Press Releases

Circumventing recruiters, impersonating reporters, and changing information all in service to an agenda.

June 1, 2023

(Washington, DC) – Today, government watchdog Functional Government Initiative (FGI) announced it has found troubling evidence of politicization and ethical impropriety in documents obtained from the Navy in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. The documents come from the office of the Navy Chief Information Officer (CHINFO) and regard Navy preparations to participate in “Pride Month” in June 2022.

In a series of e-mails about modifying Navy shields and symbols with rainbow colors and the transgender flag, employees of the Navy Newsroom disparaged those who question the military’s role in pride month as “less savory members of our audience” and “bad actors.” Elsewhere in the documents, CHINFO personnel identified opponents of the military’s celebration of Pride Month as “bigots.” The staff also discussed how to evade objections to the LGBTQ modifications from within the Navy’s own Recruiting Command, with one employee suggesting giving the recruiters no notice of the changes until it was too late for any of the recruiters to express concerns.

In chat messages from May 5, 2022, a naval superior instructed a naval officer, prior to a news conference regarding their LGBTQ posts, to impersonate a reporter and ask questions to advance the agenda: “[Y]ou will act like a non‐navy Journalist. Please use your real name because I will not be able to remember fake names. You’re from [left-wing feminist site] Jezebel and will ask questions like: Before we get started, what is your gender identity and your preferred pronouns?”

Other suggested questions included, “IF THEIR GENDER IDENTIY IS DIFFERENT THAN THEIR OUTWARD IDENTITY: What hardships do you face being in uniform as a ______. Does the Navy and your peers allow you to be your true self?” and “How did you develop Harpy Daniels persona, what made you want to so openly tie her to your service?”

“Harpy Daniels” is the drag stage name of Navy Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley, whom the Navy recently named a “digital ambassador” to recruit young people.

The Navy also has issued conflicting statements about LGBTQ “safety transfers,” which can be made when stated concerns for the safety of service members and/or their dependents result in a permanent transfer prior to a normal projected rotation date.

Also, it appears that the armed services are offering solutions in search of problems. For example, amid a series of claims that state laws and policies are being enacted to curtail the rights of LGBTQ+ persons, branches of the military were prepared to consider requests for “safety transfers” to new duty stations for service members and their dependents if they felt unsafe or discriminated against on the basis of such state laws. Yet, the Navy candidly acknowledged to a reporter last June that it had not received any requests for safety transfers for reasons related to state laws or policies that may affect LGBTQ+ Service members or their dependents. However, two weeks later, a message to the same reporter said, “The Navy had 433 re‐assignments similar to safety transfers in FY21,” without additional detail about those re-assignments.

Peter McGinnis, spokesman for FGI, issued the following statement:

“It appears there are personnel in the U.S. Navy who believe promoting the LGBTQ agenda is more important than their ethical responsibilities to keep politics separate from their responsibilities in the military. Devising schemes to circumvent any input of recruiters while the armed forces suffer a recruiting crisis puts the nation at risk. Impersonating reporters as well as offering conflicting answers to inquiries are certainly nothing to be proud of regardless of what month it is.”

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Records show Interior supporting foreign energy and mineral production as it hinders domestic sources

April 6, 2023

(Washington, DC) – Today, the Functional Government Initiative (FGI) released records obtained from the Department of the Interior that raise concerns over the contradictory energy policies being pursued by the Biden administration. The records were obtained as part of an ongoing project by FGI to comprehend the priorities and actions being pursued by President Biden’s top appointees as they attempt to rein in inflation, reduce supply chain dependence on China, and transition away from fossil fuels.

In this year’s State of the Union Address, President Biden affirmed that climate change needs to be addressed immediately. He stated that the oil industry generated massive profits in 2022 and asserted that the US would soon lead the world in clean energy, largely dependent on critical minerals. However, records obtained by FGI reveal dysfunction within the Biden administration’s energy agenda. Although pushing for a “green transition” in the United States, the government is funding overseas oil and gas projects that appear to run counter to that effort. While the administration seeks to shut down oil and gas leasing on public lands domestically, the records demonstrate Interior is using taxpayer funds to support Albania and Somalia’s fossil fuel industry, despite the dramatically reduced environmental standards in those countries relative to the United States. The records reveal the interest in foreign energy efforts beginning on page 467.

The documents provided to FGI reveal Secretary Deb Haaland’s Interior Department is providing funding to Argentina to mine lithium, a critical mineral component in green technologies. Simultaneously, her Department has shut down mining opportunities around Chaco Canyon, a high-profile issue in her home state that saw intense lobbying from a group affiliated with her daughter, the Pueblo Action Alliance. Haaland is currently facing ethics scrutiny over her potentially inappropriate involvement in the issue. She has also exercised her authority to cancel leases and restrict mining of domestic sources of minerals necessary for expanded use of clean electricity technologies. It remains unclear what impact the decision to fund foreign energy projects will have on Interior’s climate change analysis or whether its panoply of mining restrictions have factored into the country’s increased reliance on China for critical minerals.

