The FBI is facing accusations of improper retaliation against an employee who raised concerns about the accuracy of FBI Director Christopher Wray’s testimony on the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack.
Empower Oversight, a whistleblower group, alleges that the FBI unlawfully punished Marcus Allen, an FBI employee, for making legally protected whistleblower disclosures about Wray’s testimony. The group claims that the FBI retaliated by suspending Allen without pay and misusing the security clearance process.
According to Empower Oversight, the FBI’s actions occurred before a security clearance determination had been made, and during the extended period when the FBI was still considering whether to revoke Allen’s clearance.
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The group argues that the decision to suspend Allen without pay, delay the security clearance process, and hinder him from taking another job and accepting charitable contributions effectively terminated his employment without reaching a final determination on his security clearance.
Empower Oversight’s President, Tristan Leavitt, wrote a letter to Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz, stating, “Rather it is about the illegality of the FBI’s personnel actions taken before a security clearance determination had been made, and during the extended time when the FBI was still considering whether to revoke Mr. Allen’s clearance.”
The group alleges that the FBI’s actions have caused financial distress for Allen and his family, preventing him from gaining employment elsewhere or accepting charitable contributions.
Allen, a Marine Corps veteran with multiple military service awards, served two tours in Iraq.
Empower Oversight had previously requested an investigation into the FBI’s security clearance suspension in April 2023. The recent letter focuses on the FBI’s decisions during the period when it was considering whether to revoke Allen’s security clearance.
Between May and September 2023, the FBI allegedly withheld necessary documentation for Allen to dispute the decision to revoke his security clearance. Leavitt’s letter argues that these personnel decisions, to suspend him indefinitely without pay and delay the security clearance process, independently constitute statutorily prohibited whistleblower retaliation.
Allen’s security clearance, initially recommended for renewal by the FBI in September 2021, was later revoked in May 2023 pending Allen’s appeal. The FBI reversed its decision after Allen’s September 29, 2021 whistleblower disclosure contesting Wray’s March 2021 testimony about law enforcement’s presence on January 6, 2021.
Empower Oversight filed a request with the FBI in October 2023 to reassess the proposed revocation of Allen’s security clearance. The allegations stem from Allen’s communication on September 29, 2021, where he emailed colleagues a video discussing an FBI informant’s presence among the rioters. In a subsequent email, Allen raised concerns about law enforcement activity on January 6, 2021, during a meeting with a concerned supervisor, disclosing additional concerns about the validity of Wray’s testimony.
