A House Democrat appears to have believed she found a smoking gun to help discredit one of Republicansâ witnesses during a hearing of the weaponization subcommittee.
On Thursday, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) questioned FBI Staff Operations Specialist Marcus Allen â who Republicans labeled a whistleblower â about a tweet she appeared to believe was sent by him.
âOn Dec. 5, 2022, an account under the name Marcus Allen re-tweeted a tweet that saidâŚâ Sanchez began.
However, Allen quickly interjected to point out the problem in her question as he said, âThat is not my account, maâam.â
âYou havenât let me finish the question, sir,â Sanchez shot back.
She pressed on, âOn Dec. 5, 2022, an account under the name of Marcus Allen re-tweeted a tweet that said, âNancy Pelosi staged Jan. 6. Re-tweet if you agree.'â
âDo you agree with that statement? Yes or no,â she asked.
Allen reiterated the account does not belong to him as he said, âNo, maâam. Thatâs not my account at all.â
Sanchez asked, âDo you agree with the statement that this person tweeted that Nancy Pelosi staged Jan. 6? Yes or no?â
âNo,â Allen responded.
Watch the video below:
Allen was testifying before the committee about allegations that he had his security clearance revoked in retaliation for making a public disclosure of âwrong conductâ in the bureau.
An interim staff report from the committee claims the FBI revoked his security clearance and suspended him for sending âopen-sourced articlesâ about Jan. 6 for âsituational awareness.â
âBecause these open-source articles questioned the FBIâs handling of the violence at the Capitol, the FBI suspended Allen for âconspiratorial views in regard to the events of January 6th,â the report claims.
For its part, the FBI says Allen was suspended after he âespoused alternative theories to coworkers verbally and in emails and instant messages sent on the FBI systems, in apparent attempts to hinder investigative activity.â
âAs one example, on September 29, 2021, Mr. Allen sent an email using his FBI email account to multiple colleagues that contained links to websites and urged recipients to âexercise extreme caution and discretion in pursuit of any investigative inquiries or leads pertaining to the events ofâ January 6,â it added.
Sanchez was clearly trying to impeach Allenâs credibility and make him look like a kook.
But when it became clear the tweet was not his, she should have changed tack instead of pressing him to see if he agrees with the view of someone else.
