of attending one of the U.S. service academies and serving our country. Please direct any further questions about the application process to my Director of Military Affairs, Austin Bury at [email protected] .
For more information and frequently asked questions about academy nominations, click here.
GAETZ IN THE NEWS
Fox News — August 18, 2023
Matt Gaetz calls on Congress to probe Trump judge Tanya Chutkan for political bias in J6 sentencing
"'People gathered all over the country last year to protest the violent murder by the police of an unarmed man ... to compare the actions of people protesting, mostly peacefully, for civil rights to those of a violent mob seeking to overthrow the lawfully elected government is a false equivalency and ignores a very real danger that the Jan. 6 riot posed to the foundation of our democracy,' Gaetz cited Chutkan as saying."
WEAR Pensacola — August 15, 2023
EXCLUSIVE: Gaetz introduces bill defunding 'illegal domestic surveillance program' backed by Postal Service
"'We determined that certain proactive searches iCOP conducted using an open-source intelligence tool from February to April 2021 exceeded the Postal Inspection Service's law enforcement authority. Furthermore, we could not corroborate whether other work analysts completed from October 2018 through June 2021 was legally authorized. We also found that management did not develop a records management policy or sensitive information storage and retention standards for iCOP,' the report stated. However, Rep. Gaetz noted that no news of iCOP's shuttering has followed."
CBS News — August 16, 2023
Congressional effort grows to strip funding from special counsel's Trump prosecutions
"'We do not need to wait for the appropriations process,' Gaetz said. He urged colleagues to pass his standalone bill to defund Smith's office: 'The power of the purse is not some intermittent thing… It's something we have to wield day in and day out to achieve victory.' Gaetz acknowledged President Biden wouldn't sign such a bill into law, nor would Senate Democrats take up the legislation in the upper chamber of Congress, but Gaetz said the legislation would be a marker for where Republicans stand on the prosecution of Trump."
WHAT WE'RE READING
The Washington Times — August 17, 2023
House's corruption probe goes after Biden documents at National Archives
One America News — August 9, 2023
Fmr Green Beret Captain: Army Vaccine Mandate 'Was Not Legal'
The National Pulse — August 18, 2023
MORE WAR? U.S. Refuses to Rule Out Military Intervention in Niger.
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