(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) New details have emerged about the FBI settlements with agents-turned-whistleblowers persecuted by the Biden administration, including Steve Friend and Garret O’Boyle, whose high-profile cases drew widespread attention.
Friend, who faced retaliation after objecting to harsh Jan. 6 raids, and Garret O’Boyle, falsely accused of leaking information to Project Veritas, are set to return to their FBI jobs with back pay, interest, and benefits reinstated, government watchdog Empower Oversight announced Tuesday.
The settlements resolve 10 longstanding disputes with the bureau. FBI Director Kashyap Patel announced the settlements earlier this week, noting they were made with the assistance of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley.
“For each of these cases where whistleblowers finally received at least some measure of justice for the retaliation they faced just for telling the truth about wrongdoing, there are many more who still need a remedy,” Empower Oversight Founder Jason Foster and President Tristan Leavitt wrote in a letter to Grassley.
The Biden administration suspended Friend after he objected to the use of a SWAT team to arrest a Jan. 6 protestor. Notably, the protestor had expressed his willingness to collaborate with the FBI regarding their investigation.
“After Friend made these protected disclosures, his superiors threatened his career, overruled his objections, denied his request to volunteer for other duties on the day of the arrest, and ordered him to stay home on the day of the arrest,” Empower Oversight wrote.
O’Boyle was suspended after preparing for a transfer from Kansas to Virginia. He had sold his Kansas home, begun purchasing another in Virginia and placed his belongings in FBI storage. His wife was pregnant with their fourth child at the time. They were also relocating to Virginia.
“Immediately upon his arrival at CIRG, SA O’Boyle was interviewed by NY agents investigating Project Veritas,” Empower Oversight added. “After the interview, he was notified his security clearance was suspended, and soon after, he was indefinitely suspended without pay.”
Each settlement differs in terms but generally includes no forced resignations, four voluntary retirements and all involve lump-sum payments for damages.
Four settlements restore full back pay and benefits under the Back Pay Act. This law requires putting federal employees in the same financial position they would have been had they not been subjected to an “unjustified or unwarranted personnel action,” as noted by Empower Oversight.
