FBI and IRS Form Joint Task Force to Probe Nonprofit Groups for Domestic Terrorism Funding Links

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation division are forming a joint task force to probe nonprofit organizations for suspected links to domestic terrorism, CBS News reported Thursday, a move that drew immediate condemnation from civil liberties advocates and legal scholars who say the initiative represents an unprecedented weaponization of federal law enforcement against political opponents.

The joint operation will be headquartered at the FBI, with IRS Criminal Investigation agents embedded on one-year temporary assignments. According to a government official who spoke to CBS News, the initiative will focus on "exploring potential funding streams at nonprofits that support domestic terrorism or political violence." The effort flows directly from a December 4, 2025 memo issued by Attorney General Pam Bondi, which ordered federal law enforcement and prosecutors to prioritize the investigation of individuals and groups associated with the antifa movement or deemed "extremist" under an expansive definition that includes organizations whose members oppose law and immigration enforcement, hold what the memo describes as "radical gender ideology," or espouse anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, or anti-Christianity.

FBI Director Kash Patel appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee earlier this week alongside other senior national security officials. The IRS Criminal Investigation division issued a statement affirming that it "is collaborating with federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, to investigate individuals and entities" suspected of tax crimes related to the initiative. No specific nonprofit organizations have been publicly identified as targets, and the FBI has been ordered to compile a list of qualifying groups — a process that legal experts say raises serious constitutional concerns.

Tom Brzozowski, who served as the domestic terrorism counsel at the Justice Department's National Security Division before leaving government, told CBS News that Bondi's memo raises serious legal questions about whether the FBI has the requisite "predication" — established factual and legal justification — to target specific organizations for criminal investigation. "You need a basis in law before you start building lists and investigating organizations," Brzozowski said. He noted that documented antifa-related federal prosecutions remain relatively rare, with the most prominent case involving nine Texas defendants convicted on charges of weapons violations, explosives, and material support for violence.

The scope of Bondi's memo has alarmed advocacy organizations across the political spectrum. Critics note that the language targeting opposition to immigration enforcement, advocacy for "open borders," and "anti-capitalism" could sweep in mainstream environmental groups, labor unions, and immigrants' rights organizations with no documented connection to violence. The American Civil Liberties Union called the joint task force "a direct attack on the First Amendment rights of Americans to organize, donate, and advocate for political change." The Nonprofit Alliance, which represents thousands of charitable organizations, said Thursday it had retained outside counsel and was monitoring developments. The Department of Justice did not specify a timeline for the task force to begin issuing formal investigative referrals or to publish its list of targeted organizations.