Ten brave FBI whistleblowers just scored a major win against what they call retaliation by the former Biden administration for speaking out on misconduct and holding conservative views, as Breitbart reports.
These agents, punished with demotions, pay cuts, and stripped security clearances, have now settled with the Department of Justice to get their clearances back and receive back pay, as announced on Tuesday.
These whistleblowers didn’t just face a slap on the wrist; they endured a staggering 12 years of combined suspension time for daring to expose wrongdoing within the FBI.
Retaliation for truth, deeply-held beliefs
Under the Biden administration, the retaliation was swift and harsh, targeting these agents for their political beliefs and their disclosures of internal misconduct.
From demotions to outright clearance revocations, the message seemed clear: step out of line, and you’ll pay dearly.
But justice, though delayed, wasn’t denied, thanks in part to the relentless advocacy of Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican from Iowa and chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Grassley’s fight for fairness
Grassley didn’t mince words, stating, “These ten collectively suffered 12-years-worth of unjustified suspension time.”
That’s a powerful indictment, and it’s hard not to wonder if the administration thought they could silence dissent by treating these agents, as Grassley put it, “like skunks at a picnic.” Turns out, silencing truth-tellers only makes the stench of injustice stronger.
The legal nonprofit Empower Oversight, representing these ten employees, also pulled no punches in exposing what they called “retaliatory targeting” in a detailed letter to the FBI’s general counsel back in March.
Shocking examples of retribution
Consider the specific cases: one special agent was indefinitely suspended and lost his clearance for questioning the use of a SWAT team to arrest a Jan. 6 defendant on a minor charge.
Another agent in New Orleans had his clearance yanked after reporting prosecutorial misconduct in a plea deal for a district attorney accused of serious crimes. If that’s not a chilling effect on accountability, what is?
Then there’s the female FBI staffer punished for flagging mismanagement and wasteful spending in background check processes — hardly the kind of “threat” that warrants career destruction.
Empower Oversight demands accountability
Empower Oversight’s attorneys wrote in their March letter, “The actions taken against our clients were in reprisal for protected whistleblowing.” That’s a polite way of saying the system tried to crush those who dared to speak up against its flaws.
Jason Foster and Tristan Leavitt of Empower Oversight noted in a Tuesday letter that while this settlement is a step forward, “the work to combat weaponization and whistleblower retaliation is far from over.” It’s a sobering reminder that for every victory, countless others still wait for their day of reckoning against a bureaucracy that too often seems allergic to dissent.
With four of these whistleblowers choosing to remain anonymous, it’s clear the fear of further reprisal lingers, even after this hard-fought settlement. When speaking truth to power comes with such a steep price, one has to ask: how many more voices are being silenced in the shadows?
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Author: Mae Slater
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