Senator Ernst Calls for DOJ Investigation into COVID-19 Loan Allegations
Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst has officially urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to look into the Biden administration regarding claims that federal records related to COVID-19 loans distributed to Planned Parenthood were deliberately misclassified.
In her correspondence, Ernst raised concerns that officials at the Small Business Administration (SBA) might have breached federal law by concealing these records to avoid congressional scrutiny and public inquiries.
During an interview with Newsmax, Ernst described this investigation as a vital part of a broader mission to expose fraud in previous pandemic relief efforts and to reclaim misused taxpayer money.
She specifically pointed out that SBA personnel supposedly used “Benghazi” as a codename for the files, a strategy she argues was intended to keep the documents hidden from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and standard record examinations.
“This is not an uplifting story,” Ernst remarked. “I uncovered that the Biden administration had provided Planned Parenthood affiliates with over $90 million through the Paycheck Protection Program and forgiven those loans, even though they were ineligible.”
In her letter to the DOJ, Ernst elaborated on the use of “Benghazi”—referencing the 2012 assault on a U.S. compound in Libya—as a label for loans granted to Planned Parenthood for pandemic relief. This terminology, she contended, was a means to categorize the funds. By connecting these loans to a politically sensitive event, Ernst claimed there was an intentional effort to disguise the transactions’ true nature.
“Even worse, they attempted to obscure the fact that they had acted illegally by using ‘Benghazi’ as a codeword,” she continued. “What does Benghazi have to do with Planned Parenthood? Absolutely nothing.”
Ernst also indicated her support for the SBA Fraud Enforcement Extension Act, which would grant federal authorities additional time to investigate fraud associated with pandemic relief funds, with potential penalties of up to three years in prison.
“The time to go after those fraudsters is running short,” she commented. “We want to give the DOJ more time to conduct their investigations, target the fraudsters, and recover the American taxpayer dollars that were misappropriated.”
She emphasized the need for more Democratic backing in this area. Ernst pointed out that those involved in the email exchanges knew Planned Parenthood wasn’t connected to Benghazi, yet by continuing the conversation and arranging meetings, it appeared that several Biden political appointees and SBA staff were actively trying to conceal their records related to Planned Parenthood.
Ernst’s letter detailed how these misclassifications reportedly began on April 30, 2021, soon after congressional hearings and objections from lawmakers about the SBA’s management of these loans.
She referenced an email chain initiated by Peggy Hamilton, who was the SBA’s general counsel at the time, about Planned Parenthood’s requests for loan forgiveness, labeling it “Benghazi (PPP/PPH) Decisions.” In another exchange, Hamilton indicated the purpose of the code and sought to arrange a meeting specifically addressing it.
This internal discussion pertains more than $80 million in COVID-19 relief funds released in 2020 through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), directed at small businesses. Various Planned Parenthood affiliates received these funds after self-certifying their eligibility, which sparked immediate criticism from Republican leaders.
The call for a DOJ investigation aligns with concerns that were first voiced in May 2020, when over 20 senators urged then-Attorney General William Barr to probe the organization, arguing that Planned Parenthood and its affiliates sought relief despite knowing they didn’t fulfill the necessary criteria.
“The Paycheck Protection Program established by the CARES Act was designed to aid struggling small businesses and nonprofits by providing them access to affordable loans for expenses like maintaining their employees during the pandemic,” the letter noted. “It was not intended to distribute government funds to politicized, partisan abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.”
Additionally, Ernst’s letter pointed out that Planned Parenthood had publicly asserted it did not qualify for COVID-19 relief loans from the SBA.
Recently, the SBA disclosed that it has submitted 562,000 suspected fraudulent loans—amounting to about $22 billion—to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for collection. These loans, issued under the Paycheck Protection Program and COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan initiatives, were flagged as potentially fraudulent during the Biden administration but had not been previously referred to the Treasury or the DOJ.
“Each Planned Parenthood affiliate certified that they were an independent qualified entity with fewer than 500 employees,” the SBA declared in a recent press release.
“However, during the Trump administration in 2020, the SBA preliminarily ruled that none were eligible for PPP due to several indicators of PPFA’s overarching control.”
Among the improper PPP payments were $88 million in loans to 38 Planned Parenthood affiliates. By May 2020, during the Trump administration, Republican members of Congress had already flagged these loans as improper, later pressing the SBA to agree that local affiliates of national organizations weren’t eligible for the small business program.
However, the affiliates did not return the funds, and under the Biden administration, 34 of the loans were ultimately forgiven.
“It strains credulity to believe SBA’s General Counsel Peggy Hamilton was doing anything other than hiding her Planned Parenthood records from Congressional and public scrutiny,” Ernst wrote. “That’s not allowed under federal law, and she knew that as a lawyer with nearly three decades of experience.”
