A former Trump administration official has called a recent presidential memo “one of the most alarming government documents” he has ever read.
Miles Taylor, who worked in the Department of Homeland Security as deputy chief of staff and chief of staff, highlighted Donald Trump’s national security memo from Sept. 25 titled “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence.” The implications of NSPM-7, Taylor argued, are dire.
In addition to allowing the White House and federal agencies to label “groups” domestic terrorist organizations, the memo—issued after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk—does the same for individual citizens over “minor legal infractions or none at all,” Taylor wrote on his Substack.
Being added to what’s called the terrorist watchlist is based on executive branch policies rather than legislation, Taylor explained.
“Until now, there hasn’t been much reason for ordinary Americans to worry about the abuse of that system against them. Why? Because the system itself had layers of oversight and was built primarily to combat overseas militant groups (which are clearly defined in the law by Congress and designated by presidents of both parties), as well homegrown extremists already under investigation for planning acts of violence,” he wrote.
“But the Trump administration has just blown the potential criteria wide open,” Taylor continued. “The new order not only empowers the administration to treat U.S. political organizations or nonprofits as terrorist cells under sweeping and ambiguous criteria — i.e. basically anyone they use legalese to decry as an extremist group — but it also permits agencies to consider an individual as a domestic terrorism suspect for even indirectly encouraging violence, or for infractions like trespassing and vandalism.”
Taylor, who previously was an appointee in the George W. Bush White House and a congressional adviser on counterterrorism, foreign policy and national security, admitted that he had “never seen anything like this.”
“The opportunities for misuse are virtually limitless,” he said. “What if you graffiti an anti-Trump protest sign on a park bench at night? Well, taken literally, this order could allow federal agencies to put you on a blacklist alongside the likes of ISIS suicide bombers and al Qaeda attack plotters.”
Taylor, who broke with the president during his first term by anonymously calling himself part of the “resistance,” described last week’s memo as “Orwellian beyond belief.”
“Under the new framework, a group that organizes protests, circulates politically charged rhetoric, or challenges federal policy could hypothetically be branded a ‘domestic terrorist organization,’ even if it has no history of violence,” Taylor warned. “And once that label is applied, the administration can investigate anyone tied to it, like donors, event attendees, volunteers, or perhaps even people who shared a supportive post online.”
When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told the Daily Beast in a statement, “Left-wing organizations have fueled violent riots, organized attacks against law enforcement officers, coordinated illegal doxing campaigns, arranged drop points for weapons and riot materials, and more. The Trump Administration will get to the bottom of this vast network inciting violence in American communities, and the President’s executive actions to address left-wing violence will put an end to any illegal activities.”
Taylor himself was the target of one of Trump’s executive actions earlier this year. In April, the president ordered an investigation into Taylor’s public service work, as well as that of another former DHS official, Chris Krebs. Trump revoked both their security clearances as well.
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