The FBI whistleblowers who spoke at the House Judiciary Committee and Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on Thursday were “guilty of insubordination” according to MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace.
She complained about the recent hearing which sought to divulge alleged corruption within the FBI on her show “Deadline: White House” with former deputy assistant attorney general Harry Litman. While the agents who testified were referred to by Republican House members as “whistleblowers,” Democrat members objected to the term.
Wallace echoed that criticism, pointing out that it was “not in dispute” that these FBI officials were “guilty” of insubordination.
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace discussed the House Judiciary Committee with Harry Litman. (MSNBC)
“What does it say that Republicans are trying to misappropriate the whistleblower term? There’s always a more sinister motive. They are reappropriating the term after doing everything they could do endanger the life of the whistleblower that led to Donald Trump’s first impeachment. They are standing by people who are at a minimum, again, not in dispute, guilty of insubordination, of refusing to carry out a court-approved search,” Wallace said.
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Her comment likely referred to Steve Friend, a former FBI special agent, and Marcus Allen, an FBI staff operations specialist, who previously had their security clearances revoked this past month. The FBI maintained that Friend “refused to participate in the execution of a court authorized, search and arrest of a criminal subject” related to Jan. 6.
Allen was similarly reprimanded for expressing doubts towards January 6 prosecutions, sending out emails to colleagues that the FBI claimed were “apparent attempts to hinder investigative activity.”
Suspended FBI agent Marcus Allen testifies during a hearing before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government of the House Judiciary Committee at Rayburn House Office Building on May 18, 2023 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Litman described the agents as “political operatives” and blasted Republicans for “twisting” the language.
“There is a political farce that even extends to the level of language and the complete twisting and bastardization of terms we accept and that are important. A point that hasn’t been raised, what was a big part of the back and forth on the committee, the testimony that this guy gave, that agent Allen gave to the Republicans, he refused to provide to the Democrats. He said I’m not comfortable. Goldman had a field day with Jordan saying, he doesn’t get to decide. There are rules here,” Littman said.
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He continued, “And again, the whistleblowers want their information to come out, but this, in fact, you know, exposed him as just being a political operative. Fine. Jordan finds two or three people that are political operatives, but they’re not whistleblowers and the irony is we’re at this point in the country where people can – what conservative means to Jordan is specifically anti-prosecution of the most important the crimes against the United States in our history. That’s what makes this particularly perverse. Conservative here means, ‘I don’t want to enforce the law.’”
During the hearing, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., attacked House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, for repeatedly referring to the officials as whistleblowers.
FBI officials testified before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government of the House Judiciary Committee on alleged political corruption. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
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“Mr. Chairman, these individuals have been determined not to be whistleblowers,” Wasserman Schultz said. “These are not whistleblowers. They have been determined by the agency not to be whistleblowers. Are you deciding that they’re whistleblowers?”
“Yes, the law decides. Did you not listen to [the testimony]?” Jordan responded.