Multiple former FBI officials are coming forward with information suggesting the bureau is “purging” employees with conservative viewpoints, according to House Judiciary Committee Republicans.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the ranking member of the panel, sent a letter to Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday outlining new allegations that relate to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
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“In one such example, the FBI targeted and suspended the security clearance of a retired war servicemember who had disclosed personal views that the FBI was not being entirely forthcoming about the events of January 6. The FBI questioned the whistleblower’s allegiance to the United States despite the fact that the whistleblower honorably served in the United States military for several years — including deployments in Kuwait and Iraq — valiantly earning multiple military commendation medals,” a press release for the letter states.
“In addition, another whistleblower, who has since left the FBI, has informed us that faced retaliation for criticizing the FBI in an anonymous survey circulated by the [REDACTED] to employees following January 6. The FBI allegedly escalated an adverse personnel action against this employee after [REDACTED] commented on the survey, which sought feedback about the [REDACTED] actions ‘during the recent crisis/command post’ event. The employee, too, was never disciplined or reprimanded until after [REDACTED] criticized the FBI,” the letter reads.
The names of the former officials do not appear, as the letter features several redactions, but Jordan stressed multiple “whistleblowers have called it a ‘purge’ of FBI employees holding conservative views.”
Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz were sent a copy.
Jordan also said a prior letter, sent May 6, details allegations of the FBI suspending the security clearances of bureau employees for their participation in protected First Amendment activity, and he claimed the FBI failed to respond or provide a requested briefing.
Wray, for his part, has defended the bureau against right-wing claims of political bias with its investigations into people involved in the Capitol riot and the FBI’s handling of an intelligence report one day before the violence took place.
Jordan told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Tuesday that, in total, six FBI officials have approach the Judiciary panel, two related to a controversy surrounding a school boards memo and four related to Jan. 6.
“We are conducting oversight to ensure the FBI is not retaliating against FBI employees for exercising their First Amendment rights and engaging in disfavored political speech,” he wrote in the new letter.
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“We reiterate our earlier requests for your personal assurance that the FBI will cooperate fully with the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General’s examination of these matters and for a briefing on the FBI’s purge of employees holding disfavored viewpoints,” Jordan added.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the FBI for comment. The letter was disclosed as the House Jan. 6 committee prepares to hold the first in a series of June hearings on Thursday.
