The Biden administration’s decision to launch an unprecedented investigation into Israel’s accidental shooting of a Palestinian-American reporter has landed the administration in hot water with Congress, which is signaling it will launch its own probe into anti-Israel bias and politicization at the Justice Department.
Attorney General Merrick Garland and "everyone involved in this disgraceful stunt should be investigated and then either fired or impeached," Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) told the Washington Free Beacon. The senator’s comments come just days after the Justice Department shocked the American Jewish community and Israeli government when it announced it would investigate the May 2022 shooting of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American Al Jazeera reporter who was killed during a standoff between Israeli forces and Palestinian terrorists. Congressional investigators want to know who signed off on this investigation and whether it was motivated by anti-Israel bias.
The DOJ’s investigation comes after Israel in coordination with the U.S. State Department conducted its own investigation into the matter. Israel determined Abu Akleh was killed by a stray bullet fired by an Israeli soldier and deemed the death accidental. The State Department said it was satisfied with the investigation, but Biden’s DOJ overrode this assessment on Monday when it informed the Israeli government the FBI would get involved.
Cruz and other congressional officials who spoke to the Free Beacon said the DOJ’s decision to target Israel is the result of the federal law enforcement agency’s politicization under President Joe Biden. Biden Justice Department appointee Kristen Clarke, for instance, came under fire during her Senate confirmation hearing after the Free Beacon revealed she edited a law journal that featured an anti-Semitic black nationalist who peddles conspiracy theories about Jews. The only way to root out this bias, sources said, is for Congress to launch an investigation into the DOJ’s anti-Israel agenda, which has been fueled by a cadre of anti-Semitic lawmakers in Congress known as "the Squad." These lawmakers, which include Reps. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.), pressured the DOJ for months to investigate the Abu Akleh shooting.
