The FBI isn’t giving House Republicans any answers on the agency’s alleged retaliation against whistleblowers. On Monday, the House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena for FBI Executive Assistant Director of Human Resources Jennifer Leigh Moore over reports of retribution taken out on conservative staffers with the revocation of security clearances.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, who now chairs the committee, revealed whistleblowers accusations last year that the bureau improperly revoked clearances of employees with right-leaning views. As the lead lawmaker on the Judiciary Committee and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, Jordan has sought testimony from at least 16 FBI employees to probe the allegations. These employees include Moore, to whom Republicans previously sent three letters. Lawmakers solicited testimony in letters on Sept. 29 and Dec. 1 of 2022, and Jan. 27 of this year.
Moore was issued a formal subpoena by the committee on Monday “after she refused to answer questions during her transcribed interview about the FBI’s retaliation against brave whistleblowers who have come forward,” Russell Dye, a Jordan spokesman, announced in a press release.
Jordan accused the FBI of executing a “purge” of conservative employees within the bureau last fall after multiple whistleblowers came to Republican lawmakers to detail their experiences. “Many” of the employees’ formal notices related to the suspension of security clearances were personally signed by Moore.
“You don’t retaliate against whistleblowers,” Jordan told Fox News in September. “We’ve had multiple agents come to us and tell us about just how political the Justice Department has become.”
The FBI denied the accusations.
“The FBI does not target or take adverse action against employees for exercising their First Amendment rights or for their political views; to allege otherwise is false and misleading,” the bureau told Fox News. “The FBI is required to follow established policies and procedures, to include a thorough investigation, when suspending or revoking a security clearance.”
While the FBI denies the agency has become political, years of aggressively targeting opponents of the Washington regime reveal otherwise.
In August, more than 30 plainclothes agents stormed former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in an unprecedented raid of sitting President Joe Biden’s chief political opponent. The search, which was personally approved by Attorney General Merrick Garland, authorized agents to seize any and all documents Trump may have come in contact with as president. Officials ultimately confiscated 15 boxes of material allegedly marked classified.
Earlier this month, Jordan’s probe also subpoenaed the FBI director over the bureau infiltrating Catholic parishes in Virginia with undercover informants.
[READ: 19 Times Democrats And DOJ Deliberately Politicized Law Enforcement]
Despite the politicization of the Justice Department, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell endorsed more funding for the agency last week. Republicans, McConnell said, “ought to be looking for ways to spend more on law enforcement.”
Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com. Sign up for Tristan's email newsletter here.