[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E228]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   EXPOSING BIDEN LAWFARE PERSECUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 18, 2025

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to former 
Congressman Bob Livingston for courageously exposing the shocking 
mistakes and abusive lawfare of former Attorney General, Merrick 
Garland. Innocent Americans have been persecuted by the subversion of 
the Justice Department under the Biden Administration, beginning with 
the deranged, maniacal persecution of President Donald Trump.
  Under the Republican trifecta of the House, Senate, and Presidency, 
the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation will 
work on behalf of the people, not against them. American families can 
trust Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, both with 
proven records of professional competence.
  I include in the Record the following letter below, written by Bob 
Livingston to the Wall Street Journal, regarding his own experiences 
with former Attorney General, Merrick Garland and the Justice 
Department:

       ``Dear Mr. Attorney General, Your time in office won't run 
     out a moment too soon. You will be remembered as a tool in 
     the Democratic Party's strategy of misusing the Justice 
     Department to visit injustice on innocent people with 
     differing political views. I am a victim of your 
     dysfunctional leadership, but unlike many of your targets, I 
     have survived unscathed.
       I am 81. At the outset of my career, I enlisted in the U.S. 
     Navy and sewed on active duty for two years, followed by an 
     additional four in the reserves. When I returned to civilian 
     life, I completed my undergraduate studies and law school. 
     After some years of private practice, I successfully served 
     as a prosecutor in three separate government offices.
       I was then elected to Congress, where I served for 22 
     years. Shortly thereafter I created and ran the Livingston 
     Group, a lobbying firm. For 25 years we represented defense, 
     education, energy, health and corporate clients of all kinds. 
     We also represented international clients, private and 
     sovereign, but only if we were assured their interests 
     coincided with those of the U.S.
       In 2022 two Federal Bureau of Investigation agents came to 
     my home in New Orleans and questioned me about incidents 
     involving our representation of an international client in 
     2018. Having nothing to hide, I spoke with them for 2\1/2\ 
     hours.
       I told them everything I could remember. I told them the 
     truth. They quibbled with me about facts and reminded me of 
     incidents that for whatever reason I couldn't recall. I have 
     been interviewed by FBI agents in the past about varying 
     matters under investigation, never about me, and I thought 
     this no different. I was given to believe that they were 
     looking only for background information.
       At the end of the interview, the agents presented me with a 
     search warrant for all my company's records related to their 
     questions. As the lead agent left, she thanked me for my 
     service to the country. But as I read the search warrant, I 
     realized that this meeting was neither benign nor simply for 
     background. The next day, with my wife listening, I called 
     the agent and asked directly: ``Am I a target?'' To my great 
     shock, the agent said yes.
       In all my years as a lobbyist, I have bent over backward to 
     comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act. My company 
     has always filed reports pursuant to the law when we thought 
     they were due. I have repeatedly told my clients that we must 
     comply with FARA to avoid any possibility of transgressing 
     the law. The company has employed a full-time officer to 
     assure compliance.
       Yet Justice Department prosecutors said on several 
     occasions that I was the target of felony charges. Every day 
     and night for 20 months, I lived with the possibility that 
     the hammer could drop at any moment. Everything I worked for 
     would be tarnished. My firm would collapse, my employees 
     would lose their jobs, all of us would be ruined in the 
     press, and I could go to prison.
       The conduct of law enforcement was torturous. In January 
     2024, a prosecutor interviewed a member of my staff, using 
     curse words and accusing her of lying. In December 2023 an 
     FBI agent harassed our FARA compliance officer, David Lonie, 
     who had been a congressional staffer on the House Rules 
     Committee before working with us for many years.
       Lonie was an honorable and decent man, the epitome of 
     integrity and honor. The agent nevertheless told him that if 
     he knew what was good for him, he would talk. Dave was scared 
     to death. He went to bed on Dec. 31, 2023, and didn't wake 
     the next day. His family is devastated.
       My company and I were innocent of all charges, and while I 
     am pleased this Kafkaesque harassment is over, I am not 
     content to simply shrug my shoulders and move on. We spent 
     incredible amounts of money on legal counsel, more than three 
     times what we earned by representing the client at issue. Our 
     attorneys prepared an 88-page brief rebutting all charges. 
     They succeeded in backing prosecutors down, but I am 
     convinced the department's actions were political and 
     malicious, targeting me as a lobbyist who has supported 
     Donald Trump and been critical of President Biden.
       Under your leadership, Mr. Garland, the Justice Department 
     has been guilty of lopsided enforcement. Hunter Biden was 
     nearly given a sweetheart immunity deal following receipt of 
     millions of dollars from foreign sources for which he didn't 
     file income tax returns or acknowledge his probable 
     obligations under FARA. He was subsequently convicted for 
     only a few of his crimes but has now been given a blanket 
     pardon by his father. Members of the Trump administration and 
     Mr. Trump himself have been hounded and arrested. They've had 
     their lives ruined for minor white-collar infractions. Mr. 
     Trump has prevailed over attempts to destroy him, but others 
     have been less fortunate.
       As for our case, as we detailed in our brief, a Democratic 
     firm wasn't as compliant regarding similar facts over a much 
     longer period and to my knowledge was never investigated. If 
     we had been charged and tried for six-year-old incidents 
     despite our constant efforts to comply with the law, our case 
     would have become additional evidence that you have led a 
     department that has overtly ignored its obligation to provide 
     justice.
       The statute of limitations expired on our case in November, 
     and prosecutors have said they are no longer interested in 
     pursuing charges. That's nice but hardly satisfactory. As a 
     matter of justice, Mr. Garland, you owe us and the American 
     people a profuse apology.''

                          ____________________