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WASHINGTON \u2014 Justice Department prosecutors in the Biden administration discussed their desire to target Catholic nuns, text messages shared with The Daily Wire show.<\/p>\n
Communications obtained by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) show Joseph Cooney and Molly Gaston<\/a> texting one another in February 2021 as they scoured media coverage of January 6. The texts specifically reference a New York Times photo of religious sisters<\/a> who attended the \u201cStop the Steal\u201d rally, wearing traditional habits and veils, as well as big Trump scarves around their necks.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to take a special assignment of finding and prosecuting them,\u201d Gaston wrote to Cooney.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m with you,\u201d responded Cooney.<\/p>\n \u201cHahaha,\u201d his fellow DOJ prosecutor responded.<\/p>\n The Justice Department provided the communications to Grassley as part of his investigation into Arctic Frost, an FBI investigation into Republicans and conservatives. Both Cooney and Gaston went on to serve as top deputies to Special Counsel Jack Smith throughout his Arctic Frost investigation. They now head \u201cGaston & Cooney PLLC,\u201d and Cooney is running for Congress in Virginia.<\/p>\n Grassley, who previously released messages showing that Cooney and other DOJ prosecutors sought to find ways to target Trump with criminal charges over January 6, told The Daily Wire that he found the messages appalling.<\/p>\n \u201cFreedom of religion is a cherished First Amendment right enshrined in our Constitution by the Founding Fathers,\u201d the senator said. \u201cI was appalled, but sadly not surprised, to discover evidence of Biden DOJ prosecutors threatening to use the power of the federal justice system to target people of faith.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTime and again, my oversight has shown the Biden Justice Department, including these prosecutors who went on to advance Jack Smith\u2019s Arctic Frost investigation, showed total disdain for equal justice,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Cooney, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, is now running as a Democrat for a congressional seat in Virginia \u2014 specifically Virginia\u2019s 7th congressional district, which is part of the Diocese of Arlington, one of the most traditional Catholic dioceses in the United States serving over 430,000 Catholics in the Northern Virginia area.<\/p>\n He\u2019s running on an overtly anti-Trump platform, telling CNN last week: \u201cDonald Trump needs to be impeached. I\u2019m running for Congress to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Donald Trump needs to be impeached.<\/p>\n I\u2019m running for Congress to do it. pic.twitter.com\/aYTwrNwKm8<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 J.P. Cooney (@cooneycongress) April 25, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n