Empower Oversight president Tristan Leavitt made the following statement after Senator Rand Paul, Chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, released documents detailing the federal government’s investigation into Christine Crowder. Empower Oversight represents Christine and her husband Mark Crowder, a Senior Federal Air Marshal.
“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.