House Democrats on Thursday accused a suspended FBI agent witness, who was put forward by their Republican colleagues as a whistleblower, of lying to Congress last month and referred the matter to Attorney General Merrick Garland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Garret O\u2019Boyle testified before the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government alongside two other FBI agents, who Republicans alleged had their security clearances revoked or suspended for espousing conservative views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the hearing and a previous interview with the House Judiciary Committee, O\u2019Boyle said the FBI suspended his security clearance for making unauthorized disclosures to the media, allegations he repeatedly denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) said in Thursday\u2019s letter that O\u2019Boyle\u2019s testimony was contradicted by that of Jennifer Moore, the head of the FBI\u2019s Human Resources Branch, who signed the letter notifying O\u2019Boyle of the suspension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The September letter said O\u2019Boyle\u2019s security clearance had been suspended because of \u201callegations you may have misused FBI information technology systems and records.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moore told the panel her department received a referral from the FBI\u2019s Insider Threat Office, which had determined that O\u2019Boyle had leaked information about a criminal investigation to Project Veritas that \u201ccompromised the case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nadler and Plaskett alleged on Thursday that the September notification letter and Moore\u2019s testimony \u201cdirectly contradicts\u201d O\u2019Boyle\u2019s explanation for being suspended, as well as his denials that he leaked information before his suspension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn fact, the testimony provided by EAD Moore makes clear that Mr. O\u2019Boyle was automatically referred to the Security Division after the FBI\u2019s Insider Threat Office determined that he had unlawfully removed sensitive information from an FBI computer,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSubsequent to that, the FBI determined that Mr. O\u2019Boyle had in fact leaked that sensitive information, jeopardizing the safety of his fellow agents and compromising a criminal case,\u201d Nadler and Plaskett added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pair of Democrats called for Garland to investigate whether O\u2019Boyle lied to Congress and committed perjury over his remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDemocrats are so desperate to distract from Justice Department wrongdoing that they\u2019re willing to embarrass themselves with frivolous attacks on brave FBI whistleblowers,\u201d said Russell Dye, a spokesperson for the weaponization subcommittee, in a statement to NBC News. \u201cGarret O\u2019Boyle is a proud veteran and experienced law-enforcement officer who has served our nation with honor and distinction. His only crime was speaking out about FBI abuses, and because he exercised his conscience, shameless Democrats now seek to smear his name.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n