The Brief | Planned Parenthood Was Feeding the DOJ Dossiers on Pro-Lifers
Plus: The appeals court just slapped down Judge Boasberg, Swalwell's free fall continues with a new rape allegation, and California wants to make it illegal to expose fraud.
Iran has been dominating the news cycle, and the president is signaling that something big is happening over the next two days, encouraging the press overseas covering the negotiations to stay. Also, he seems pretty confident he will meet with Xi in May. We will see.
But in today’s Brief, let’s bring it back domestically.
In today’s Brief:
The Biden DOJ partnered with Planned Parenthood and abortion groups to build dossiers on pro-life activists before ever charging them
A D.C. appeals court shut down Judge Boasberg’s contempt probe into Trump officials over deportation flights
Eric Swalwell officially resigned from Congress as a fifth accuser came forward with rape allegations
California Democrats advanced a bill critics are calling the “Stop Nick Shirley Act” to shield immigrant NGOs from investigative journalism
Someone threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman’s house and had a hit list of AI executives
Let’s get into the news!
The Biden DOJ Was Running Surveillance on Pro-Lifers With Help From Planned Parenthood
An 882-page report from the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group dropped Tuesday, and the details are worse than the headline. This isn’t just about selective prosecution. It’s about a federal agency coordinating with private abortion advocacy groups to track, surveil, and build cases against American citizens exercising their First Amendment rights.
The report alleges that after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, then-AG Merrick Garland stood up a national task force to pursue FACE Act cases against pro-lifers. The task force was run by Civil Rights Division trial attorney Sanjay Patel, who was, per internal emails, on texting terms with the National Abortion Federation’s security director. He called her an “MVP” for flagging incidents that “usually result in investigation/prosecution.”
It gets worse. Planned Parenthood, the National Abortion Federation, and the Feminist Majority Foundation were supplying the DOJ with full dossiers on pro-life activists. Personal addresses. Family photos. Drivers’ license numbers. Travel plans. All before any charges were filed.
One activist, Calvin Zastrow, was monitored for years. Patel emailed the NAF in 2021 asking about Zastrow’s travel to Montana. He wasn’t charged until October 2022. His daughter Eva was flagged in a 136-page DOJ dossier that cataloged her associations, physical description, and missionary work.
Then there’s the Mark Houck case. Houck, a Catholic father of seven, was arrested by 16 FBI agents at his home in rural Pennsylvania over a shoving incident at a clinic. A federal jury acquitted him. The Trump administration later settled with him for over $1 million.
The sentencing numbers tell the story. Biden prosecutors sought an average of 26.8 months for pro-life defendants. For pro-abortion defendants? 12.3 months. Actual sentences: 14 months versus 3 months.
Internal emails also showed prosecutors trying to screen out Christian jurors, referring to pro-lifers as “culty,” and complaining about getting assigned a “very Catholic magistrate.” One prosecutor griped the judge was “very particular about the bond conditions and not infringing on their first amendment rights.” Imagine being annoyed that a judge cares about constitutional rights.
Four prosecutors were fired Monday, including Patel. Acting AG Todd Blanche said the department “will not tolerate a two-tiered system of justice.” Trump had already pardoned 23 pro-life defendants convicted under Biden’s FACE Act push.
The Washington Post predictably downplayed the findings, noting that most Biden-era cases ended in convictions. Sure. The question was never whether prosecutors could win cases. It was whether the government selectively weaponized a federal law against one side of a political debate. Eight hundred eighty-two pages say yes.
Appeals Court Shuts Down Boasberg’s Contempt Probe
The D.C. Circuit told Judge James Boasberg to stand down. In a 2-1 ruling Tuesday, the appeals court ordered him to end his criminal contempt investigation into Trump administration officials over the Venezuelan migrant deportation flights to El Salvador last March.
Judge Neomi Rao, writing for the majority, called the proceedings “a clear abuse of discretion” and a “legal dead end.” The court found Boasberg’s contempt probe encroached on executive branch autonomy over matters of national security and diplomacy. The government had already named then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as the responsible official, making further judicial digging “unnecessary and therefore improper.”
Judge J. Michelle Childs, a Biden appointee, dissented with an 80-page opinion arguing the ruling “stymied the district court’s inherent and statutory powers.”
The White House didn’t mince words. “We have long known that Judge Boasberg is a far-left judicial activist trying to undermine the President’s lawful authority,” said White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson.
Boasberg issued an oral order last March demanding the government turn around planes bound for El Salvador. He later said the administration defied it. The administration said the order never mentioned transferring custody. The appeals court agreed.
