FBI Whistleblowers Admit To Taking Money from Donald Trump Official During House Hearing
During a House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government hearing, two FBI whistleblowers admitted that they received money from a former Donald Trump administration official. The hearing was about the federal government's unfair persecution of conservatives, and the testimony threw a wrench at some Republican talking points.
FBI special agent Garret O'Boyle and former FBI special agent Steve Friend, who Republicans had hoped would reveal damning testimony on the federal government being biased against conservatives. Instead, they revealed they took money from former Trump administration official Kash Patel.
Rep. Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, then pressed the two on their admission, with Agent Friend further admitting that the money they received from the Trump official was a "donation." This prompted Goldman to ask, "Are you a charitable organization?"
"I was an unpaid, indefinitely suspended man trying to feed his family," answered the FBI agent, "And he's reached out to me and said he wanted to give me a donation."
After the hearing, reporters asked Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio whether he thought these donations to FBI agents from a man tied to somebody being investigated by the FBI were appropriate. Jordan replied, "They got a family! How are they supposed to feed their family?"
The testimony throws the testimony of the so-called whistleblowers in doubt as they may have had an ulterior motive in testifying that the federal government is persecuting conservatives. Experts also pointed out that even if they had nothing to feed their family with, the fact that FBU agents took money from a man serving a person that the agency is investigating might not bode well for the credibility of their testimony.
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Former FBI Informant Who Lied About the Bidens Ordered Detained Pending Trial
In another blow to House Republicans' political efforts, Alexander Smirnov, the man that Jim Jordan and James Comer touted as their star witness against Joe Biden, but was soon found out to have lied to his FBI handlers and coached by Russian intelligence officials, was ordered by a judge to be detained once again, pending trial.
This came after he was ordered to be conditionally freed in Nevada. However, he was deemed a flight risk and ordered detained again, according to CBS News. Rightwing media organizations and Republican politicians hyped him up as the man to bring down the Bidens, but it turned out that his testimony was provided to him by Russian intelligence.
Top House Republican Admits Former FBI Informant May Have Lied to Them
After weeks of hyping Smirnov up as a very credible witness, Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan is now backtracking and admitted to reporters that their "star witness" may have lied to them and the FBI.
"I don't know, maybe the guy did lie," Jordan admitted on CPAC last Friday. He and other members of the majority-Republican House Judiciary chair spent the better part of the week attempting to twist and tweak Smirnov's testimony, according to TNR. They still insisted that Smirnov's allegations still held weight despite him admitting to have lied about it.
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Written by: Rick Martin
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