Trump slams "radical left" after signing "organized political violence" memo
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President Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on Thursday. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
President Trump signed a presidential memorandum on countering "domestic terrorism and organized political violence" on Thursday.
Why it matters: Trump sought to tie the action to the "radical left," singling out Democratic Party donors George Soros and Reid Hoffman when asked by a reporter what names came to mind that may need investigating.
- ACLU issued a statement saying the memo is part of Trump's "larger pattern of abusing his power to target critics through invocations of law enforcement, national security, and financial sanctions authorities."
Driving the news: The memo is part of a wider crackdown on left-wing groups in the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing earlier this month that saw Trump sign an executive order designating the decentralized, leaderless antifascist movement antifa a "domestic terrorist organization."
- It directs administration officials to "allocate funding for law enforcement partners to detect, prevent, and protect against threats arising from this area," per the memo.
- Attorney General Pam Bondi is directed to "issue specific guidance that ensures domestic terrorism priorities include politically motivated terrorist acts such as organized doxing campaigns, swatting, rioting, looting, trespass, assault, destruction of property, threats of violence, and civil disorder," the memo says.
Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Service commissioner is directed to "ensure that no tax-exempt entities are directly or indirectly financing political violence or domestic terrorism."
- The commissioner is also tasked with ensuring that the IRS "refers such organizations, and the employees and officers of such organizations, to the Department of Justice for investigation and possible prosecution," the memo says.
What he's saying: Trump told reporters the aim of his action was to target "the funders of a lot" of the groups he believes are behind such acts.
- "Soros is a name certainly that I keep hearing. I don't know. I hear a lot of different names," Trump said.
- "I hear names of some pretty rich people that are radical left people. Maybe I hear about a guy named Reid Hoffman."
The other side: Open Society Foundations issued a statement earlier Thursday criticizing the Trump administration after the New York Times reported the Justice Department planned to investigate the operations of the Soros-funded philanthropic group for reasons including potential "material support of terrorism."
- The OSF said the allegations were "politically motivated attacks" and "without evidence on civil society."
ACLU's Hina Shamsi said in a statement: "After one of the most harrowing weeks for our First Amendment rights, the president is invoking political violence, which we all condemn, as an excuse to target non-profits and activists with the false and stigmatizing label of 'domestic terrorism.'
- "This is a shameful and dangerous move. But the president cannot rewrite the Constitution by memo."
- Representatives for the billionaire philanthropist Soros and LinkedIn co-founder Hoffman could not immediately be reached for comment.
Flashback: Trump threatens to prosecute George Soros for backing protests
