Jim Jordan to call conspiracy-linked ex-FBI officials to weaponization hearing

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) will trot out three dissident former or suspended FBI officials Thursday to make the MAGA case against the bureau, according to reporting in conservative media.

The officials are former special agent Steve Friend, suspended agent Garret O’Boyle and former operations specialist Marcus Allen. All were reportedly fired or sanctioned by the FBI in connection to their actions or views in opposition to the FBI’s pursuit of Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendants.

The trio will appear before the House Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government chaired by Jordan. Friend and Boyle have already appeared before the committee; Allen has not. Another witness, retired FBI analyst George Hill, has testified before the committee at the time Friend and O’Boyle did, but has not been named as a participant in Thursday’s hearing.

The testimony of Friend, O’Boyle and Hill had prompted an unusual and harsh response by House Democrats in a 300-page report on March 2. The report – entitled “GOP Witnesses: What their disclosures say about the state of the Republican investigations” – argued that Friend, O’Boyle and Hill “had little firsthand knowledge about the FBI and were instead advancing conspiracy theories."

“The three individuals we have met are not, in fact, ‘whistleblowers,’" the Democrats stated in the report. “These individuals, who put forward a wide range of conspiracy theories, did not present actual evidence of any wrongdoing at the Department of Justice or the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”

The report added:

“These interviews also reveal the active engagement and orchestration of disturbing outside influence on the witnesses and, potentially, the Republican members of the Select Subcommittee. A network of organizations, led by former Trump administration officials like Kash Patel and Russell Vought, appears to have identified these witnesses, provided them with financial compensation, and found them employment after they left the FBI.”

Nevertheless, it appears that Friend and O’Boyle will take centerstage Thursday for a public airing of their grievances against the FBI and DOJ. And they will be joined by Allen, who did not previously testify before Jordan’s committee, according to the Daily Mail.

The conservative foundation Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit on behalf of Allen against FBI Director Christopher Wray for allegedly violating his constitutional rights. In a January 10, 2022, letter to Allen, an FBI official stated: “The Security Division has learned you have espoused conspiratorial views both orally and in writing and promoted unreliable information which indicates support for the events of January 6th. These allegations raise sufficient concerns about your allegiance to the United States and your judgment to warrant a suspension of your clearance pending further investigation.”

Salon reported in March that “Friend said he was given $5,000 in November 2022 by an organization run by Patel, who served as acting chief of staff in the Defense Department under former President Donald Trump. Patel also connected him with the Center for Renewing America, a right-wing think tank where Friend now holds a fellowship.

“Friend claimed that the FBI did not follow its own operating procedures in investigations it opened into the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, but as Politico reported, he "wilted" when "actually pressed for details and had no firsthand knowledge" of any abuses.”

Apparently, Patel’s largesse was not limited to Friend.

“O’Boyle also said he had received financial support from Patel before testifying that FBI agents were pressured to open January 6 cases and keep them open,” Salon reported. “In his testimony to the committee, he admitted that he was never threatened or retaliated against for closing a case in which he found insufficient evidence.”

Salon noted that “O’Boyle compared Covid vaccines to the actions of the Reserve Police Battalion 101, a Nazi police force” and questioned the validity of the 2020 election.

Salon added this:

“The report shows that the first three witnesses the House majority referred to as 'whistleblowers' have offered little knowledge of broken laws or wrongdoing," said Lisa Gilbert, executive vice president of Public Citizen. "Instead, they have trafficked in conspiracy theories about the insurrection and even more shockingly, received financial support from close allies to former President Trump. Pay-to-play theatrics have no place in serious oversight."