The Patriot Post® · Biden's Henchmen Buttressed Planned Parenthood With 'Benghazi' Code Word

Last week, bombshell allegations were made by Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst regarding the Biden administration and Planned Parenthood. Ernst seems to have uncovered that the Small Business Administration (SBA) under Biden was funneling money to the abortion mill and hiding it by employing the code name “Benghazi.”

A significant number of Americans vehemently object to their taxpayer dollars being given to those who butcher preborn babies. And even though Planned Parenthood claims that abortion makes up only a small number of the services it provides, abortion is its number one cash cow.

“Planned Parenthood leads the Big Abortion industry, ending more than 434,000 lives in their last reported year while taking in more than $2 billion in income,” according to Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser.

Beyond the moral objections Americans have against their hard-earned dollars being spent on such organizations, what happened under the Biden administration was beyond the pale.

So, just what sort of funny business was the Biden administration up to? In a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Ernst outlined her evidence and recommended that the Department of Justice investigate the matter.

During Donald Trump’s first term, Planned Parenthood decided to utilize Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, which were meant for small businesses that were hit especially hard by the COVID shutdowns.

Over $80 million was provided to Planned Parenthood and 38 of its affiliates. However, Republicans in Congress pushed back on the SBA, pointing out that Planned Parenthood is not a small business and should not have been eligible for PPP loans.

Congress demanded repayment, and in May 2020, more than a hundred lawmakers asked for an investigation into Planned Parenthood to determine whether the organization misrepresented itself as a small business to receive PPP funds.

But then Joe Biden took office. His SBA administrator, Isabella Guzman, was specifically asked about retrieving the PPP money at her confirmation hearing. However, it appears not only that Guzman did not seek to retrieve the funds, but also that Planned Parenthood received a second round of PPP loans, bringing the total to $90 million.

There is a twist, though. It seems that SBA general counsel Peggy Hamilton and others were actively concealing their efforts to give Planned Parenthood a second round of money and to forgive both loans. In an email exchange uncovered by Ernst, it was discovered that SBA employees, including Hamilton, were using a codename to hide their activities.

According to The Daily Signal, “On April 30, 2021, Hamilton sent a message to then-SBA Chief of Staff Antwaun Griffin explaining what she meant by writing ‘Benghazi’ earlier in the day. ‘Can I schedule a meeting so we can decision Benghazi (Planned Parenthood)?’ Hamilton wrote. Griffin replied one minute later, ‘Yes, let’s talk Benghazi.’”

This email exchange — which turned into a months-long email thread — indicates that SBA officials were using the code word “Benghazi” to try to cover up their dealings with the abortion mill.

As Ernst pointed out in her letter to Blanche: “Under 18 U.S.C. § 2071, an individual who ‘willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to,’ conceal any federal record can be fined and imprisoned for up to three years. … DOJ should investigate SBA officials’ record concealments related to a series of meetings and emails, including an April 30, 2021, email from Peggy Hamilton, the SBA general counsel, with ‘Benghazi (PPP/PPH) Decisions’ in the subject line. This email appears to be the originating email for what became a months-long thread about Planned Parenthood’s SBA loans and the entity’s loan-forgiveness requests.”

If true — and evidence seems to point that way — this should mean jail time for those who actively broke the law. Planned Parenthood should also be investigated not only for misrepresenting itself as a small business to obtain a PPP loan, but also for applying for yet another loan even after being informed of its ineligibility.

In the wake of this bombshell, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America has urged Congress to defund Planned Parenthood. As Dannenfelser explained, “Taxpayers should never be forced to fund the violent abortion industry that exploits women and children.”

It also makes you wonder what other fraudulent activities the Biden administration concealed. Good work, Senator Ernst, and go get ‘em, AG Blanche.