Elissa Slotkin raises alarm over secret Trump-era terrorist group designation list

BY KATHERINE DAILEY, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—US Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) called a new policy enacted by President Donald Trump “unprecedented” and “straight out of an authoritarian playbook, where the President gets to play judge, jury and executioner” in a speech on the Senate floor on Oct. 8.

The policy, known as National Security Presidential Memorandum 7, was published by the White House on Sept. 25 and gives the president and the Attorney General broad authority to investigate any person or group that they consider to be involved in domestic terrorism or political violence.

“As a nation, I think we should have as a basic principle that you can’t have a secret list of terrorist organizations that the American public and certainly the US Congress don’t get to even know the names of,” Slotkin said.

The memorandum says that any group advocating for a wide range of political views, which the statement lumps as “anti-fascist,” could fall into this category and thus be deemed terrorist organizations. Specifically, he includes any groups that demonstrate “anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity; support for the overthrow of the United States Government; extremism on migration, race, and gender; and hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.”

Slotkin’s comments came during debate on a war powers resolution from Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Adam Schiff of California that sought to limit the president’s power to authorize military action, following four strikes on boats in the Caribbean. The resolution failed 48-51.

According to Slotkin, a letter from the Trump administration said that the United States is in “a non-international armed conflict” against “designated terrorist organizations,” she said in her speech. After asking for a list of those organizations from the Department of Defense, Slotkin added, she was told that no such list could be provided.

“If this administration is not telling us who’s on their secret designated terrorist list for groups in the Caribbean, they’re definitely not going to tell us who’s on their list of domestic terrorist organizations,” she continued.

A request for comment was sent to the White House, but has yet to be returned.

Slotkin, a CIA officer and former Pentagon official, noted the differences between this practice and how in the past new terrorist groups would be designated—by notification to Congress.

“But that is not what’s going on today,” she said. “We will not understand the apparently dozens of terrorist organizations that we have now named until we understand their names.”

As written in the White House memo, recommendations of which groups to designate as domestic terrorists can come from the Attorney General. “The Attorney General shall submit a list of any such groups or entities to the President through the Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor,” it continues, leaving Congress out of that chain of communication entirely.

Though there has been no confirmation if any group has been investigated or designated as domestic terrorist organizations, a Reuters article published the day after Slotkin’s speech explained broader implications of the policy, saying that individuals like Democratic donors George Soros and Reid Hoffman might be potential targets of investigation for Trump.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement emailed to Michigan Advance that “left-wing organizations have fueled violent riots, organized attacks against law enforcement officers, coordinated illegal doxing campaigns, arranged drop points for weapons and riot materials, and more.”

Jackson did not provide any evidence supporting the claims, nor have law enforcement officials publicly provided any proof of such a coordinated effort.

Regardless, Jackson said Trump’s executive actions would “address left-wing violence” and “put an end to any illegal activities.”

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This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.