Although leftists have historically displayed skepticism of — if not outright disdain for — the FBI, today’s Democratic Party is apparently going all in on protecting the bureau.
Even as a string of whistleblowers put their livelihoods and safety at stake to share what they know about the inner workings of the agency, some elected officials are doing their best to discredit them at every turn.
Specifically, Democrats like U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas have accused these informants of accepting payments in exchange for their testimony.
During a House Judiciary Committee hearing involving FBI Director Christopher Wray, Lee displayed a screenshot that she portrayed as evidence of her claim.
“Here’s another picture,” she asserted. “It’s the checks that were sent to both [Garrett] O’Boyle and [Marcus] Allen. Each check was for $255,194. Let me say that again. These men were paid $255,194 after they testified as so-called whistleblowers.”
Although there is some evidence that two FBI whistleblowers — O’Boyle and Steve Friend — accepted donations to help them financially after their careers in the agency were derailed, Lee’s implication that they were paid for their testimony has been widely disputed. Furthermore, Allen’s attorneys insist that he never accepted any such payment.
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) took on the Texas Democrat directly after she made the unfounded claim.
“They actually haven’t received the money,” he said, going on to reference a tweet recently authored by conservative political writer Matthew Foldi about Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY).
Right off the bat, #NY10’s @RepJerryNadler lies about a whistleblower getting $250k.
Marcus Allen has not received $250,000. He has not received or cashed the check that Kyle Seraphin posted online.
Allen is seeking legal advice about whether and how he can accept donations… pic.twitter.com/2NN34BRqbD
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) July 12, 2023
Empower Oversight founder Jason Foster, speaking on Allen’s behalf, also tweeted that claims by Lee and Nadler.
Denouncing the claims against the whistleblower as “bogus allegations,” Foster wrote: “Far from profiting, he’s had to deplete his family’s retirement savings to survive.”
A source representing O’Boyle’s attorney issued a statement asserting that he had not cashed the aforementioned check and Friend denied the allegations directly.
“This is just a perfect example of taking facts completely out of context and then throwing them up against the wall and hoping that nobody actually reads beyond the headline,” Friend asserted.
He said that the sum referenced by Democratic lawmakers was from a specific account for whistleblowers and “was earmarked to go to Garrett O’Boyle and Marcus Allen, neither of which, neither gentleman, has actually cashed that check.”
