FBI whistleblowers report abuse and retaliation from politicized bureau, says House report.

FBI Agents Speak Out Against “Politicized Rot” at Bureau

According to an interim report by the House Judiciary Committee and Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, FBI officials have suspended or revoked the security clearances of agents who spoke up against “politicized rot” at the bureau. The report, which was first obtained by Fox News, reveals testimony from whistleblower FBI agents on the “abuses and misconduct in the FBI.”

Whistleblowers Accuse FBI of Retaliatory Conduct

The whistleblowers accused the FBI of “retaliatory conduct” taken against the agents after they made “protected disclosures about what they believed in good faith to be wrong conduct.” Former FBI special agent Steve Friend and FBI staff operations specialist Marcus Allen both testified to the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, stating that the FBI retaliated unjustly against them.

• Allen was suspended for conducting an open-source investigation of the January 6 riot as part of his job. He found and shared news articles and videos of the riot as part of his duties conducting case-related research.
• Friend was suspended after he made protected whistleblower disclosures about the FBI’s handling of Domestic Violent Extremism (DVE) cases related to January 6. The bureau manipulated DVE data connected to January 6 to make domestic extremism seem widespread instead of originating with a single event.

The FBI told lawmakers that the actions were taken against Allen because he “espoused alternative theories to coworkers verbally and in emails and instant messages sent on the FBI systems, in apparent attempts to hinder investigative activity.” Friend, the FBI said, “refused to participate in the execution of a court authorized, search and arrest of a criminal subject.”

Committee Report Highlights FBI Misconduct

The committee report said that the whistleblowers’ disclosures “highlight egregious abuse, misallocation of law enforcement resources and misconduct with the leadership ranks of the FBI.” The report also stated that the FBI has manipulated the manner in which it categorized January 6-related investigations to create a misleading narrative that domestic terrorism is organically surging around the country.

• The FBI characterizes and labels cases according to the originating field office, with leads “cut” to other field offices for specific assistance in that geographic location. With January 6 cases, however, the FBI has not followed its ordinary procedure, which would have resulted in the (Washington Field Office) leading the investigation and categorizing the investigations as WFO cases.

It’s clear that the FBI needs to address these issues and ensure that whistleblowers are protected from retaliation. The American people deserve a bureau that operates with integrity and transparency.

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