House Judiciary Committee Issues Subpoena to Southern Poverty Law Center

The House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena to the Southern Poverty Law Center after the organization did not respond to an earlier request for documents. The subpoena, reviewed by The Federalist, seeks records of communications between SPLC employees and any paid field sources.

The SPLC was indicted last month by a federal grand jury on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. The indictment alleges the group used donor funds to pay individuals connected to groups including the KKK.

A May 20 letter from the committee stated that the SPLC had not supplied any requested documents and had misrepresented the timeline and purpose of the oversight effort. The subpoena directs the SPLC to produce the materials by June 3. The subpoena also requests communications between the SPLC and the Department of Justice, FBI, or other executive branch agencies during the Biden administration.

The committee invited SPLC Interim President Bryan Fair to testify at a June 9 hearing. The hearing will examine the SPLC's role in civil rights policy and information about payments to individuals described as extremists, according to the committee letter.