Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Tuesday claimed that the FBI is “purging” employees who hold conservative viewpoints.
In a letter (pdf) to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Jordan, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said that multiple whistleblowers at the law enforcement agency had come forward alleging retaliatory actions to employees who had engaged in “disfavored political speech.”
The letter redacted the names and positions of the alleged whistleblowers.
The Ohio Republican lawmaker said that in one instance, an alleged veteran was targeted for failing to agree with officials’ conclusions about the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol.
The veteran, who allegedly served in the U.S military for several years and was deployed in Kuwait and Iraq, had their security clearance suspended, before being indefinitely suspended from duty and pay after sharing “personal views that the FBI was not being entirely forthcoming about the events of January 6.”
“As a result, the FBI determined that [REDACTED] had ‘espoused conspiratorial views’ and ‘promoted unreliable information which indicates support for the events of January 6,’ and therefore the FBI questioned allegiance to the United States,” Jordan wrote.
Jordan wrote that the same individual had “been rated as ‘Exceeds Fully Successful’ in performance evaluations, has received several awards, and has never been disciplined or reprimanded until this instance.”
Lawyers for the alleged whistleblower claimed that the FBI’s accusations against their client are a “monumental leap from objective fact” and a “distortion” of actions as well as “gross injustice” which violates their client’s right to exercise freedom of speech under the First Amendment.
In another incident, Jordan said that one alleged whistleblower, who has since left the FBI, had informed the House Judiciary Committee that they faced retaliation when they criticized the FBI in an anonymous survey circulated to employees following Jan. 6.
“The FBI allegedly escalated an adverse personnel action against this employee after [REDACTED] commented on the survey, which sought feedback about the [REDACTED] actions ‘during the recent crisis/command post’ event. The employee, too, was never disciplined or reprimanded until after [REDACTED] criticized the FBI,” the letter reads.
Jordan said multiple “whistleblowers have called it a ‘purge’ of FBI employees holding conservative views.”
