One FBI agent, speaking before the House Judiciary Committee Thursday morning, detailed the extreme lengths he went to protect his livelihood after being suspended from duty just one day after relocating across the country at the agency’s request, which left his family homeless and forced to “beg.”
Special Agent Garret O’Boyle told lawmakers, “I am sad, I am disappointed, and I am angry” about the “weaponization” of the Bureau and Department of Justice against political enemies of President Joe Biden. O’Boyle described in heartbreaking detail the suffering of his family during his unpaid suspension:
“My oath did not require me sacrificing the hopes, dreams, and livelihoods of my family. My strong, beautiful, and courageous wife and our four sweet and beautiful daughters have endured this process along with me. In weaponized orders, the FBI allowed me to accept a new position halfway across the country. They allowed us to sell my family’s home. They ordered me to report to the new unit when our youngest daughter was two weeks old. Then, on my first day on the new assignment, they suspended me, rendering my family homeless. They refused to release our goods, including our clothes, for weeks,” O’Boyle testified.
WATCH:
Since taking control of Congress, Republicans have launched investigations into the FBI and its handling of the January 6, 2021 riots at the Capitol as well as probes of pro-life activists and others opposed to the Biden administration. Other agents, speaking at Thursday’s hearing, testified how coming forward as whistleblowers has put their careers in jeopardy.
Separately, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Thursday announced the filing of articles of impeachment against President Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and FBI Director Christopher Wray for the “weaponization” of federal law enforcement agencies or the dereliction of duty. Green cited the example of U.S. Attorney Michael Graves, who oversees the District of Columbia, who has allowed “67 percent of arrests to go unprosecuted,” many of which involve violent crimes.
A coalition of former FBI agents, all with over 20 years of experience at the Bureau, have released an open letter calling for reforms at the agency to stem the politicization they allege began under former FBI Director James Comey with his investigation of then-President Donald Trump.
