Trump administration finalizes report casting Biden DOJ as anti-Christian
Trump administration is finalizing a report casting Biden DOJ as anti-Christian over FACE Act enforcement and Covid regulations.
Objective Facts
The Trump administration is finalizing a report that casts the Biden Justice Department as anti-Christian over its enforcement of laws protecting abortion clinics and enforcement of Covid regulations, among other issues. The report stems from a Justice Department-led task force that aims to "eradicate anti-Christian bias" formed after an executive order President Donald Trump signed in February 2025. The Trump Justice Department is expected to release a report as early as next week concluding that the prior administration politically targeted abortion opponents because of their religious beliefs when prosecuting them for blocking access to abortion clinics, with the nearly 60-page draft seeking to justify Trump's pardons of two dozen defendants by arguing convictions under the FACE Act were unjustly motivated by targeting people "with traditional Christian views". A final version is expected to be released in the coming weeks. The report does not carry any legal weight, but serves as an opportunity for the Trump administration to swipe politically at the Biden administration.
Left-Leaning Perspective
Kristen Clarke, the former assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department under Biden, said in a statement to NBC News that the Justice Department "enforced the law even-handedly and put public safety at the center" of its work. Clarke stated that "For decades, the Civil Rights Division brought law enforcement leaders, crisis pregnancy center representatives, and reproductive health care staff together to address the real violence, threats of violence, and obstruction that too many people face in our country when it comes to reproductive health care". NBC News reported that two former DOJ employees who worked with Sanjay Patel denied allegations he prioritized prosecuting anti-abortion cases while ignoring violence against churches, with former prosecutor Laura-Kate Bernstein calling such claims "outrageous" and describing Patel as a "stellar" prosecutor focused on facts, not politics. An analysis by the Interfaith Alliance after Trump's executive order found no evidence of widespread anti-Christian bias in the U.S., with the alliance stating "In reality, it will weaponize a narrow understanding of religious freedom to legitimize discrimination against marginalized groups". Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, a Baptist minister and head of the progressive Interfaith Alliance, accused Trump of hypocrisy in creating the task force, stating "From allowing immigration raids in churches, to targeting faith-based charities, to suppressing religious diversity, the Trump Administration's aggressive government overreach is infringing on religious freedom in a way we haven't seen for generations". Barbara McQuade, a former US Attorney and University of Michigan Law School professor, said that Trump tweeting directions to the attorney general to indict people "is a blatant, in-your-face violation of the limit on communications between the White House and the Justice Department". The report does not reconcile its claims of Biden-era weaponization with the fact that Trump's DOJ has unsuccessfully sought to prosecute several of the president's political enemies, and is currently trying to bring FACE Act charges against former CNN anchor Don Lemon and protesters who entered a church in Minneapolis. Critics note the report's timing and selective focus appear politically motivated rather than a genuine accountability measure.
Right-Leaning Perspective
The Trump administration said the Biden administration "weaponized the full weight of the federal government against Christians," and reported that the Justice Department "arrested and convicted approximately two dozen individuals under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act for praying and demonstrating outside abortion facilities," yet "the same DOJ refused to apply the FACE Act to protect places of worship and crisis pregnancy centers". The Daily Wire reported that the FBI memo targeting "radical-traditionalist" Catholics as "domestic terrorism threats" was "another well-known example highlighted in the report" of Biden-era bias. Miles Mullin, acting president for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, stated "This report has brought to light what those of us who worked diligently behind the scenes to oppose the progressive policies of the prior administration knew to be true," arguing "The Biden administration repeatedly discriminated against individuals and organizations who ran afoul of its aggressive agenda on matters related to sexual orientation, gender identity and abortion". A religious freedom advocate stated "Let nobody be confused as to whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump was a greater friend to Christians while in the White House," claiming Biden "facilitated the persecution and prosecution of Christians who disagreed with his anti-Christian agenda, while the current president stands strong for the safety and religious freedom of Christians everywhere". Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended Trump's "housecleaning," saying the president has a "duty" to set priorities for prosecutors, and declared "What happened the last four years is something that will never happen again". The Daily Wire reported that "The DOJ and FBI used the FACE Act to arrest pro-lifers for praying outside abortion clinics while failing to enforce the law when churches were attacked," and "An FBI memo also categorized 'radical-traditionalist' Catholics as domestic terrorism threats".
Deep Dive
The Trump administration's report represents the culmination of an executive order signed in February 2025 creating a Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias. The central factual dispute concerns the enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act—a 1994 law enacted following violence against abortion providers. The Trump administration argues the Biden DOJ weaponized the law by aggressively prosecuting anti-abortion protesters on religious grounds while failing to protect religious sites under the same statute. The Biden DOJ and former prosecutors argue they enforced the law evenly based on criminal conduct (blockading, trespassing, harassment) rather than the protesters' faith, and note the law was designed to protect abortion clinics following murders. A key factual tension: the report criticizes prosecutor Sanjay Patel for suggesting stronger charges (conspiracy against rights) to ensure longer sentences, yet Trump's own DOJ is now using those same enhanced charges against pro-Palestinian protesters and Don Lemon. The report carries no legal weight but serves as a political attack on the Biden administration. The left argues it mischaracterizes law enforcement for legitimate criminal conduct as religious persecution and will embolden violence against abortion providers—noting abortion clinics have faced hundreds of trespassing, obstruction, and death threat incidents in recent years. The right sees it as documenting a pattern of deliberate discrimination buried across federal agencies. Neither side disputes specific facts like the FBI's 2023 memo on "radical-traditionalist" Catholics (which the FBI later said conflated religious views with terrorism) or that vaccine mandate exemptions were inconsistently handled. The disagreement is whether these represent systemic anti-Christian bias or bureaucratic inconsistencies, and whether the current administration's selective prosecution approach fixes or replicates the problem. What to watch: The final report is expected in the coming weeks. Key questions include whether it names specific prosecutors and whether it will spark actual legal or disciplinary action against Biden-era officials, and whether congressional Democrats will challenge the report's conclusions or pursue their own accountability measures regarding Trump DOJ actions. The political stakes are high for the 2026 midterms, as the report frames religious persecution as a central Trump administration theme while critics warn it signals a return to DOJ politicization.