Peter McGinnis, spokesman for FGI, issued the following statement:

“I find these revelations very concerning. The records obtained by FGI also show that the government is undermining not only its own green transition goals but also America’s ability to meet its energy needs. The administration’s secret financing of foreign energy projects while imposing a moratorium and raising royalty rates at home is hardly a transparent way to run the government. It’s also one unlikely to lead to either a green transition or reduced dependence on China.”

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Without Congressional approval, is the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness program legal?

March 17, 2023

(Washington, DC) – Today, the Functional Government Initiative (FGI) announced a transparency lawsuit against the Department of Education (ED) for withholding records regarding student loan forgiveness and the extension of the moratorium on loan repayments through the end of December 2022.

In August 2022, FGI filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records regarding whether the ED took political considerations into account on the plan and timing of the student loan forgiveness program. This loan “forgiveness” by the federal government does not “eliminate” the loan, as many would believe, but would rather shift the burden of payment from borrowers to the federal government, funded by the taxpaying public. With no prior congressional directive or approval, this program has become the subject of much legal debate, with both ethical and moral concerns. In fact, these debates have now gone all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, who seems skeptical at best, regarding the legality of such a program.

While ED initially responded that they had received the FOIA request, they soon began to delay, citing the need to “conduct a vast search across multiple program offices, which we anticipate will result in a large amount of responsive records.” Since then, ED has become unresponsive and continued to withhold documents, thus resulting in FGI’s lawsuit.

Peter McGinnis, spokesman for FGI, issued the following statement:

“Checks and balances between the three branches of our federal government exist for a reason. Our system cannot work if any one branch decides to unilaterally enact new policy. The student loan forgiveness program estimated to cost more than $400 billion, and the decision to bypass Congress altogether raises both constitutional and ethical questions. While the courts are reviewing the legal concerns, FGI is focused on introducing transparency to what many believe was a politically driven decision months before the midterms and a handout to the administration’s most ardent special interest allies. We must also ask ourselves, is it truly fair to shift the burden of payment of these student loans onto the general taxpaying public, especially if those taxpayers already have other debts that were not ‘forgiven’ in kind?”

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The federal government pushing a transition to electric technologies while blocking domestic sources of minerals makes our energy security dependent on China

March 7, 2023

(Washington, DC) – Today, the Functional Government Initiative (FGI) announced transparency litigation against the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for failing to release records related to the cancellation of the Twin Metals lease in the Duluth Complex in northeastern Minnesota.

In March 2022, FGI filed multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for records surrounding the Biden administration’s cancellation of the Twin Metals mine. The proposed mine would have tapped into 95 percent of the U.S. nickel reserves and 88 percent of its cobalt, minerals necessary for electric battery technology. FGI’s FOIA request seeks to uncover what USDA communicated about the area with outside special interests as the agency pushed Interior to block mining. Those records would be even more enlightening now after recent actions by the administration. In January 2023, the Interior Department imposed a 20-year ban on the project, prohibiting any mining in the area for the foreseeable future. The stated reason blocking the mine is its proximity to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, managed by USDA’s Forest Service. Almost a year after FGI filed the initial FOIA request, litigation appears to be the only path to obtaining the documents.

While the Biden administration pushes increased use of electricity technologies, it has simultaneously placed roadblocks on the ability to reach that goal using domestic sources. The actions appear to put America’s green future in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. Shortly after canceling the Twin Metals lease, the administration acknowledged that the United States was behind China, which already accounts for 60 percent of the world’s rare earth minerals. The incident represents yet another aspect of the federal government’s perplexing and dysfunctional energy policies.

Peter McGinnis, spokesman for FGI, issued the following statement:

“The Biden Administration appears set on tying the fate of the country’s green transition to the whims of the Chinese Communist Party. The Twin Metals Mine is one such project that could have made the United States a competitor in the global critical mineral supply chain. Inexplicably, supply chain, human rights, and geopolitical concerns over the rise of China seem to have given way to the wishes of special interest groups opposed to any domestic mining or energy production. The public deserves to know why this mining project was really cancelled and who the key players were in this decision.”

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Frank Biden scheme to use environmental justice agenda to develop class action lawsuit presents ethical landmines for senior government officials

March 6, 2023

(Washington, DC) – Today, the Functional Government Initiative (FGI) announced an investigation into potential inappropriate interference by Frank Biden, the President’s brother, on an issue that has seen increased attention among several agencies within the Biden Administration. Since January 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Justice all have taken action or appear set to take up a high-profile issue being promoted by the President’s brother. The degree of Frank Biden’s involvement in driving these actions is a key focus of the investigation.

