WASHINGTON – The Justice Department (DOJ) and FBI whistleblower retaliation continues to wreak havoc on whistleblower Marcus Allen and his family, who have waited for more than two years without a resolution to his case.
The FBI suspended Allen’s security clearance in reprisal for protected whistleblowing, then suspended him indefinitely without pay. During that time he has lost other employment and income opportunities while waiting for FBI approvals and internal appeals procedures that have been slow walked by FBI bureaucrats.
The FBI has not allowed Allen and his family to accept charitable contributions solicited by others to assist them in their time of need, causing them significant financial harm. Despite being suspended indefinitely without pay and suspended from FBI duties, the FBI asserts that Allen is an employee and therefore it must approve outside income. Neither the FBI, nor DOJ’s Ethics Office have explained how Allen meets the statutory definition of an employee when he is suspended from FBI duties and is not being paid by the FBI.
Empower Oversight (Empower) has filed a new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requesting records about the FBI and DOJ’s handling of requests from the families of individuals who have been suspended from duty without pay to accept charitable contributions, which causes substantial further financial distress.
In a letter requesting the information, Tristan Leavitt, President of Empower, wrote,
“The FBI baldly asserts the authority to require Mr. Allen to obtain permission from the FBI before accepting outside employment. When he asked for such permission, the FBI unreasonably delayed responding to Mr. Allen’s good faith request for permission, causing him to lose an opportunity to mitigate the loss of his FBI income and causing him significant financial harm.
“The FBI claims that, despite the statutory definition of an employee, Mr. Allen and his family are not allowed to accept charitable contributions solicited by others to assist them in their time of need, causing them significant financial harm.”
The full FOIA request letter can be found here.
Empower is representing Allen with the American Center for Law and Justice.