{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://palmer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-gary-palmer-leads-alabama-republican-congressional-delegation", "Rep. Gary Palmer leads Alabama Republican Congressional Delegation in Demanding Answers from AG Garland, Department of Justice", "2022-09-20", "2022", "2022-09", "Republican", "House", "AL", "Gary J. Palmer", "P000609", "palmer.house.gov", "palmer", "https://palmer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Quotes from the delegation:\n\nRep. Gary Palmer (AL-06) \u2013 Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee\n\n\u201cEagle Forum of Alabama is an outstanding organization that represents the values of thousands of Alabamians. To have their first amendment rights infringed upon by the Department of Justice is disrespectful to our Constitution,\u201d said Rep. Gary Palmer. \u201cConstitutional protections should not be dictated by the political views of individuals in the White House or their appointees. Attorney General Merrick Garland owes an explanation for the motives behind this aggressive action against an organization simply petitioning the government on an issue important to them.\u201d\n\nRep. Jerry Carl (AL-01)\n\n\u201cThe Department of Justice\u2019s decision to target the Eagle Forum of Alabama is nothing more than a partisan attack against a conservative organization simply because of their political views. I\u2019m proud to join my colleagues in this effort demanding answers from Attorney General Merrick Garland as to why the DOJ is attacking private citizens for exercising their First Amendment rights.\u201d\n\nRep. Barry Moore (AL-02)\n\n\u201cThe Biden administration has shown time and again its eagerness to weaponize the executive branch against law-abiding Americans, and the DOJ\u2019s subpoena of Eagle Forum of Alabama is only the latest egregious example. The Biden administration must explain its actions and stop abusing its authority in such an un-American and partisan manner.\u201d\n\nRep. Robert Aderholt (AL-04)\n\n\u201cI am deeply concerned with the news that President Biden's Department of Justice has subpoenaed Eagle Forum of Alabama, a non-profit organization, to turn over its communications related to the development of legislative text. As Americans, we are protected by the First Amendment with the right to petition the government. This action by the U.S. Government is a blatant attempt to intimidate citizens from participating in the legislative process. It is vitally important that we hear from the Department of Justice about why they took this action and get an explanation for this violation.\u201d\n\nBackground:\n\nOn August 9th, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office in Birmingham sent a subpoena to Eagle Forum of Alabama to obtain its communications surrounding advocacy in support of a bill banning hormone treatments and gender transition surgeries for minors. After the bill\u2019s passage in the Alabama state legislature, Biden\u2019s DOJ filed a lawsuit against the legislation, and it was subsequently blocked by a federal judge in May.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:08:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://palmer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-gary-palmer-leads-alabama-republican-congressional-delegation"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3545341789722443, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}