The $20 billion grant program was established by the former president to finance clean-energy projects
The US Justice Department (DOJ) and FBI have launched a criminal investigation into alleged fraud in the $20 billion climate grant program introduced by former President Joe Biden, the Washington Post reported on Friday. The probe follows President Donald Trump’s pledge to “root out waste, fraud, and abuse” in government spending.
The investigation centers on the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, established under Biden’s 2022 climate law to finance clean energy projects and managed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The probe was reportedly launched after the EPA’s newly appointed administrator, Lee Zeldin, publicly alleged that the money from the fund was disbursed with insufficient oversight.
“Roughly twenty billion of your tax dollars were parked at an outside financial institution by the Biden EPA,” Zeldin said in a statement on February 13, pledging to “review every penny that has gone out the door.”
“The days of irresponsibly shoveling boat loads of cash to far-left, activist groups in the name of environmental justice and climate equity are over,” he stated, adding that his agency would try to reclaim the money from Citibank, which was tasked with disbursing the funds.
According to the Washington Post, citing sources close to the investigation, the probe has so far been fraught with challenges. While the DOJ has the authority to freeze assets, it can only do so when it has evidence that they can be traced to a crime.
Last week, it approached Denise Cheung, a top DC federal criminal prosecutor, to submit a warrant request to freeze the funds. However, Cheung resigned rather than carry out the order, arguing that the DOJ lacked evidence. Subsequently, the department had Trump-appointed attorney Ed Martin personally submit the seizure warrant application, but was denied by a magistrate judge who cited a lack of probable cause. Efforts by acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove’s office to launch a grand jury investigation and seek a court-ordered bank freeze were also rebuffed by prosecutors.
While it is not clear whether a warrant was granted after all, at least three organizations that received money from the fund reported that their Citibank accounts have been frozen without explanation, according to the news outlet.
In the most recent development, FBI agents have reportedly questioned EPA employees regarding the fund earlier this week.
The probe has drawn criticism from Democrats, with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse calling on Zeldin to cease efforts to reclaim the funds, arguing that his actions are illegal. Legal experts have also questioned the DOJ’s approach. Stefan D. Cassella, a former federal prosecutor specializing in asset forfeiture, described the situation as “extraordinary and probably unprecedented,” stressing that seizing funds without probable clause is illegal.