![]() ![]() In revoking his security clearance, the FBI said its investigation showed Allen had “questionable judgment, unreliability, and unwillingness to comply with rules and regulations,” indicating that he could not properly safeguard classified or sensitive information.” The FBI officially revoked Allen’s security clearance on May 3 and listed a variety of reasons for doing so, including a September 29, 2021, email in which Allen called on FBI officials to exercise “extreme caution and discretion in pursuit of any investigative inquiries or leads pertaining to the events of” January 6, according to a copy of the letter.Īllen also claimed to not find open source information about a subject who was allegedly involved in criminal activity at the Capitol on January 6, but a separate FBI employee later found that the subject in question physically assaulted Capitol Police officers during the attack. “We can talk about the testimony, but right now you’re not getting the testimony,” Jordan said. We’re surprised it took them that long to put up this letter about these guys, but you’ll get to hear from these individuals today, these brave Americans,” Jordan said in a response to a question from CNN.Īllen, an FBI staff operations specialist, had his security clearance suspended in January 2022 after voicing support for the January 6, 2021, insurrection of the US Capitol, according to a copy of the suspension letter sent to Allen and obtained by CNN.Īllen has filed a lawsuit against FBI Director Christopher Wray claiming that the agency has violated his constitutional rights and has falsely accused him of holding “conspiratorial views.” Jordan said at a news conference ahead of the hearing that he was not surprised the FBI revoked the security clearances of two of the individuals testifying. “I find it incredible that evidence that one side has garnered is not going to be shared with the other side,” said Democratic Rep. “We can talk about the testimony, but right now, you’re not getting the testimony,” Jordan said. “The law has not determined they are whistleblowers. “These are not whistleblowers,” Plaskett shot back. Jordan said Allen wasn’t comfortable including Democrats in his interview and said Democrats aren’t entitled to all the evidence collected when it comes to whistleblowers. But much to the dismay of Democrats, Jordan would not budge on providing the interview transcript or video. Stacey Plaskett, the top Democrat on the weaponization subcommittee, pressed Jordan during the hearing on whether Democrats can get access to the testimony from Allen’s interview with GOP members of the committee. Democrats, on the other hand, raised concerns about their access to information about some of those claims and questioned the credibility of the individuals testifying.ĭel. But the first individuals who sat for closed-door interviews with Jordan’s subcommittee earlier this year, including two of the whistleblowers who will appear publicly at the hearing Thursday, became an early flashpoint in the panel’s investigation, with Democrats raising questions about their legitimacy as whistleblowers and the credibility of their testimony.ĭuring the hearing, Republicans framed the whistleblowers as courageous for coming forward with their claims and argued what they have to say is important. Jordan, an Ohio Republican, has long touted the allegations of what he claims are “dozens” of whistleblowers who serve as the basis for his committee’s assertions that the FBI and Justice Department have become increasingly politicized in recent years. At least two of those agents – Marcus Allen and Steve Friend – were among the individuals testifying before the panel on Thursday. The hearing came one day after the FBI said it revoked the security clearances of three agents who either attended the January 6 2021, riot at the US Capitol or espoused alternate theories about the Capitol attack, according to a letter the FBI sent the subcommittee on Wednesday, a copy of which was obtained by CNN. ![]() Three self-described FBI whistleblowers, who are key to the Republican narrative that the FBI is weaponized against conservatives, testified at a House hearing Thursday, the latest escalation of Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan’s investigation into allegations of discrimination and bias within the FBI. ![]()
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