Tipsheet

New Report Details FBI 'Rot' and Retaliation Against Whistleblowers

Katie Pavlich
Katie Pavlich  |  May 18, 2023 10:30 AM

A new and lengthy report released by the House Judiciary Committee and Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government Thursday morning shows FBI supervisors retaliated against agents blowing the whistle on corruption and partisan misconduct. 

"To date, the Committee and Select Subcommittee have received whistleblower testimony from several current and former FBI employees who chose to risk their careers to expose abuses and misconduct in the FBI. Some of these employees—Special Agents Garret O’Boyle and Stephen Friend, Supervisory Intelligence Analyst George Hill, and Staff Operations Specialist Marcus Allen—have chosen to speak on the record about their experiences," the report states. "The disclosures from these FBI employees highlight egregious abuse, misallocation of law-enforcement resources, and misconduct with the leadership ranks of the FBI."

"Whistleblower testimony highlights that the FBI’s partisan leadership is currently engaging in a 'purge' of agents who hold conservative political beliefs. Particularly, the testimony from Friend demonstrates the agency’s blatant targeting and dismissal of conservatives within its ranks," the report continues. "In Friend’s case, he was indefinitely suspended and had his security clearance suspended for simply asking why the FBI was unnecessarily using force to arrest individuals suspected of participating in the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021." 

The report gives several examples of inappropriate requests by politically motivated FBI supervisors to agents and retaliation against those who questioned their legitimacy or potential violation of American civil liberties. Special Agents O'Boyle, Friend, and Allen are on Capitol Hill Thursday to testify about retaliation and their experiences inside the Bureau. 

"Special Agent O’Boyle made protected disclosures to his Supervisory Special Agent about potentially illegal activity, and the FBI transferred him to a new unit that required him to move his family across-country. When O’Boyle arrived for his first day, the FBI placed him on unpaid, indefinite suspension, effectively rendering his “family homeless” and leaving them without any personal effects—including his young children’s clothing—because these items were in FBI storage," the report states. 

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"Likewise, in Special Agent Friend’s case, the FBI suspended his security clearance after making protected disclosures. This suspension rendered Friend unable to fulfill his duties as a special agent—thus, the FBI suspended him indefinitely. While on suspension, the FBI refused to allow Friend to obtain outside employment, leaving his family without income," the report continues. "In Staff Operations Specialist Allen’s case, the FBI suspended his security clearance for simply performing duties of his job—conducting case-related research using open-source news articles and videos and sending his search results to his task force colleagues." 

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and other members of the Committee are vowing to continue their efforts to clean up the FBI and the Department of Justice.