President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Thursday to expand investigations into unnamed groups suspected of supporting political violence, raising concerns that it will be used to target his political opponents.
Following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier this month, the directive aims to intensify efforts across the government to identify organizations supporting what officials called “domestic terrorism and organized political violence perpetrated by radical, politically motivated groups.”
“We’re going to get out there and do a pretty big number on those people,” Trump said from the Oval Office, claiming without evidence that “wealthy people” are funding political violence.
The memorandum comes as Trump has blamed the “radical left” for Kirk’s death and other recent violent incidents, including a fatal shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas on Wednesday, despite limited public knowledge of the motive. The White House previously designated Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization, despite the fact that it lacks a centralized organizational structure and clear leadership.
When asked what other groups the administration might target with Thursday’s memo, Trump and other officials declined to name any specific organizations.
“Any organized group who is committing these crimes,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said of their targets.
However, Trump later singled out prominent liberal donors George Soros and Reid Hoffman as people he is “hearing” about, raising fears that the memorandum will be used to investigate Trump’s political opponents.
Trump and Bondi were also questioned about New York Times reporting on a Justice Department push to investigate Soros’ foundation, and whether that was part of the memorandum he signed.
“I’m not going to comment on whether there is or is not a pending investigation, but everything’s on the table right now,” Bondi informed reporters.
“I don’t think anybody has to ask,” Trump said. “If you look at Soros, he’s at the top of everything,” the politician said. “He’s in every story that I read, so I guess he’d be a likely candidate.”
A spokesperson for Soros’ Open Society Foundations noted that Trump provided no evidence of wrongdoing and referred to an earlier statement issued by the organization rejecting accusations that it funds terrorism, calling the administration’s actions “politically motivated attacks on civil society, meant to silence speech the administration disagrees with and undermine the First Amendment right to free speech.”
“When power is abused to take away the rights of some people, it puts the rights of all people at risk,” the Open Society Foundations stated in a statement.
CNN has sought comment from Hoffman’s venture capital firm, Greylock Partners.
Earlier Thursday, Trump accused the “radical left” of inciting violence with their rhetoric, warning that it could spark a right-wing backlash that “will not be good” for the left.
“The radical left is causing this problem — not the right, the radical left — and it’s going to get worse and ultimately it’s going to come back on them,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question about the shooting at the ICE detention facility, which killed one detainee and seriously injured two others. “The right is not doing this, they’re not doing it and they better not get them energized, because it won’t be good for the left.”
While the president stated that he does not want to see any retaliation, he also cautioned that it may become unavoidable in time.
“It’ll be a point where other people won’t take it anymore, and that will not be good for the radical left,” the president stated.
The FBI and other Trump administration officials have stated that a review of the evidence thus far indicates that the shooter was ideologically motivated in targeting the ICE field office and that he fired indiscriminately at the building.
Nancy Larson, acting US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, stated that the man’s handwritten notes revealed “hatred for the federal government” and led investigators to believe he intended to target ICE personnel and property, despite the fact that all three victims were detainees.
The shooter, who was found dead at the scene, does not appear to be affiliated with any specific groups or entities, and his writings make no mention of government agencies other than ICE, according to the prosecutor.