Boasberg already had a DOJ misconduct complaint filed against him, and Trump has called for his impeachment. Tuesday’s ruling doesn’t end the broader Alien Enemies Act legal battle, but it puts a lid on the contempt theater.
Swalwell Resigns as New Rape Allegation Surfaces
Eric Swalwell’s political career ended on Tuesday. Not with a press conference. With a paper resignation filed hours after a fifth accuser came forward at a press conference in Beverly Hills.
Lonna Drewes, a former model and entrepreneur, alleged that Swalwell drugged her drink and raped her at a West Hollywood hotel in 2018. She said she’d only had one glass of wine. “When I arrived at his hotel room, I was already incapacitated, and I couldn’t move my arms or my body,” Drewes said. “He raped me and he choked me. And while he was choking me, I lost consciousness. I thought I died.”
Drewes appeared alongside attorney Lisa Bloom and said she planned to file a police report with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. She said she disclosed the assault at the time to people close to her and later discussed it in therapy. Her delay in going public, she said, was “driven by fear, not doubt.”
Swalwell, through attorney Sara Azari, called the allegations “false, fabricated, and deeply offensive” and a “political hit job.” He denies all claims of nonconsensual contact.
At least four women have now accused him of sexual misconduct, according to CNN, including a former staffer who alleges he raped her in 2024. The Manhattan DA’s office confirmed it is investigating. The House Ethics Committee had opened a probe. An expulsion resolution was being drafted. Pelosi pulled her endorsement.
Sen. Ruben Gallego has also been facing significant scrutiny over his close friendship with Swalwell. Gallego onfirmed he’d heard Swalwell rumors “for years.” When pressed by reporters, Gallego got visibly flustered and tried to characterize what he’d heard as Swalwell being “flirty.” The reporter pushed back, “That wasn’t the issue.”
A special election for California’s 14th District is expected on August 18, 2026. Also, on Tuesday, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) resigned after it was revealed he sent sexually explicit texts to a staffer who later died by suicide. His departure, combined with Swalwell’s, leaves the GOP House majority at 216-213.
TMZ On The Hill
It’s about to get more interesting in D.C.
Agreed Meghan!
California’s “Stop Nick Shirley Act” Moves Forward
California Democrats advanced AB 2624, a bill that would expand privacy protections for “immigrant services providers” and allow them to demand the removal of videos, even those recorded in public. Violators face up to a $10,000 fine and a year in county jail. If someone gets hurt as a result of shared information, penalties jump to $50,000 and felony imprisonment.
Assemblyman Carl DeMaio (R) dubbed it the “Stop Nick Shirley Act” after the YouTuber and citizen journalist whose viral investigations exposed millions in fraud at Somali-run daycare centers in Minnesota and fake hospice operations in California.
The bill’s author, Assemblywoman Mia Bonta (D), says it protects people facing “targeted harassment” and mirrors Safe-at-Home protections for domestic violence survivors. DeMaio pressed her on a double standard: California Democrats are simultaneously trying to strip privacy protections from law enforcement officers. Bonta said her bill was unrelated.
The bill is now awaiting its next committee hearing. Lawmakers have until the end of August to send it to the governor. Translation: this fight is just getting started.
Quick Rundown
Molotov cocktail thrown at Sam Altman’s home. Suspect Daniel Moreno-Gama, 20, faces attempted murder and arson charges after allegedly traveling from Texas to San Francisco to attack the OpenAI CEO’s house and later target OpenAI headquarters. He reportedly carried a manifesto advocating violence against AI executives and a list of other names and addresses. No injuries reported, but the domestic terrorism implications are serious.
“Baby Jessica” arrested in Texas. Jessica McClure Morales, the woman the world watched get rescued from a well as an 18-month-old in 1987, was arrested Saturday in Midland County on a charge of assault causing bodily injury involving family violence. She was released on bond. Limited details available.
House Democrats filed a 25th Amendment bill targeting Trump. Rep. Jamie Raskin introduced the long-shot measure, the latest in a string of Democratic efforts to remove Trump from office amid tensions over his Iran policy. It has zero chance of advancing in a Republican-controlled House, but it keeps the "unfit for office" drumbeat alive heading into midterm season.
Let’s Talk About It
The Biden DOJ was building dossiers with Planned Parenthood on people who hadn’t been charged with anything. Be honest: if this had been any other group being surveilled like this, would the reaction be different?
Lots of scandals on the hill and more are likely on the way with TMZ in town. How do we feel about TMZ in D.C.? Is Meghan right? Should they get a WH press pass?
Drop your takes in the comments. I’ll see you Friday.
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