FBI whistleblower: 'We're just trying to do the right thing for this nation'
Two of three the FBI whistleblowers who testified before the House Judiciary Committee Thursday sound off with Chairman Jim Jordan on 'Jesse Watters Primetime.'
Two of three FBI whistleblowers who testified before Congress joined Rep, Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to speak out on Fox News following a contentious hearing.
Garret O'Boyle and Steve Friend alleged they were the victims of retaliation for expressing concern over alleged politicization and weaponization of the FBI. They testified Thursday before House Subcommittee on Federal Government Weaponization, chaired by Jordan.
On "Jesse Watters Primetime," host Jesse Watters asked about claims there is evidence FBI brass were handing out cash bonuses based on the quantity of new investigations opened.
"To some degree, yes -- it's a little more complicated than that. But there is a system in the FBI where the executive management does get a cash bonus if they get gold checkmarks in certain criteria," O'Boyle replied.
JORDAN TAKES ON DEMS IN CONTENTIOUS EXCHANGE OVER WHISTLEBLOWER TESTIMONY
FBI Director Christopher Wray (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
O'Boyle also confirmed that top officials' designation of White supremacy as the top terror threat in the U.S. allowed the bureau to cast an inordinately wide net of surveillance.
The whistleblower moved from the Great Plains to Washington, D.C., area just to be suspended on his first day there. O'Boyle testified during the hearing he was unable to procure his family's belongings from the FBI following the move and had to rely on charity to clothe and provide for them
"We're just trying to do the right thing for this nation," O'Boyle told "Jesse Watters Primetime." "And if that means even becoming homeless at the hands of the FBI, then we're willing to do that. We're willing to sacrifice that."
AFTER HEATED WHISTLEBLOWER HEARING, EX-FBI AGENT SAYS CURRENT EMPLOYEES AGREE ITS POLITICIZED
Jordan's committee's report said O'Boyle was indefinitely suspended after coming forward with "protected disclosures" to the legislature after being ignored by their own superiors.
Steve Friend has said he was retaliated against after objecting to the SWAT-enforced arrest of a January 6 riot suspect from the Orlando area who was later charged with entering a restricted building or grounds, according to local media.
During the hearing, Rep. Deborah Wasserman Schultz from nearby Hollywood, Fla., grilled Friend, alleging suspect Tyler Bensch had ties to the Three Percenters militia organization and was worthy of a SWAT arrest in their state.
"I've arrested over 150 violent criminals in my career, I've never required a SWAT team to do it," Friend replied.
Friend told Watters there are likely many agents still working at the bureau who have been awaiting such a hearing, in that they want to know how people who speak out will be ultimately treated.
"I think that Garrett and myself and Marcus Allen, we brought the information, certainly the Republicans on the committee were very receptive to that information. And we sort of laid the groundwork for people to feel that they can be protected as whistleblowers," he said.
Friend said he was however not treated with the same respect by members of the minority on the panel, adding he was accused of being a grifter during the hearing for accepting a "donation" from former Trump administration official Kash Patel.
During the hearing, Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y., questioned both Friend and O'Boyle about reportedly receiving help from Patel.
"A donation… are you a charitable organization?" Goldman asked Friend at one point.
Friend told Goldman he was unpaid and indefinitely suspended – and was "trying to feed [my] family."
"My wife had lost her job and it was Christmastime. So I don't think that accepting charity is something I was proud to do," Friend said.
"I think that any sort of allegation that I gave up a very lucrative career in order to accept a donation several months later from an individual who I've never met in my entire life is quite frankly laughable."
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