The post Just the News Features Whistleblower Scott Dexter and Empower Oversight’s Bobby Cheren appeared first on Empower Oversight.

The post Tristan Leavitt joins Just the News to Discuss Shielded by Power Documentary appeared first on Empower Oversight.

Tristan Leavitt, the president of Empower Oversight, which represented IRS supervisory special agent Gary Shapley and IRS special agent Joseph Ziegler in their efforts to share the truth about the deeply flawed federal inquiry into Hunter Biden. Leavitt told key Republican lawmakers on Wednesday that the documentary featuring Shapley, Ziegler, and others seemed to be being suppressed by Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Google.

“We write to alert you to alarming big tech suppression of […] a campaign to fund the production of our documentary Shielded By Power: The Whistleblowers vs. the Big Guy,” Leavitt said in his letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer also a Republican representing Ohio, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.

A copy of the letter was also sent to the Trump White House…

For the full story, click here.

The post Just The News: Déjà vu: Hunter Biden whistleblower documentary ads ‘suppressed’ by Big Tech, lawyers suggest appeared first on Empower Oversight.

The documentary, Shielded by Power: The Whistleblowers vs. The Big Guy, tells the story of IRS Special Agents turned whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, who blew the whistle to Congress on the Hunter Biden investigation, disclosing that Hunter Biden’s laptop had been accessed via a signed search warrant, had been in FBI possession since fall 2019, and had been authenticated months before the New York Post published its reporting. That reporting was suppressed by Facebook and Twitter in October 2020 — a decision Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg later acknowledged to Congress was a mistake.

In a letter to members of Congress, Empower Oversight explained that after launching a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo — which itself delayed the project’s launch by several weeks by seeking changes to the campaign’s content — the organization launched digital advertising on Meta, Google, and X directing viewers to shieldedbypower.com.

None of the ads have run at this time, despite representatives of Empower Oversight meeting every condition required. Meta permanently suspended the Facebook ad account of Empower Oversight’s ads manager, wiping user data from unrelated prior ads. Google suspended the organization’s ads account as well.

In fact, during one lengthy conversation, a Meta customer service representative stated the platform does not “support the scope of this content,” which is reminiscent of the platform’s prior attempts at viewpoint discrimination.

In the letter, Empower Oversight president Tristan Leavitt wrote that Meta’s conduct “constitutes suppression of the story of Facebook’s very own past actions on this exact same topic. We knew Hollywood would not want to see our documentary made. But to be censored by one of the same social media companies that suppressed this story previously raises significant questions about the truthfulness of their responses to past congressional oversight.”

The documentary is being produced in partnership with Fruition Productions. To support the production, visit shieldedbypower.com.

For a copy of the letter, click here.

###

The post Big Tech Buried the Laptop Story, Now It’s Burying the Film About It appeared first on Empower Oversight.

The letter request spans five broad categories asking for:

• documents related to complaints, whistleblower reports and other investigative files, including any enforcement actions or declinations, about California hospice providers,
• documents and records regarding licensing and oversight controls, including audits or assessments of the program and processes,
• internal communications within CDPH and with other state agencies and the Governor’s office related to hospice oversight,
• documents regarding program integrity including billing and audit data; and
• documents regarding referrals made by CDPH for fraud, and any related records.

“When federal taxpayer dollars are at stake, the public has a right to know. Media reports raise a number of questions about how California has been overseeing hospice providers and responding to fraud concerns. It’s basic transparency and accountability to the taxpayers who are spending billions to fund these enterprises,” said Tristan Leavitt, president of Empower Oversight.

Empower Oversight is also seeking internal communications between CDPH and a range of federal agencies — including the California Department of Justice’s Division of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

The request for information centers around how CDPH responded — or failed to respond — to known fraud indicators, including suspicious clustering of hospice providers at single addresses, abnormal billing patterns, and unusually high reimbursement rates per patient.

Last month, the anti-fraud task force led by Vice-president J.D. Vance began its probe and suspended 70 hospice and home health providers in Los Angeles.

In January, Empower Oversight requested from the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families records related to the oversight and administration of the state’s Child Care Assistance Program which was also the subject of numerous reports of waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.

