In a stunning display, a man who is a recognized government watchdog and had given Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz documents showing federal officials ignored the relationship among Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, and Rosatom, the Russian company that purchased Uranium One, had his home raided by the FBI, despite the fact that his status was protected by law.
As Richard Pollock of The Daily Caller reports, “The delivered documents also show that then-FBI Director Robert Mueller failed to investigate allegations of criminal misconduct pertaining to Rosatom and to other Russian government entities attached to Uranium One, the document reviewed by TheDCNF alleges.”
Dennis Nathan Cain, a former FBI contractor, was confronted at his home in Maryland the morning of November 19, according to his attorney, Michael Socarras. Socarras charged, “The bureau raided my client to seize what he legally gave Congress about the Clinton Foundation and Uranium One.” He told The Daily Caller the FBI’s raid was an “outrageous disregard” of whistleblower protections.
The FBI agents conducted the raid after gaining permission from federal magistrate Stephanie A. Gallagher in the U.S. District Court for Baltimore. FBI spokesman Dave Fitz confirmed to The Daily Caller, “On Nov. 19, the FBI conducted court authorized law enforcement activity in the Union Bridge, Maryland area. At this time, we have no further comment.”
Socarras said the agent who spearheaded the raid said Cain possessed stolen federal property; when Cain tried to dissuade the agent from entering his home by noting that Cain was a recognized protected whistleblower under the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act, recognized as such by Horowitz, that didn’t work. Neither did Cain informing the agent that the information he had passed to Horowitz had already been sent to the Senate and House Intelligence committees. The agent still entered Cain’s home with his fellow agents.
Although Cain gave the agents the information they sought immediately, Socarras told The Daily Caller that the agents took six more hours searching the home.
Socarrs confirmed that the documents were all legally transferred to Horowitz and then the congressional committees. He stated, “After asking and getting my approval to do so, DOJ IG Michael Horowitz had a member of his staff physically take Mr. Cain’s classified document disclosure to the House and Senate Intelligence committees.” He continued, “For the bureau to show up at Mr. Cain’s home suggesting that those same documents are stolen federal property, and then proceed to seize copies of the same documents after being told at the house door that he is a legally protected whistleblower who gave them to Congress, is an outrageous disregard of the law.”
Socarras charged, “I cannot believe the Bureau informed the federal magistrate who approved the search warrant that they wanted to search the home of an FBI whistleblower to seize the information that he confidentially disclosed to the IG and Congress. … The [whistleblower act] authorizes employees of contractors to take government property and give it to the two intelligence committees confidentially.”
Socarras also blasted the FBI for contacting Cain directly after the raid and bypassing Socarras. He told The Daily Caller, “After the raid, and having received my name and phone number from Mr. Cain as his lawyer, an FBI agent actually called my client directly to discuss his seized electronics. Knowingly bypassing the lawyer of a represented client is serious misconduct.”