WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – A group of Republican congressmen sent a letter to an official from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Thursday demanding that she partake in a transcribed interview with regard to an apparent purge in the agency of conservative agents who have acted as whistleblowers to Congress.
The letter, signed by Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, Darrell Issa of California, and Mike Johnson of Louisiana, was sent to the executive director of the FBI’s human resources branch, Jennifer Leigh Moore, demanding that she participate in the interview. According to the congressmen, Moore has approved many “adverse personnel actions,” claiming that the agency is “purging” conservative agents. Moore has until Tuesday to schedule the interview.
The allegations against Moore were uncovered in an ongoing investigation into allegations of misconduct within the FBI.
#BREAKING: @Jim_Jordan, @DarrellIssa, and @RepMikeJohnson reveal that the FBI is retaliating against brave whistleblowers for speaking to Congress.
This is beyond outrageous. pic.twitter.com/XOestUNUuI
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) September 29, 2022
“During the course of this investigation, we have received protected whistleblower disclosures that the FBI is engaging in a ‘purge’ of employees with conservative views by revoking their security clearances and indefinitely suspending these employees,” the letter states.
“Many of the formal notices for these adverse personnel actions have been signed by you,” the congressmen allege, noting that one whistleblower that suffered retaliation on Moore’s part made a protected disclosure to Congress, the contents of the disclosure noting Attorney General Merrick Garland’s decision last October to label parents protesting at school board meetings as domestic terrorists.
“Once a whistleblower makes a protected disclosure, an agency is prohibited from retaliating against the employee for that disclosure by taking or failing to take a personnel action,” the letter states. “Your efforts to interfere with FBI employees who seek to expose the Bureau’s misconduct by communicating directly with Congress cannot be condoned.”
“As we informed Director Christopher Wray, we take whistleblower retaliation seriously and we therefore require that you appear for a transcribed interview as soon as possible,” the letter continues. The congressmen also note that under Title 5 of the United States Code agencies are prohibited from retaliating against whistleblowers that make protected disclosures.
The congressmen further state that the letter serves as a “formal request” that Moore preserve all material relevant to the whistleblowers’ claims.
“You should construe this preservation notice as an instruction to take all reasonable steps to prevent the destruction or alteration, whether intentionally or negligently, of all documents, communications, and other information, including electronic information and metadata, that are or may be responsive to this congressional inquiry,” the letter states.
Top secret security clearances are a condition of employment at the FBI. Standards for eligibility for such a clearance were set by executive order 12968 in 1995, which states that the clearances are granted to those “…whose personal and professional history affirmatively indicates loyalty to the United States, strength of character, trustworthiness, honesty, reliability, discretion, and sound judgment, as well as freedom from conflicting allegiances and potential for coercion, and willingness and ability to abide by regulations governing the use, handling, and protection of classified information.”
The FBI is expected to adhere to the guidelines as defined by the executive order, a government official told FOX News. The guidelines also state that “any doubt concerning personnel being considered for national security eligibility will be resolved in favor of the national security.”
Speaking to FOX News, Jordan said, “You don’t retaliate against whistleblowers … We’ve had multiple agents come to us and tell us about just how political the [Department of Justice (DOJ)] has become.” Jordan also stated that he was not sure how the FBI learned that the whistleblowers spoke to Congress, and that any subsequent suspensions would likely be the result of something “unrelated.” He also noted that Moore’s testimony would be “necessary” for congressional oversight of the FBI.
“Step back and view it in context,” Jordan continued. “This is all happening in addition to the FBI raiding the home of a former president; in addition to the FBI taking the phone of a sitting member of Congress; in addition to the Democrats and Joe Biden passing legislation which is going to unleash 87,000 IRS agents on we the people, we the taxpayers … So, when you view it in context, it’s almost like, just when you think it can’t get worse, they ratchet it up another level.”
Jordan also noted that the FBI was “juicing the numbers,” stating that whistleblowers told him that internal pressure within the FBI was pushing to label cases as “domestic violent extremism,” and that the agency has been “pulling agents off child trafficking cases to focus on this political narrative that you see” in reference to the Capitol Hill Riot.
Jordan further told that outlet that he finds it “amazing that this many whistleblowers come talk to us while we’re in the minority.”
“We can’t really do anything other than write letters … that’s all we can do,” Jordan said. “But they’re willing to do it because it just underscores how egregious the activity is, and what’s really going on there, that we now have had 14 agents come talk to us.”
“All we can do is highlight it, and if we get the majority, we’re going to do more investigations, where we can actually subpoena people to do depositions,” Jordan continued, adding that he is sending letters to the FBI requesting that the agency preserve documents and information. “If in fact the American people put us in charge, we’re going to want access to the information.”
The letter comes as FBI agent Steve Friend revealed his whistleblower complaint about how the agency was handling an investigation into the Capitol Hill Riot.
Friend noted in his complaint last Monday that the FBI’s investigations were in violation of the sixth and eighth amendment rights under the Constitution and in violation of agency policy, adding that he was concerned that the agency was using SWAT teams to arrest those that face misdemeanor charges for allegedly taking part in the riot. Friend has since had his security clearance suspended and was stripped of his credentials, firearm and badge after refusing to participate in raids relating to the Riot, The Epoch Times reported.
The letter also follows an FBI raid on Catholic pro-life activist Mark Houck at his home in rural Pennsylvania, arresting him in front of his crying children. LifeSiteNews broke the story and it has since gone viral.
In August, whistleblowers told Republican Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Chuck Grassley of Iowa that the FBI instructed agents not to investigate allegations against Hunter Biden on account of information found on a laptop he left at a Delaware computer repair shop, under the pretext that the investigation would affect the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
That month, Garland forbade DOJ employees from talking to Congress as a result of whistleblower complaints.
An FBI spokesperson told FOX News that “The FBI does not target or take adverse action against employees for exercising their First Amendment rights or for their political views; to allege otherwise is false and misleading … The FBI is required to follow established policies and procedures, to include a thorough investigation, when suspending or revoking a security clearance.”
The spokesperson also stated that the agency “takes very seriously its responsibility to FBI employees who may make protected disclosures under the whistleblower regulations.”
“FBI employees who report evidence of wrongdoing through a protected disclosure are protected from retaliation,” the spokesperson concluded.