Rising GOP star takes victory lap after Trump DOJ rolls back massive Biden anti-police push: 'Promise kept'
"Promise made. Promise kept," Hamadeh told Fox News Digital in a statement after his efforts to end DOJ weaponization against police departments, largely stemming from the George Floyd riots in 2020, came to fruition on Wednesday via an announcement from DOJ.
The DOJ announced on Wednesday it is scaling back "pattern and practice" probes that became prevalent under former AG Merrick Garland and were slammed by critics who argued the effort was politically motivated and impeded police officers from doing their jobs.
"Today, we are ending the Biden Civil Rights Division's failed experiment of handcuffing local leaders and police departments with factually unjustified consent decrees," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said as the Department of Justice made the announcement.
"I promised our law enforcement officers before taking office that I would end the weaponization of our judicial system and work with President Trump's Department of Justice to undo the damage wrought by the Biden Administration."
The Phoenix Police Department was the target of one of those oversight investigations in 2024 when Biden's DOJ released a report alleging Civil Rights violations and claimed the department was discriminating against minorities and using excessive force.
That probe has now been rejected by the Justice Department along with probes in several other jurisdictions, including Trenton, New Jersey, Memphis, Tennessee, Mount Vernon, New York, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Minneapolis and the Louisiana State Police.
The Phoenix Police Sergeants and Lieutenants Association (PPSLA) and the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) both issued statements praising Hamadeh's work on the issue.
"The Phoenix Police Sergeants and Lieutenants Association (PPSLA) is grateful to Congressman Abe Hamadeh for keeping his promise to us," PPSLA President Ben Leuschner said. "While we very much appreciate the support of everyone who advocated on our behalf, we know that Congressman Hamadeh took the fight to an important level. Today, justice was won for the residents we are sworn to protect and serve as well as our members."
"We are grateful that both President Trump and Congressman Hamadeh stood with us against the Biden Administration's DOJ's flawed investigation of the Phoenix Police Department, which has already cost Phoenix taxpayers millions of dollars and left a demoralized, shrinking police force."
Hamadeh has been leading efforts to push back against the Biden DOJ's established practices on oversight for police departments and recently met with FBI Director Kash Patel to "discuss the Biden Administration's targeted attacks on our men and women in blue", his office said in a press release.
"I am grateful to President Trump and his team of patriotic professionals dedicated to the men and women of our local law enforcement agencies who run to the sound of danger to keep our communities safe and secure," Hamadeh said.
Hamadeh added, "As I noted in my communications with Trump Administration officials, our officers did everything right, voluntarily cooperating in good faith, opening their records, and participating in lengthy interviews. They were met with stonewalling, mischaracterized testimony, and a final report riddled with glaring inaccuracies."
An adviser to FBI director Patel told Fox News Digital that "Director Kash Patel has made it clear that under his leadership, the FBI stands firmly with the brave men and women who protect our communities."
"Overbroad police consent decrees divest local control of policing from communities where it belongs, turning that power over to unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats, often with an anti-police agenda," Dhillon said in a statement Wednesday.
Fox News Digital reached out to Biden's office for comment.
"As president of the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police, and on behalf of the entire membership, I want to thank Congressman Hamadeh for his unwavering support," Arizona Fraternal Order of Police President Paul Sheldon said in response to the news. "We look forward to partnering with the Congressman in the future on our shared goal of keeping our communities safe."
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