Trump's War on the Left: Inside the Plan to Investigate Liberal Groups

 Trump's War on the Left: Inside the Plan to Investigate Liberal Groups

According to officials, President Donald Trump's crackdown on the finances and activities of liberal nonprofits and groups opposed to his agenda is a multi-agency effort, with top White House aide Stephen Miller playing a central role.

Officials said the Trump administration plans to deploy the US counterterrorism apparatus—which includes the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Justice—as well as the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department against certain left-wing groups it accuses of funding and organizing political violence.

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This effort marks an escalation of the administration's efforts to target domestic opponents, raising concerns among civil rights groups and Democratic leaders about the use of executive power.

Reuters spoke with three White House officials, four Department of Homeland Security officials, and one Justice Department official to provide the first comprehensive account of how decisions are being made, forces are being deployed, and operations are being coordinated.

All administration officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations more openly. A White House official said Miller is involved in a thorough review of government agencies' investigations into the financial networks behind what the administration calls "domestic terrorist networks," including nonprofits and educational institutions.

The Trump administration has released some examples of incidents of left-wing violence, but has provided little evidence of any coordinated effort.

"Left-wing organizations have incited violent riots, organized attacks on law enforcement officers, coordinated illegal doxxing campaigns, arranged drop points for weapons and riot gear, and more," the White House said in a statement to Reuters.

Miller did not respond to a request for comment.

'Anti-American, Anti-Capitalist, and Anti-Christian'

Two weeks after the September 10 murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Trump issued a presidential memorandum directing the National Joint Terrorism Task Force to focus on "domestic terrorists" whose shared ideologies include "anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity."

Trump's opponents say that focusing on liberal and left-wing groups ignores violence committed by right-wing organizations. They point to the January 6, 2021, violence at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who attempted to overturn his 2020 election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump has pardoned most of those responsible for the violence that day.

Although Trump has often blamed left-wing groups for the violence, a second White House official said the president's directive does not mention them and is intended to prevent organized political violence before it occurs.

The official said that "the focus remains on violence and illegal activities," and that left-wing groups are free to protest within the law.

Trump's sweeping crackdown on immigrants has led to clashes between Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and protesters in US cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago. Trump and Miller have claimed that protests that have seen sporadic violence are evidence of domestic terrorism.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Miller insisted that protesters were involved in "a continuous series of violence" that was part of a larger conspiracy to disrupt federal operations.

Which groups have been targeted?

When asked by a Reuters reporter in the Oval Office on September 25 about potential targets of the domestic terrorism investigation, Trump mentioned George Soros—a Democratic donor whose charitable network supports civil rights, education, democracy, and other issues—and Reid Hoffman, co-founder of the online professional networking platform LinkedIn and another Democratic mega-donor.

The president did not provide evidence of any wrongdoing. Trump said, "If they're funding these things, they're going to have some problems. Because they're agitators and anarchists."

Hoffman declined to comment through a spokesperson.

A spokesperson for Soros' charitable foundation network refuted the president's claims.

The spokesperson said, "Neither George Soros nor the Open Society Foundations fund protests, support violence, or incite it in any way. Claims to the contrary are false."

In response to a separate request, the White House highlighted seven political protests scheduled for 2023 and 2025, including incidents of violence against law enforcement officers, two incidents of vandalism at Tesla dealerships this year, and half a dozen social media posts celebrating the damage.

It includes the names of nine liberal groups, donors, or fundraising organizations that helped finance or plan protests in the locations of violent incidents.

While a second White House official stressed that these organizations were not necessarily potential targets, the material provides a glimpse into the administration's thinking.

The list includes Soros's Open Society Foundations; ActBlue, the Democratic Party's funding arm; Indivisible, a grassroots coalition opposing Trump's policies, and the Los Angeles-based group Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights.

A third White House official said, "The goal is to destabilize Soros's network."

Indivisible spokesman Ezra Levin said the group has never organized or called for violence. He added, "These slanders are being used to discredit our movement."

ActBlue spokesman Carter Christensen said Trump's actions were an attempt to suppress dissent. He added, "We take our legal and civic responsibilities seriously." Angelica Salas, executive director of CHIRLA, said the group advocates for peaceful engagement. "The Trump administration continues to spread misinformation and false accusations. But this will not work," she said in a statement.

Other groups on the list include two Jewish nonprofits that oppose Israel's war in Gaza—IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace. IfNotNow declined to comment, while Jewish Voice for Peace did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump's directives create confusion

The first White House official said Miller is playing an "active" role in investigating the funding of nonprofits and educational institutions and is sharing recommendations from Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant with Trump and other top advisers.

The official said Miller is Trump's chief adviser on the issue and is receiving regular updates from the Joint Terrorism Task Force—a coalition of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies tasked with investigating terrorism.

A Justice Department official declined to elaborate on the task force's plans, but said the FBI's role includes analyzing financial networks for financing activities linked to violent crime.

Potential methods of funding or shutting down these groups include investigations by the IRS to strip them of their tax-exempt status; criminal investigations by the Justice Department and the FBI; surveillance by federal law enforcement agencies; the use of RICO laws, commonly used against organized crime, and financial investigations under anti-terrorism laws to identify donors and financiers, according to people familiar with the investigations and officials' public statements.

"We will continue to try to get to the bottom of who finances these organizations," White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt told reporters on Monday.

Civil liberties groups say that investigating these groups' funding and potentially stripping them of their tax-exempt status could force some of them to shut down.

Trump also signed an executive order last month designating the anti-fascist movement Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, despite the group's decentralized nature and lacking a formal structure.

At an event with conservative commentators and influencers on Wednesday, Trump asked participants to name groups and funders they claim incite violence, thus gathering potential targets through real-time crowdsourcing. He then pledged to take action against these groups.

The White House also released a list of more than a dozen incidents since 2016 that he alleges were perpetrated by Antifa.

A Justice Department spokesperson said the agency would "prosecute those involved in Antifa's criminal acts—including those who fund, supply, and enable these criminals to commit violence and destruction."

Trump's dual directives on domestic political violence have created confusion; According to two DHS officials not authorized to speak publicly, lawyers at the Department of Homeland Security are trying to figure out how to legally enforce these directives.

DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the agency is implementing Trump's directive "fully and faithfully."

Legal experts told Reuters that, unlike international terrorist groups, there is no legal mechanism for designating a U.S. group with no foreign ties as a terrorist organization.

One of the two DHS officials said that several intelligence analysts who worked on domestic terrorism investigations have taken leave as part of Trump's effort to cut the size and costs of the government, further complicating efforts to target left-wing groups.

Nevertheless, two ICE officials reported that in recent weeks, ICE has directed some investigative agents to focus on domestic terrorism. One official said this was part of a broader effort to redirect resources to focus on domestic terrorism.

This action against domestic groups and their donors comes at a time when Trump is attacking law firms, universities, and the media, and deploying National Guard troops to some Democratic-run cities.

Democrats and civil society monitors say the move is aimed at silencing the opposition and taking revenge on his perceived personal political enemies.

Presidential historian and former director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Timothy Naftali, said that Trump and Nixon were similar in their desire to punish political enemies and silence critics, but a Republican-controlled Congress and a cabinet full of loyalists are helping Trump gain further influence.

“That’s why this particular moment is even more dangerous for the rule of law in the United States than it was in the 1970s,” Naftali said.