Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York got fact-checked for smearing FBI whistleblowers who bravely came forward to testify about the egregious partisan corruption infesting the FBI.
Nadler made the dubious accusations Wednesday during FBI Director Christopher Wray’s testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee.
Wray went before the committee to address bombshell testimony that President Joe Biden has weaponized the FBI to persecute conservatives and retaliate against anyone who dares to shed light on the agency’s partisan corruption and abuse of power.
In May, FBI whistleblowers Garret O’Boyle, Steve Friend and Marcus Allen testified before the Judiciary Committee’s select subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government.
“Whistleblower disclosures from rank-and-file agents and employees reveal a recurring theme of abuse, misallocation of resources, and retaliatory conduct,” the committee said in a May 18 news release.
The panel released an interim report at the time that it said “builds on earlier whistleblower accounts describing the FBI’s Washington hierarchy as ‘rotted at its core’ with a ‘systemic culture of unaccountability.’ One whistleblower characterized the current state of the FBI as ‘cancerous,’ as the Bureau has ‘let itself become enveloped in this politicization and weaponization.'”
On Wednesday, Nadler claimed some of the whistleblowers — who were suspended without pay because they came forward — had been paid by associates of former President Donald Trump for their testimony.
“Chairman [Jim] Jordan invited some of these so-called whistleblowers to testify before the Weaponization Subcommittee in May,” the congressman said. “As it turns out, two of the witnesses were ultimately paid $250,000 each for their testimony, money raised, in part, by former Trump aide Kash Patel.”
In fact, according to Just the News, two of the whistleblowers did receive charitable donations to help with their expenses, but the money wasn’t compensation for their testimony, and it wasn’t anywhere near $250,000.
The outlet reported Wednesday that “there is no evidence in the public record that the checks came in exchange for testimony. In fact, the charities have said there is no connection between the financial aid and the testimonies.”
Fellow FBI whistleblower Kyle Seraphin set up a GiveSendGo account to raise money for O’Boyle and Allen, saying, “Standing up for the America we want to live in has come at great cost to these men’s families.”
Some of y’all have some questions. I think you’ll find your answers here.
Feel free to donate. https://t.co/INr0VVBS0d
— Kyle Seraphin (@KyleSeraphin) July 12, 2023
The Spectator’s Matthew Foldi immediately addressed Nadler’s claim on Twitter.
“Right off the bat, NY10’s @RepJerryNadler lies about a whistleblower getting $250k,” Foldi said. “Marcus Allen has not received $250,000. He has not received or cashed the check that Kyle Seraphin posted online.”
The tweet continued: “Allen is seeking legal advice about whether and how he can accept donations while he challenges the FBI’s retaliation for protected whistleblowing.”
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
Attorney Jason Foster — whose nonprofit group Empower Oversight represents Allen — shared Foldi’s tweet and slammed Nadler’s statements as “bogus.”
“It is reprehensible for a Member of Congress to attack our client, FBI whistleblower Marcus Allen, with bogus accusations,” Foster tweeted. “Far from profiting, he’s had to deplete his family’s retirement savings to survive.”
This fact check correcting Ranking Member Nadler is accurate.
It is reprehensible for a Member of Congress to attack our client, FBI #whistleblower Marcus Allen, with bogus accusations.
Far from profiting, he’s had to deplete his family’s retirement savings to survive. https://t.co/zpFiviPkRL
— Jason Foster (@JsnFostr) July 12, 2023
A spokeswoman for Jesse Binnall, who is representing O’Boyle, told Just the News that his client has not accepted any money.
“As of today, he has not accepted any money from Kyle Seraphin,” Erica Knight said. “Democrats didn’t seem concerned when Peter Strozk was raising money for his legal Defense fund as a government employee.”
Similarly, Friend, the third FBI whistleblower, blasted the left-wing attacks as false and defamatory.
“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,” he told Just the News.
“The fact of the matter is that Kash Patel’s foundation gave a charitable donation to me and other whistleblowers when we were several months removed from a paycheck. It was the amount of $5,000.”
He added: “The $250,000 figure is from … [an] account that we established for whistleblowers. I was not a recipient of that. The money was earmarked to go to Garrett O’Boyle and Marcus Allen, neither of which, neither gentleman, has actually cashed that check.”
In a nutshell, Nadler and other Democrats are desperately trying to discredit FBI whistleblowers who are shining a spotlight on egregious corruption and abuse of power within a supposedly nonpartisan federal agency by frivolously accusing them of testifying for money.
It makes no sense for a career FBI official — who has a secure, six-figure-income job with great government benefits — to risk it all for a one-time $250,000 check, especially if they have children.
As whistleblower Allen testified last month: “It has been more than a year since the FBI took my paycheck from me. My family and I have been surviving on early withdrawals from our retirement accounts while the FBI has ignored my request for approval to obtain outside employment during the review of my security clearance.
“We have lost our federal health insurance coverage. There is apparently no end in sight.”
He continued: “I am hopeful scrutiny from congress and from the inspector general will deter the FBI from abusing the security clearance process to retaliate against others the way it has retaliated against me.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
