Benghazi Code Word Hid Illegal Pandemic Loans to Planned Parenthood, Senator Claims

Let’s talk about what happens when government officials think they’re clever enough to outsmart the American people. Sen. Joni Ernst just dropped a bombshell that should make every taxpayer’s blood boil, and honestly, the audacity here is breathtaking.

The Biden administration allegedly used the code word “Benghazi” in emails to hide the fact they were funneling pandemic relief money to Planned Parenthood. You read that right. Benghazi. The same word that conjures memories of government deception and Americans left to die became the secret handshake for yet another potential cover-up. The irony would be poetic if it weren’t so infuriating.

Here’s what we know. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when actual small businesses were drowning and mom-and-pop shops were shuttering for good, the Small Business Administration sent more than $80 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans to Planned Parenthood and its affiliates. This happened initially under Trump’s first administration after Planned Parenthood “self-certified” as eligible, which was nonsense from the start. The abortion giant doesn’t qualify as a small business any more than Amazon does.

Republicans immediately raised hell about it, demanding the SBA disqualify Planned Parenthood from receiving these funds. The law was clear. Organizations with Planned Parenthood’s structure and affiliate network weren’t supposed to get PPP loans. But then Biden took office, and instead of correcting this mistake, his administration allegedly doubled down and made it disappear.

Ernst, who chairs the committee overseeing the SBA, says evidence shows that Biden officials, including SBA Administrator Isabella Guzman, didn’t just let this slide. They actively worked to hide it. They met, planned, and strategized about “Benghazi” while keeping the White House in the loop. Then they forgave approximately $90 million in loans and interest. Gone. Vanished into the ether of government accounting where inconvenient truths go to die.

Think about the small restaurant owner who couldn’t get a loan because the money ran out. Think about the family hardware store that closed after three generations because relief never came. Now imagine learning that while they were begging for help, federal officials were playing spy games to secretly funnel your tax dollars to the nation’s largest abortion provider.

The senator has asked the Department of Justice to investigate under a statute that carries up to three years in prison for anyone attempting to conceal federal records. That’s not a slap on the wrist. That’s serious criminal exposure, and it should be. When government officials start using code words to hide their activities from oversight, you’re not looking at bureaucratic bungling. You’re looking at intentional deception.

What gets me is the sheer contempt for transparency this represents. These weren’t rogue employees making a quick decision. This was coordination at the highest levels of the SBA, potentially involving the White House. They knew Planned Parenthood wasn’t eligible. They knew Republicans were watching. They knew the optics were terrible. So they went covert.

The PPP program was far from perfect. It was rushed, it had loopholes, and plenty of people gamed the system. But this isn’t about imperfect implementation. This is about political favoritism dressed up in code words and hidden emails. It’s about an administration so committed to protecting its ideological allies that it allegedly broke the law to do it.

We’ve seen this pattern before. Government grows, accountability shrinks, and the people footing the bill are the last to know what’s happening with their money. Limited government isn’t just a talking point. It’s a necessity precisely because of moments like this, when bureaucrats decide they know better than the law and better than the voters who put them there.

Ernst deserves credit for pushing this into the light. Whether the Justice Department will actually investigate remains to be seen, but the evidence demands answers. If federal officials really did use code words to hide loans they knew were improper, then forgave those loans to cover their tracks, that’s not just bad policy. That’s potentially criminal conspiracy, and someone needs to face consequences.