If the name Susan Hennessey sounds familiar, it's because Matt highlighted last month what a partisan nutcase she is, when she was appointed to a senior position in the Justice Department’s National Security Division (NSD). Don't just take our word for it. On Thursday, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and Mike Johnson (R-LA) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland addressing those issues.
The letter began by noting that her "appointment raises serious concerns about potential political bias and perceived conflicts of interest due to her previous statements about high-profile NSD matters."
It also noted that:
The Justice Department must ensure all NSD employees—and especially those in senior positions—demonstrate objectivity, impartiality, and fairness in all national security matters. Ms. Hennessey’s prejudiced statements and her effort to erase her past comments show that she cannot meet this important standard.
This is a pattern for Biden's Justice Department.
Vanita Gupta, the Associate Attorney General, was confirmed by a 51-49 vote in April. That she was announced out of committee at all by rule-breaking Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) was highly criticized. As was reported when Gupta was being considered:
Gupta was a vehement critic of President Trump while she served as the president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. In hearings she's said she "regrets" her "harsh rhetoric." Republicans also note that her past statements suggest she wants to decriminalize drugs and defund the police.
Kristen Clarke was confirmed just a few weeks ago as the Associate Attorney General for the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, in a vote of 51-48. Reagan noted that "no Republican members voted in support of her confirmation" when Clarke's nomination was being considered in committee.
In a column for Townhall, Rick Manning wrote Clarke "is anti-police, consorts with bigots, and accuses black single mothers of raising criminals."
When it comes to Hennessey, both the letter and Matt's reporting highlighted the tweets Hennessey tried to get rid of to hide her bias.
As the letter read:
In addition to her controversial comments about high-profile NSD matters, Ms. Hennessey deleted tens of thousands of statements on her Twitter account prior to announcing her new position. From the timing and volume of deletions, we can only conclude that Ms. Hennessey took such drastic steps to erase her past controversial statements about national security matters and hide her political bias. Ms. Hennessey’s political bias is very concerning, but it is equally problematic for a Justice Department employee to exhibit a knowing and concerted effort to conceal inconvenient information. Ms. Hennessey’s deletion of these tweets raises serious questions about her commitment to transparency and accountability as a Justice Department employee.
The Obama-Biden Justice Department weaponized the NSD and our intelligence community to target the Trump campaign. Ms. Hennessey played a large role in promoting and legitimizing these attacks. Your decision to hire Ms. Hennessey to a senior position within the NSD suggests that rather than execute the law impartially and without fear or favor, you intend to continue the Obama-Biden Administration’s politicization and weaponization of our national security laws...
Here's some of the tweets Matt highlighted, in addition to noting how Hennessey has a particular personal vendetta against The Federalist's Mollie Hemingway.
Frightening that she is being rewarded for her role pushing the false and damaging Russia collusion hoax with a prominent position in the nat sec apparatus. Also worrisome, not gonna lie, is that she seems to have a personal vendetta against me for my work exposing that hoax. https://t.co/WVw1E6CdJh
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) May 10, 2021
In light of her publicly prejudging the probe as "partisan silliness" while out of government and in no position to know the state of the evidence—it seems reasonable to ask whether she could work on anything related and appear credible or objective.
— Jason Foster (@JsnFostr) May 10, 2021
Susan Hennessy is Louise Mensch with more powerful friends.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 10, 2021
Susan Hennessey lies without remorse.
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) May 10, 2021
She downplays intelligence community abuses.
And she salivates at the thought of State surveillance.
In other words, she is a perfect fit at the DOJ National Security Division. https://t.co/m0D7BzA2Ev
One of the most irresponsible Trump-Russia conspiracy theorists now has a senior job in the Biden Justice Department National Security Division. Deleted lots of tweets prior to announcement. https://t.co/1mgRsSawyo
— Byron York (@ByronYork) May 10, 2021
Susan thought that Tillerson was an agent of Russia. This does not sound like a stable person. Tweet is from Jan 7, 2017. pic.twitter.com/ewx7Jhxpuu
— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) May 11, 2021
It's not just a tweet here or there that Hennessey deleted. "Hennessey’s account currently shows 242 tweets, while internet archive Wayback Machine shows she had over 39,000 tweets as recently as November 2020," Rebecca Beitsch reported on Thursday for The Hill.
The letter concludes by asking completely reasonable questions, requesting a response by June 17, 2021.
Explain Ms. Hennessey’s role and responsibilities within the Justice Department’s NSD;
Explain whether Ms. Hennessey was hired as a Schedule C political appointee of the excepted service or under another federal employment category; and
Explain whether the Justice Department or any component of the Biden-Harris Administration requested, directed, or suggested that Ms. Hennessey delete her tweets.
Where have we heard this story before? Neera Tanden withdrew her nomination to head the Office of Management and Budget in March once it was clear she did not have enough support. Those who opposed her, like Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Susan Collins (R-ME) cited Tanden's tweets. Tanden became a senior advisor to Biden last month.
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