Posted on 05/18/23
| News Source: Newsmax
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said FBI Director Christopher A. Wray lied under oath about the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
In a Thursday hearing before the House Judiciary's Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, Gaetz criticized Wray for contradicting the FBI's Washington, D.C., field office on the presence of Jan. 6 informants.
The congressman began by defending FBI staff operations specialist Marcus Allen, who claims he was suspended for calling out abuses of power in the agency along with agents Garret O'Boyle and Steve Friend.
"So, Mr. Allen, you got retaliated against for saying the very thing that the Washington field office was telling Boston when the Boston field office was saying, 'We're not going to go in and investigate people that just showed up at a rally without sufficient criminal predicate,'" Gaetz explained.
"The Washington field office told Boston, 'Well, you know what, we can't give you the evidence because it might disclose the very CIs [confidential informant] and UCs [undercover officers] that you are concerned about,'" he added.
In a subsequent post to his Twitter account, Gaetz suggested that the FBI director lied under oath to Congress when he indicated to the U.S. Senate in 2021 testimony on March 2, 2021, that there was no FBI presence.
"The Washington, D.C. FBI Field Office CONFIRMED that undercover officers, confidential informants, and FBI assets were present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, despite FBI Director Wray testifying to the contrary!" the lawmaker wrote.
His comments arrived as House Republicans, led by Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio, grilled federal law enforcement agencies as Allen, Friend, and O'Boyle explained their experiences in the FBI.
"I think it's clear we have a pattern here," Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., warned before the panel. "If you speak up about the abuses you are seeing as an agent or are sharing information that may not fall in line with FBI's political narrative, you will be suspended without pay, have your security clearance revoked, and your life will be turned upside-down."