Dem Rep Slams FBI’s Tesla Investigation as ‘Lawfare’ and ‘Political Weaponization’

Dem Rep Slams FBI’s Tesla Investigation as ‘Lawfare’ and ‘Political Weaponization’

On Monday, Fox News reported that the FBI had formed a new task force to address the rising number of attacks on Tesla dealerships, vehicles, and charging stations across the country. What initially started as protests against Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency efforts to uncover waste, fraud, and abuse in the U.S. federal budget has, in recent weeks, escalated into acts of violence.

Typically, actions such as throwing Molotov cocktails at Tesla vehicles, planting explosives under cars, shooting at dealership facilities, harassing vehicle owners, and setting fire to electric vehicle charging stations would be classified as criminal offenses. However, because these actions are being directed at a company owned by Elon Musk, many Democrats not only condone these attacks but believe they are justified.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), who appears to have assumed Adam Schiff’s mantle as the most truth-challenged member of the House Democratic Caucus, blasted the move on Tuesday, calling it “the political weaponization of the DOJ.”

He took to X to accuse Trump of using “his official authority to defend his benefactor Elon Musk. The FBI then created a task force to use our law enforcement to ‘crack down’ on adversaries of Musk’s. Where are the Republicans so opposed to ‘lawfare’?”

Now, while I understand that Democrats are panicking over the upcoming end of their decades-long, taxpayer-funded gravy train, it’s still hard to fathom that a U.S. congressman would publicly defend domestic terrorism.

As Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said so eloquently recently, “Our secret Republican plan for dealing with the Democrats is called, ‘Operation: Let them speak.’”

This is the political weaponization of the DOJ.

Trump uses his official authority to defend his benefactor Elon Musk.

The FBI then creates a task force to use our law enforcement to “crack down” on adversaries of Musk’s.

Where are the Republicans so opposed to “lawfare”? https://t.co/PZFbafcZ8V

— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) March 25, 2025

Attorney General Pam Bondi correctly began referring to the Tesla attacks as domestic terrorism which the DOJ defines as “involving criminal acts dangerous to human life, occurring within the U.S. or its territories, that appear intended to coerce a civilian population or influence government policy through intimidation or coercion, or by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.”

Can anyone seriously argue that throwing Molotov cocktails, randomly shooting into a car dealership, and detonating bombs to destroy vehicles do not meet that definition?

In a recent op-ed, George Washington University law professor and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley argued that the Tesla attacks “fit even the narrowest definition” of domestic terrorism. “It is political violence designed to intimidate and harm those with opposing political views.”

Turley noted: “Democrats have long been accused of belittling or dismissing the seriousness of such crimes. There is a sense of license among some on the left in carrying out attacks on those on the right.

“This is how rage rhetoric of leaders like Goldman can fuel violent rage in the most unhinged elements of their party.”

In a separate piece, Turley wrote:

What few today want to admit is that they [Democrats] like it. They like the freedom that it affords, the ability to hate and harass without a sense of responsibility. It is evident all around us as people engage in language and conduct that they repudiate in others. We have become a nation of rage addicts; flailing against anyone or anything that stands in opposition to our own truths.

Once released by the rage from the confines of reason and civility, it is easy to dismiss the investigation of political violence as ‘political weaponization.’ In attacking the FBI investigation, Goldman is the very voice of an age of rage.

From the moment Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency exposed the U.S. Agency for International Development as little more than a global slush fund for progressive causes, hysteria replaced rational thinking, preventing the party from mounting a coherent response. DOGE had struck a nerve, and Democrats have been lashing out haphazardly ever since.

Goldman’s reckless post is yet another example of a Democrat doubling down on the losing side of an 80-20 issue. Unfortunately, his tone-deaf remark won’t impact his reelection prospects in New York’s deep blue 10th Congressional District. However, should he ever choose to run for statewide or national office, it could certainly come back to haunt him.

But long before that, his reckless comment—along with similarly misguided remarks from his colleagues—will further tarnish the Democratic Party’s brand, already weakened by the November election.

The American people understand right from wrong, and they also recognize which party is responsible for the current madness.

Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.

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