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FIRST ON FOX: Several Republicans signed a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Committee on House Administration Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., calling on them to investigate the reports of Capitol Police “monitoring” lawmakers and citizens.
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., led the letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital with 33 of his GOP colleagues to Pelosi and Lofgren regarding reports that Capitol Police have dug into the backgrounds of people who meet with lawmakers.
“Recent reports state that the Capitol Police are surveilling Members of Congress, Congressional staff, and their Capitol visitors,” Biggs told Fox News Digital in a Monday statement.
“If these reports are true, that the Capitol Police force is actively looking for and reviewing private information, then this is a gross violation of American civil liberties and an abuse of power,” he continued. “I’m calling on Speaker Pelosi and Chairwoman Lofgren to do what is best for the American people and look into this troubling report.”
The letter points to an explosive POLITICO report, saying that the Capitol Police reportedly “monitoring Members of Congress, their staff, constituents, and supporters raises serious constitutional concerns.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
The Republicans wrote that the report revealed the Capitol Police are also “monitoring the online activity of congressional staff and individuals who meet with Members of Congress” and that the force is “reviewing property tax information” to learn the owners of the buildings “where the meetings take place” as well as “reviewing online information to determine if any of the meeting attendees have contacts with foreign nationals.”
“Additionally, Capitol Police were directed to look for information on donors and staff ‘that would cast a member in a negative light,’” the letter reads.
Representative Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat from California, listens during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 15, 2020. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“If true, these allegations are serious violations of Americans’ civil rights and civil liberties,” it continues. “Our constituents have the right to petition Congress and they should be able to exercise this right without fear that Capitol Police will scrutinize their property taxes, social media, or relationships.”
The lawmakers said the report “also leaves many serious questions unanswered,” such as if the Capitol Police routinely looks into the backgrounds of Americans meeting with lawmakers or if the investigating has been done with the knowledge and approval of the lawmaker they’re meeting with.
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Biggs is joined in his quest for answers by several of his Republican colleagues, including Reps. Debbie Lesko of Arizona, Brian Mast of Florida, and Van Taylor of Texas.
Pelosi’s and Lofgren’s offices did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.