For a copy of the letter to CDPH, click here.

###

The post Documented California Hospice Fraud Prompts Broad Ranging Inquiry from National Oversight and Accountability Organization appeared first on Empower Oversight.

The FBI still has yet to resolve one additional whistleblower case not in the original group of nine. That client—a senior official targeted by the Deputy Director during the Biden Administration for seeking a religious exemption to the COVID vaccine mandate—continues to face reprisal from career FBI executives for reporting their gross waste and abuse to new DOJ and FBI leadership.

“After we forced action to secure their settlements last year, it’s unacceptable that these whistleblowers had to endure further delay before receiving the back pay they earned. Nothing can fully undo years lost to illegal reprisals, but we are grateful to Senator Grassley, President Trump, the Justice Department and the Weaponization Working Group for beginning to make amends to these patriots,” said Tristan Leavitt, president of Empower Oversight. “We will keep working to resolve the one remaining case in good faith and demand accountability.”

The FBI targeted employees after some made protected whistleblower disclosures and other were pursued for their political beliefs by taking their security clearances and paychecks, often leading to indefinite suspensions. These tactics put whistleblowers in indefinite limbo, enabling the FBI to avoid due process and inflict financial distress. By suspending their pay, and blocking permission to take outside work, but without technically firing them, the FBI often forces employees to resign or retire early without a fair chance to challenge the decision, perpetuating the issue without resolution.

“My family should never have endured years of hardship, upheaval, loss of privacy, forced moves, financial strain, and public scrutiny at the hands of a weaponized government. We are grateful to finally put this long ordeal behind us,” whistleblower Garret O’Boyle said. “These wrongs were only addressed after the new leadership at the Department of Justice and FBI under the Trump Administration decided to settle my whistleblower complaints. I appreciate the time and effort of all those in DOJ and FBI who tried to do the right thing.”

In March 2025, Empower Oversight released details about its clients who were targeted because of their political beliefs. In a letter to the FBI’s General Counsel, the founder of Empower Oversight, Jason Foster, outlined each of the cases and pressed for the DOJ to make good on its promises to end the weaponization of the federal government, and protect whistleblowers from retaliation.

Leavitt expressed gratitude to U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley and other Capitol Hill allies who championed and worked with these whistleblowers.

“Senator Grassley worked with us every step of the way to ensure this administration could not ignore the need to remedy these injustices. Many of these whistleblowers reported DOJ and FBI misconduct to Congress, including significant disclosures to Chairman Jim Jordan and the House Judiciary Weaponization Subcommittee, so we are enormously grateful for the support of everyone on Capitol Hill who helped expose the politicization and weaponization of the FBI,” Leavitt said.

To read the full statement from Garret O’Boyle, click here.

To read the full statement from Zach Schoffstall, click here.

To read the full statement from Mike Zummer, click here.

###

The post FBI Sends Nearly $4 Million in Back Pay to Empower Oversight Whistleblower Clients appeared first on Empower Oversight.

Elite journalists, however, have entirely ignored months of whistleblower allegations that Biden administration officials willfully violated a written court order to stop threatening the federal funding of school districts that resist its novel view, never enshrined in binding regulations, that Title IX protects gender identity despite the law explicitly limiting itself to “sex.”

Perhaps more surprising, the Trump administration has given no update on its own investigation of the allegations, which the lame-duck Biden administration dismissed, but the new administration resurrected almost a year ago.

“At the very least, there should be consequences for any employees who are still with the Department of Education” and intentionally ignored the July 2022 injunction against the Biden administration, Empower Oversight President Tristan Leavitt, whose group is representing the whistleblower, told Just the News, No Noise.  

For the full story, click here.

The post Just the News: Trump probe lags on Biden officials allegedly conspiring to violate court order on gender identity appeared first on Empower Oversight.

On Jan. 13, Empower Oversight filed a request under the Minnesota Data Practices Act for their records regarding CCAP oversight and enforcement activities. The group said the program, which distributes millions of taxpayer dollars annually to child care providers, has been the subject of “numerous reports of waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.”

To read the full story, click here.

The post The Center Square: Group Wants Records on Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program appeared first on Empower Oversight.