The issue revolves around the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), the practice of sugar field burning and environmental justice initiatives to form the policy and legal bases for lowering the already controversial national standards. As it stands, the President’s brother appears intent on using the sugar burning issue to enrich his current employer, a Florida law firm that has attempted to develop a class action around the issue. At least one misstep by Mr. Frank Biden has already been reported when his employer, the Berman Law Group, ran an ad in the Daily Business Review on President Biden’s Inauguration Day attempting to leverage their employee’s famous last name. The ad promoted a class action lawsuit against Florida sugar cane growers after the firm made the claim that controlled burns in sugar fields affect the health of nearby residents, particularly those communities at the center of the administration’s major environmental justice push.

Since the ad ran, the EPA has met often with powerful special interests, notably the Sierra Club, that appear to have been pulled into the President’s brother’s issue campaign. The effort at EPA to implement stricter NAAQS standards as part of the increasingly expansive environmental justice agenda appears well underway. As a supportive measure, the DOJ may be jumping in to the fray with its environmental justice litigation strategy placing companies at the center of environmental justice claims likely top targets. Unfortunately, these facts only validate concerns of inappropriate political interference and coercion by the President’s brother and his allies.

FGI has submitted FOIAs to the EPA seeking to discover to what extent Frank Biden or any of his associates at the Berman Law Group had contact with anyone at these agencies regarding sugar cane burns. Along with these FOIA requests, FGI has also submitted a FOIA to NASA. In July 2021, seven months after Frank Biden’s class action lawsuit ad, it was reported that NASA awarded a research grant of “over a quarter of a million dollars” to investigate these issues. Given the timeline of events and the possibility that the research could aid Frank Biden’s class action lawsuit, the highly respected space agency may prove yet another player in a potential influence scheme.

Peter McGinnis, spokesman for FGI, issued the following statement:

“While advertising yourself as ‘the president’s brother’ to gain clients is an ethical grey area, using that title to gain special access to government agencies is not. The timeline of Berman Law Group’s class action lawsuit and the EPA’s policy action, DOJ’s environmental justice office, and NASA’s research funding into the very same issue pushed by Frank Biden raise too many red flags to ignore. Americans deserve to know if their tax dollars went towards aiding Frank Biden’s various business endeavors and the environmental justice advocates allied with the Biden Administration.”

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Decision to list “currently stable” Antarctic penguin appears to be a backdoor to shutting down fossil fuel and green energy development.

February 13, 2023

(Washington, DC) – The Functional Government Initiative (FGI) is seeking information on the basis for the recent decision by the Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS or Service) decision to list the emperor penguin as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The FWS announcement, made in late October 2022 just before the midterm elections, was cited as a “call to action” for those concerned about climate change. But the listing may also impede the expansion of clean energy production as well.

The Department of the Interior (DOI), of which FWS is a sub-agency has made climate change and blocking domestic energy development a key priority in keeping with the agenda of the Biden Administration. In the last two years, leadership at the Department has been criticized for illegally halting all new oil and gas leases and throwing up several roadblocks to existing energy development projects. The Department’s opposition to development has focused largely on fossil fuel-related projects but has also extended to the nation’s most promising opportunities to explore and mine critical minerals necessary for the green energy transition.

This latest decision to place the emperor penguin on the threatened species list raises several immediate concerns among those interested in energy independence from hostile foreign nations including China, Russia, Venezuela, and Iran. Once finalized, the listing may create a legal basis to halt practically any major commerce or large development project – energy or otherwise – around the world based on a projected contribution to increased carbon emissions. FWS Director Martha Williams describes the listing as a “call to action” while indicating emperor penguin populations “appear to be currently stable.” The Service cites models showing the potential for a reduction of 26 percent to 47 percent in the penguin population by 2050 – nearly 30 years into the future – while also admitting that many populations of the species will “most likely remain stable.”

Peter McGinnis, spokesman for FGI, issued the following statement:

“This may seem like low-key announcement by the Fish and Wildlife Service, but it has the potential to be a death blow for any future development projects that deep-pocketed, litigation-happy, environmental special interests place in their sights. Giving the emperor penguin ESA protections because of the hypothetical, theoretical future effects of climate change, all while the population remains ‘currently stable,’ is the definition of dysfunction. If allowed to stand, FWS will have effectively eliminated any conceivable limit on the Endangered Species Act’s reach. In the midst of record inflation and a world-wide energy crisis, this is a stunning development. The public deserves to know which special interests have worked with Secretary Haaland’s leadership team to drive this monumental decision.”

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