Media Mentions – Functional Government Initiative

Navy officials called critics of LGBTQ+ Pride efforts ‘bigots’ and ‘a**holes,’ emails show

By Patrick Hauf (Fox News)

May 31, 2023

Navy officials dismissed critics of its promotion of LGBTQ+ Pride as “bigots” and “a**holes,” according to emails obtained by Fox News Digital.

Two Navy officials expressed disgust with negative public response to its social media posts for LGBTQ+ Pride Month last year, according to emails obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request from the Functional Government Initiative. The two officials schemed on how to best post its “rainbow wingtip graphic” for LGBTQ+ Pride Month, which they complained would be flooded with “feedback from trolls and ugliness.”

Making a Federal FOIA Request? Good Luck!

By Pete McGinnis (Townhall Op-ed)

May 28, 2023

FOIA is the acronym for the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), or it was when it became law in 1966. Since then, it’s come to stand for Feds Obfuscating, Impeding and Abusing. One of the first “open government” laws in the world often just highlights federal agencies shirking transparency and continuing dysfunction.

FOIA was initially conceived by U.S. Representative John E. Moss in the 1950s. It requires U.S. government agencies to disclose full or partial documents upon request, with nine exemptions to protect several types of records from disclosure. Congressman Moss was a champion of transparent and functional government. He would assuredly be dismayed that federal agencies don’t follow the spirit of the law even as they claim to follow the letter of it.

‘Public Deserves Answers’: Watchdogs Light Up Dem Gov Over Potential Conflict Surrounding His Pot Industry Investments

By Trevor Schakohl (Daily Caller)

May 12, 2023

Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore should fully disclose his ties to the cannabis industry given recent actions he has taken as governor to benefit recreational cannabis businesses, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Possessing 1.5 ounces of cannabis for recreational use will become legal in Maryland in July, and Moore has signed a law creating a recreational cannabis business licensing framework and released $40 million in previously-withheld funding for the Maryland Commerce Department’s Cannabis Business Assistance Fund. On May 1, Moore announced a blind trust for his investments, including $1.17 million of stock in the Chicago-based cannabis company Green Thumb Industries, the Associated Press reported, and now oversight experts are calling for Moore to fully disclose any potential conflict of interests he might have in the industry.

Report: Signatories of Spy Letter Have Scored Numerous Biden WH Visits

By Kristina Wong (Breitbart)

May 11, 2023

At least 11 of the signatories on the spy letter discrediting the Hunter Biden laptop story as Russian disinformation have scored “numerous visits” to the Biden White House, according to a report. The Washington Examiner reported Wednesday that between October 2021 and January 2023, at least 11 of the letter signers visited the White House a total of 24 times, according to visitor logs.

The signatories’ visits to the Biden White House underscore that the purpose of the letter was to help Joe Biden win the presidency, according to the recent testimony of one of its drafters, former deputy CIA Director Mike Morell.

Eleven Hunter Biden intel laptop letter signers have visited Joe Biden’s White House, records reveal

By Gabe Kaminsky (Washington Examiner)

May 10, 2023

At least 11 ex-intelligence officials who signed the infamous letter baselessly linking Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop to Russia have scored numerous visits to President Joe Biden’s White House, according to records reviewed by the Washington Examiner.

Between October 2021 and January 2023, 11 letter signers frequented the White House a total of 24 times, White House visitor logs show. The letter has come back under the spotlight following a handful of revelations, including that its organizer, ex-Obama CIA head Mike Morell, was “triggered” by then-Biden campaign adviser and now-Secretary of State Antony Blinken to write the letter and that a CIA official solicited signatures for it, according to testimony and an email obtained by the House Judiciary Committee.

The Biden Administration Continues to Undercut Its Own EV Goals

Op-ed by Pete McGinnis (Townhall)

May 6, 2023

In the midst of electric vehicle mandates and increased concerns about overreliance on China for critical mineral supply chains, the Biden Administration continues to make some dubious decisions. Enter the once-highly respected space agency.

In NASA’s quest to develop a satellite calibration site, it landed on an area on top of lithium deposits in Nevada – and squarely in the way of President Biden’s own environmental goals.

Watchdog Group Sues EPA For Records Of Frank Biden’s Potential Communication With The Agency

By James Lynch (The Daily Caller)

May 2, 2023

The Functional Government Initiative (FGI), a watchdog legal group, is filing a transparency lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for any potential communications between Frank Biden and the agency.

FGI filed its transparency lawsuit Monday after the EPA failed to provide records in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed in February. The FOIA request also sought records from a sugar cane lawsuit filed by Frank Biden’s employer, the Berman Law Group, where Biden works as a non-attorney senior advisor, according to its website.

Blinken denies role in intelligence letter calling Hunter Biden laptop story Russian disinformation

By Brady Knox (Washington Examiner)

May 1, 2023

Secretary of State Antony Blinken denied having any role in a letter signed by dozens of intelligence figures alleging that the Hunter Biden laptop story was Russian disinformation.

In an interview with Fox News’s Benjamin Hall, Blinken said that he stays out of political matters in his position, which would include involvement in the Hunter Biden laptop scandal. He added that testimonies to Congress from other intelligence figures vindicated his statement.

Ron Johnson says Antony Blinken told a ‘boldface lie’ to Congress by claiming he didn’t email Hunter Biden and demands Secretary of State preserve records

By Morgan Phillips (Daily Mail)

April 30, 2023

Sen. Ron Johnson accused Antony Blinken of telling a ‘boldface lie’ to Congress about his communications with Hunter Biden after his emails with the first son were revealed.

The Wisconsin Republican revealed that Blinken, when he was still working for the Biden campaign in December 2020, had come in to sit for a transcribed interview with his team. He was then aiming for the secretary of state job, a Senate-confirmed position.

Ron Johnson claims Antony Blinken lied to Congress about contact with Hunter Biden

By Brady Knox (Washington Examiner)

April 30, 2023

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) claimed that State Secretary Antony Blinken lied to Congress about his contact with Hunter Biden and “so much more.”

In an appearance on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures, Johnson relayed his belief that the secretary of state had “boldface” lied in a voluntary 2020 interview, in order to secure his current position in the government.