The request, filed pursuant to the Minnesota Data Practices Act, seeks information regarding DCYF’s monitoring of child-care providers and its response to concerns about fraud, misuse of taxpayer funds, and regulatory violations within the program.

“Given the scale of public funding involved and the importance of protecting both taxpayer dollars and vulnerable families, it is critical to understand what the agency knew about these issues and how it responded,” said Tristan Leavitt, president of Empower Oversight. “Ensuring appropriate protections for anyone who helps bring transparency to the program is essential to restoring public trust.”

Minnesota’s CCAP distributes millions of dollars annually to child-care providers to help low-income families access child-care and participate in the workforce. A significant portion of this funding is provided by the federal government. Approximately $185 million in federal funds flows to Minnesota each year through this program, totaling more than $1 billion in federal taxpayer dollars since 2019.

Recent reporting and public scrutiny have raised serious questions about widespread fraud and misuse of CCAP funds, as well as the adequacy of state oversight. Reports indicate that some providers with repeated regulatory violations have continued to receive funding and retain active licenses. Additional concerns have emerged regarding potential connections between CCAP providers and individuals or entities implicated in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.

Minnesota state lawmaker Marion Rarick also testified before the House Oversight Committee last week that whistleblowers face a “constant fear of retaliation,” especially under the current governor’s administration.

Empower Oversight’s request seeks, among other records, investigative reports documenting providers with no children present, communications related to individuals and providers connected to Feeding Our Future, and records related to fraud or misuse of CCAP funds since January 2019. The organization is also requesting copies of prior data requests submitted to DCYF concerning CCAP and the department’s responses.

For a copy of the letter, click here.

###

The post Empower Oversight Presses Minnesota State Agency for Records on Child Care Assistance Program Amid Fraud Concerns appeared first on Empower Oversight.

“In 2022 Empower Oversight helped Mark and Christine Crowder file complaints with the Office of Special Counsel about false information reported by the FBI that resulted in Christine being unjustifiably surveilled on flights. The FBI didn’t correct the information until 2023, when it finally interviewed her two years after opening its investigation. Only now, in 2026, are we learning that the agency never had a basis to open an investigation beyond a baseless allegation. The documents released today by Senator Paul show just how ludicrous it was for her to be surveilled, the resources wasted on such surveillance, and the practically insurmountable hurdles that ordinary Americans must go through to find transparency and accountability in THEIR government. We must end the abuse of taxpayer resources on innocent Americans, and hold accountable those who are guilty of the weaponization of the federal government.”

BACKGROUND

In Spring 2022, Empower Oversight helped a TSA whistleblower filing disclosures with the Office of Special Counsel informing them that his chain of command knew his wife had been falsely listed as a domestic terrorist who entered the U.S. Capitol.  

After the OSC failed to forward the disclosures to the DHS Inspector General (DHS IG), Empower Oversight assisted the whistleblower in sending the disclosure directly to the DHS IG. 

In January 2023, the DHS IG indicated that the allegations would be looked into.  

In August 2024, after additional whistleblowers came forward to Empower Oversight and made protected disclosures regarding abuses in the program, Empower Oversight asked the DHS IG to conduct oversight of all Federal Air Marshals Service surveillance programs, including Quiet Skies. 

On August 14, 2024, Empower Oversight sent a letter to the House and Senate committees of jurisdiction over TSA outlining specific abuses about the surveillance of former member of Congress and current Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. 

FAMS Director Brian Belcher, during a May 21, 2025, townhall with the agency’s Washington Field Office, reportedly justified the surveillance of Ms. Gabbard, stating, “No one is above the law.” His remarks contradicted the classified nature of the Quiet Skies program, which operates without public accountability or clear legal standards, and has raised concerns about politically motivated surveillance. 

On May 29, 2025, Empower Oversight asked Noem to produce additional records.

On June 5, 2025, Noem announced that the Quiet Skies program would be ending.

On Sept. 30, 2025, Empower Oversight president Tristan Leavitt testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on the weaponization of the Quiet Skies program based on the organization’s representation of several FAMS whistleblowers since 2022.

The post HSGAC Document Release Shows Baseless Surveillance of Empower Oversight Client appeared first on Empower Oversight.