Whistleblower wins security clearance and back pay after battle with FBI
By Kerry Picket - The Washington Times - Tuesday, June 4, 20241/2
The FBI whistleblower Marcus Allen proclaimed victory Tuesday after the bureau restored his security clearance plus full back pay and benefits Friday. Mr. Allen voluntarily resigned under a settlement agreement with the FBI that includes full restoration of his pay and benefits for the entire 27 months of his suspension by the bureau.
“It’s been a difficult couple of years, and I am truly grateful for my friends and family who helped us through this. While I feel vindicated now in getting back my security clearance, it is sad that in the country I fought for as a Marine, the FBI was allowed to lie about my loyalty to the U.S. for two years,” Mr. Allen said in a statement. “Unless there is accountability, it will keep happening to others. Better oversight and changes to security clearance laws are key to stop abuses suffered by whistleblowers like me.”
In a series of exclusive reports, The Washington Times detailed Mr. Allen’s cases and several other FBI whistleblowers who said bureau officials retaliated against them or punished them for political views by revoking security clearances, resulting in their suspension without pay. Mr. Allen was represented by Empower Oversight and the American Center for Law and Justice in his fight against the FBI leadership.
Empower Oversight said the FBI “totally capitulated,” and the attorney group is urging Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz to release the facts found in its inquiry, “given that the FBI did a 180 after 27 months on the verge of a final [Office of Inspector General] report.”
In a letter sent to Mr. Horowitz, Empower Oversight President Tristan Leavitt recounted the 27-month ordeal suffered by Mr. Allen and his family, who were forced to take early withdrawals from retirement accounts to survive.
“Although he also agreed to withdraw his complaints to your office and is no longer employed with the bureau, Mr. Allen believes that the public and the FBI’s oversight committees in Congress must learn the facts discovered during your extensive inquiry,” Mr. Leavitt wrote.
He stressed that FBI whistleblowers shouldn’t have to choose between feeding their families and fighting for their right to due process while being free from retaliation for protected disclosures.
“Until there is sunlight and accountability for the FBI’s abuses in this case, the chilling effect on future whistleblowing at the FBI cannot be overstated,” he wrote.
The Washington Times reached out to the FBI for comment but did not immediately hear back.
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, who has spearheaded a probe of abuses in the FBI’s Security Division, also called SecD, praised Mr. Allen’s perseverance.
“Marcus bravely stood up to expose misconduct at the FBI, despite attacks from FBI bureaucrats and congressional Democrats,” Mr. Jordan said in a statement. “All Americans owe Marcus a debt of gratitude, and the FBI must also reinstate the security clearances of whistleblowers Garret O’Boyle and Stephen Friend.”
Several FBI whistleblowers, including Mr. Allen, testified before House lawmakers last year about being punished by having their security clearances and pay revoked.
Mr. Horowitz faulted the Justice Department for not providing an inspector general appeal process for employees whose security clearances are suspended for more than one year and who say an agency is retaliating against them.
According to the inspector general’s office, federal law requires government agencies to establish a security clearance review process that “permit[s] … individuals [with a retaliation claim] to retain their government employment status while [the security clearance review] is pending.”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/jun/4/whistleblower-marcus-allen-wins-security-clearance/