Three whistleblowers’ top-secret security clearances have been revoked by the FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, a New York Times report states. In a letter addressed to Jim Jordan, the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, the FBI cited concerns about the whistleblowers’ “allegiance to the United States” as the reason for this action. Notably, two of these agents, Marcus Allen and Stephen Friend, were scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary panel on Thursday, specifically regarding the federal government’s militarization issue.
These three agents had previously been placed on administrative leave after raising questions about the FBI’s handling of the events on January 6 and expressing their belief that the bureau had been weaponized against conservatives. As reported by the Daily Mail, the agents participated in a select committee interview in February of the previous year. During that interview, they expressed concerns about the directives from FBI leadership to prioritize investigations into “domestic violent extremism” and abandon traditional investigative methods concerning the January 6 incident.
The agents allege that the FBI manipulated crime data related to domestic terrorism to align with the narrative of the Biden Administration. Marcus Allen is expected to present new evidence supporting these claims before the committee on Thursday.
The letter explains that Allen had his top-secret security clearance revoked due to his “expressed sympathy for persons or organizations that advocate, threaten, or use force or violence.” It also mentions that Allen sent an email containing a link to a story suggesting that federal law enforcement had infiltrated the crowds at the Capitol, which raised serious concerns for him.
Darren Beattie, the creator of Revolver News, revealed that the contentious page appeared on his website shortly after the report became public.
On Tuesday, the FBI also revoked the top-secret security clearance of agent Steven Friend. Friend had refused to participate in a SWAT-style raid targeting a suspect connected to the events of January 6, who had been investigated for a misdemeanor since the previous summer. Friend, a 12-year bureau veteran, justified his refusal to join the raid on August 24, 2022, by citing his commitment to upholding the Constitution and his moral objection.
The security clearance of a third agent, Brett Gloss, was terminated by the FBI two weeks earlier when investigators discovered that he had entered a restricted area of the Capitol on January 6. Despite not facing any criminal charges and seemingly participating in peaceful protest outside the facility, Gloss provided “misleading and false information.”
The letter asserts that Gloss’s failure to provide honest and complete answers to security officials’ lawful questions pertaining to a determination of personnel security or trustworthiness warrants an adverse clearance action.