Federal Groups, DHS Respond, After Group Puts Employees on “Watch List”
The Department of Justice Gender Equality Network (DOJ GEN) is among the federal employee groups demanding action after the release of a “Watch List” targeting federal employees for firing as well as other doxing incidents, which involve the publication of personal information online.
The list was released by the far-right nonprofit American Accountability Foundation.
It targeted both political and career officials in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), over their handling of immigration policy as well as their apparent support for Democrats and topics like diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA). The foundation published salaries, credit card debt, political donations, social media posts, and other information on the federal employees online.
In a letter to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Assistant Attorney General Jolene Lauria, DOJ GEN asks Justice Department leadership to “protect its workforce by scaling up and centralizing its response to online threats.”
The letter notes that the threats go way beyond the latest salvo from the American Accountability Foundation as there has been an uptick in threats against federal employees since the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. And recent studies showed that the locations and movement of federal workers can be tracked through the purchase of phone data.
DOJ GEN is asking DOJ to form a “centralized triage team” made up from workers across various DOJ agencies and offices to respond to doxing and other online threats. DOJ GEN wants the triage team to:
· Institute a centralized reporting system and clearinghouse
· Create and distribute employee guidance
· Clarify the protective detail request process
· Increase access to commercial identity protection services
· Expand counterintelligence assessments
· Coordinate and strengthen takedown efforts
· Increase awareness and enforcement of applicable criminal statutes
· Conduct a workforce survey
· Work with Congress on legislative solutions
· Explore whether particular communities require tailored response strategies
· Issue a new DOJ order protecting employees
“While Justice Department employees are unusually vulnerable to doxing and other online threats, the Department is uniquely equipped to mitigate the harm they pose. We ask you to do every reasonable thing in your power to protect our safety and health in the face of unprecedented threats, and we stand ready to help in any way we can,” wrote DOJ GEN President Stacey Young and member Jay Sinha in the letter.
DOJ said it would take the security request into consideration.
“The women and men of the Justice Department are dedicated public servants who work every day to ensure the fair and impartial application of our laws,” the DOJ said in a statement. “Protecting their safety and security is necessary for the Department to carry out its vital mission.”
Federal labor groups have also called for condemned the targeting incidents.
The American Federal of Government Employees (AFGE) called it McCarthyism.
"Creating watchlists of so-called subversives inside government is a tactic straight out of the McCarthy era, plain in its intent to terrorize individual civil servants and frighten other Americans away from getting involved in politics and public service,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelly. "Far from doing anything to improve government, this shameful, un-American behavior makes it more difficult to attract top talent to important government positions, hurting the entire country in the process."