Former President Donald Trump responded to the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on Weaponization of the Federal Government’s FBI whistleblower hearing on Thursday, describing it as “very sad” and decrying “what took place.”
The House panel convened a contentious hearing with three FBI whistleblowers aimed at examining “abuses seen at the Bureau and how the FBI has retaliated against whistleblowers.”
The hearing focused on suspended FBI agents Marcus Allen, Garrett O'Boyle, and Steve Friend, who claimed whistleblower status. Despite the protection the status should provide from retaliation, they testified about enduring significant abuse after sharing information with Congress.
The proceedings on Thursday were disrupted by Democrats on the panel who repeatedly raised objections, taking issue with the fact that suspended FBI agent Marcus Allen had declined to talk to them before the hearing but had done so with Republican members.
“I am a victim also, but the real victim is the United States of America,” he continued. “Congress must use its purse strings to straighten it out, before it is too late! MAGA 2024.”
The hearing lasted around four hours, with intermittent debates over Allen’s meeting with Republicans prior to the hearing.
Republican members of the panel pushed back against Democrats’ complaints over not having access to a transcript of Allen’s prior remarks, arguing that as a whistleblower, Allen had the right to determine who could receive the transcript.
Democrats argued that the panel’s chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), was required to share the transcript under House rules but faced opposition from Republicans in a party-line vote.
Republicans on the panel pointed out that FBI whistleblowers didn’t feel safe with Democrats, given a history of leaks that led to reports in the media that had to be retracted.
‘Not Comfortable Meeting With the Democrats’
The procedural objections began early, with Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands), the panel’s ranking member, interrupting the first opening statements of Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wy.) to complain about not having access to a transcript of Allen’s prior conversation with Republican members of the panel.“Just as a point of order, we have learned—that Mr. Allen did meet with you and might have testimony that was transcribed. And I understand that he was not comfortable meeting with the Democrats, but he’s comfortable being here today in this open forum,” Plaskett said.
Jordan, who acknowledged having a transcript of Allen’s comments, responded to Plaskett, saying, “That will be up to Mr. Allen.”
His response prompted protest from Plaskett and other Democrats, but the chairman said, “[Allen] saw what you did to Mr. Friend and others, the false information you gave the press.”
Jordan noted that Democrats on the panel were free to ask Allen any question during the hearing, which lasted four hours.
But the panel’s Democrats repeatedly came back to the transcript issue throughout the hearing, arguing the chairman was obligated to share it with them under House rules.
“Democrats leaked the committee’s first subpoenas. Democrats leaked and mischaracterized whistleblower testimony, forcing several news outlets to correct their stories,” a subcommittee spokesman previously told The Epoch Times.
“Democrats issued a report attacking these whistleblowers and disparaging their character,” the spokesman continued. “Simply put, whistleblowers are not comfortable speaking to Democrats because of their record of slandering whistleblowers.”
The three FBI agents-turned-whistleblowers informed Congress that the bureau established a potential violence tag for pro-life pregnancy centers after the Supreme Court returned authority to decide the abortion issue to the states in June 2022.
They also disclosed that agents were pressured to record interactions with accused domestic terrorists as multiple cases instead of individual cases and that the Department of Justice approved the surveillance of parents protesting school board policies, such as on transgender issues.
Each of the witnesses in attendance at the hearing experienced not only suspension but also endured further acts of retaliation.
O’Boyle told the subcommittee he was sad, disappointed, and angry to have to testify about the weaponization of the FBI and DOJ.
“Weaponization not only against its own employees but against those institutions and individuals that are supposed to protect the American people,” he said. “I am here today because, even though I am wrongfully suspended from my duties, I remain duty bound to the American people to perform my small role in rectifying these small issues.”
