Thread by @EMPOWR_us

1. A primer 🧵for those interested in actually learning:

@HouseJudiciary Democrat attacks on @FBI witnesses that @empwr_us helped as not "real" #whistleblowers are wrong on the law and factually baseless.

https://twitter.com/tristanleavitt/status/1632442109855711233

2. Legally speaking, a whistleblower is someone makes a "protected disclosure." Period. Nothing else.

A "protected disclosure" generally means a good faith effort to properly report waste, wrongdoing, or a safety concern.

https://twitter.com/JsnFostr/status/1632525343239151618?s=20

3. Reprisal or retaliation means taking and adverse personnel action, or colloquially speaking, any other form of retribution in response to a protected disclosure.

4. The @HouseJudiciary Dems claimed that @RealStevefriend and others had merely stated personal opinions rather than reporting waste, wrongdoing, or safety concerns.

This is false.

@RealSteveFriend testified to all three categories.

5. He testified about being pulled off of child exploitation cases to chase pointless #J6 leads.

[waste]

6. He testified about the @FBI's multiple methods of dishonestly manipulating case statistics, including failure to conduce #J6 case "by the book," the Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG).

[wrongdoing]

7. He testified about the use of SWAT resources when the @FBI knew that subject had expressed willingness to voluntarily cooperate and knew that there were other, less risky options for the officers and public, requiring less use of force.

[safety]

8. Unfortunately, there is a bizarre exemption from the normal procedural remedies that agents at all other law enforcement agencies enjoy. The @US_OSC and the @USMSPB generally have little to no authority involving @FBI whistleblowers.

9. This should be fixed. But, right now, FBI agents rely only the @JusticeOIG to investigate and internal appeals within DOJ to hold FBI accountable for retaliation.

That doesn't work very well.

10. That's why vigorous congressional oversight is the all-important last resort.

Without getting too technical, in 2016, changes to the law clarified that FBI agents *can* make protected disclosures to Congress.

These agents *are* whistleblowers.

https://twitter.com/JsnFostr/status/1418706423639326722?s=20

8.5 Recent changes allow FBI to eventually appeal to the @USMSPB after bouncing around the internal DOJ bureaucracy for 180 days if there is no final decision, or to appeal any final decision.

8.75 Although FBI agents can now (eventually) appeal to the @USMSPB, they *still* cannot get:

- the @US_OSC to apply to the the MSPB for a temporary stay of a suspension or other adverse personnel action, or

- to appeal to federal district court from the MSPB's decision.