House Republicans investigating the alleged weaponization of the federal government summoned three FBI whistleblowers to testify about the bureau’s “abuses of power” in front of the subcommittee on Thursday.
According to a Daily Mail exclusive, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) scheduled former FBI special agents Garret O’Boyle and Steve Friend, as well as former FBI State Operations Specialist Marcus Allen, to speak in front of the House Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
The whistleblower’s testimonies will include how the bureau allegedly targeted American conservatives, directed agents to inflate so-called domestic violent extremism statistics to fit a political narrative for the Biden administration, and prioritized January 6 investigations over child sex crimes.
“The manipulative casefile practice creates false and misleading crime statistics, constituting false official federal statements,” Friend wrote in an affidavit reported by The Daily Mail. “Instead of hundreds of investigations stemming from an isolated incident at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, FBI and DOJ officials point to significant increases in domestic violent extremism and terrorism around the United States.”
Prosecutors have now charged more than 1,000 out of the approximately 2,000 people at the U.S. Capitol more than two years after the riot.
Friend, who has since become a senior fellow at the Center for Renewing America, described to The Daily Wire what many Americans fear may become a longstanding abuse of power taken from governments worldwide, where the system creates a problem only to provide a solution and expand its authority against the citizens.
When Friend transferred as a special agent for the Jacksonville Division in Florida, officials tasked him with investigating cases of child pornography. However within months, the bureau shifted his focus to domestic terrorism cases, which he said exposed him to how the FBI headquarters handled matters related to the January 6th riot on Capitol Hill. The former agent’s remarks follow President Joe Biden’s remarks stirring up racial tensions at the Howard University graduation ceremony on Saturday, where he claimed that America’s greatest threat comes in the form of “white supremacy.”
According to Friend, a case like January 6 typically classifies as a “one-time case” with several subjects in the Washington Field Office. From there, those agents could ask agents from other field offices nationwide to engage in a process called “cutting the lead,” which includes collecting evidence, surveillance, or even arresting suspects in some instances.
Instead, Friend said the Washington Field Office elected to use an “atypical” method within the rules to open up a separate case for every subject instead of just the one-time case.
“We have taken one case — in one location, on one day for four hours, spread it around the country — and we’ve now made it look like there’s a rise in domestic terrorism which they’re categorizing as ‘violent anti-government and ethnic extremism,'” Friend said, adding the bureau listed the two categories in its top four priorities. “And that’s important, that narrative that you’ve heard from the Attorney General, the president, director of the FBI, and every talking head that there’s the greatest threat to America and the homeland right now as it’s rising domestic terrorism, but all the numbers that are backing that up, are stemming from January 6.”
Friend said he voiced his concerns about the investigations and tried to push back, but officials told him he was acting “insubordinate.”
“My response to them was, look, I have an oath of office, and I’m refusing what I feel is an illegal order — I think we’re potentially violating the law,” he said, adding he told officials that he has a duty to the Constitution.
“And they said I had a duty to the FBI,” Friend said. “And that was a major problem for me. It just seemed to me that the leadership is all about protecting the brand and the shield above actually achieving the mission.”
FBI officials would eventually revoke Friend’s security clearance after voicing his concerns, which he described in the affidavit as a retaliation against him.
The Daily Mail reported that FBI officials also removed former agent O’Boyle’s clearance.
Lawmakers have also summoned President of Empower Oversight Tristan Leavitt to testify, who is expected present undisclosed new evidence to the subcommittee.
FBI officials have repeatedly denied accusations the bureau makes politically motivated decisions.
“The FBI is dedicated to protecting the American people from terrorism, violent crime, cyber threats, and other dangers,” the bureau said in a statement to The Daily Wire. “Put quite simply: we follow the facts without regard for politics. While outside opinions and criticism often come with the job, we will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead, do things by the book, and speak through our work.”