Trump DOJ official urges prosecutors to look into terrorism charges for left-wing group

A senior official in President Donald Trump's Department of Justice has ordered federal prosecutors around the country to investigate a group funded by billionaire Democratic donor George Soros.

Trump has demanded that Soros, a longtime villain to conservatives, be thrown in prison, and the senior DOJ official's directive lists possible charges – from arson to material support of terrorism – that prosecutors could file, according to a copy of the document viewed by The New York Times, which noted the memo suggests department officials are targeting individuals on the president's orders.

Aakash Singh, a lawyer in the office of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, issued the directive Monday, suggesting racketeering, wire fraud and other charges against the Open Society Foundations funded by Soros, supported by evidence from a recent report by the conservative watchdog group Capital Research Center, which monitors liberal money in politics.

The watchdog report claims the group “has poured over $80 million into groups tied to terrorism or extremist violence," citing its support for the Palestinian human rights group al-Haq, which has been critical of Israel and which the Israeli government declared in 2022 was a front for terrorist activity.

The Open Society Foundations denounced the accusations as “politically motivated attacks on civil society meant to silence speech" and defended its work as "peaceful and lawful" and aimed at "strengthening democracy and upholding constitutional freedoms.”

“Organizations should not be attacked for carrying out their missions or expressing their values in support of the communities they serve,” the organization stated. “We reject attempts to exploit political violence to mischaracterize our good work or restrict our fundamental freedoms, like freedom of speech and the freedom to give."

A DOJ spokesman defended Singh's directive.

“This D.O.J., along with our hard-working and dedicated U.S. attorneys, will always prioritize public safety and investigate organizations that conspire to commit acts of violence or other federal violations of law,” said Chad Gilmartin, a spokesman for the Justice Department.

The president has swiftly moved in recent weeks to pursue criminal charges against his perceived enemies, including those related to the cases against him after his first term, urging Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. attorneys under her direction to obtain indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, although prosecutors have expressed doubts about evidence of their alleged wrongdoing.

"After the killing of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk in Utah this month, the president threatened to use the levers of government to silence liberal protesters and donors to progressive groups, including Mr. Soros," the Times reported.

"Mr. Soros began his global grant network, now known as the Open Society Foundations, decades ago to fund democratic initiatives around the world, particularly in communist and formerly communist countries," the newspaper added. "In the 1990s, the organization expanded its work to the United States. It provides grants to groups that work for human rights, democracy and equity, but Mr. Trump and some Republicans contend, without providing evidence, that it is a shadowy network promoting civil unrest, violent protests and property destruction. Liberals say the assertions are falsehoods aimed at stifling dissent."