May 19, 2023
THE TRUMP BRAND:
Key exchanges highlight dicey GOP 'weaponization' hearing (Aaron Blake, May 18, 2023, Washington Post)
Another witness Thursday was Marcus Allen, an FBI staff operations specialist who, like Friend, had his security clearance revoked this month ahead of his testimony.The FBI said this was done because of concerns about Allen's personal conduct and "allegiance to the United States." It said he urged caution to others about investigating Jan. 6 and failed to provide relevant information about a Jan. 6 defendant. This allegedly led to the case's being closed before another agent discovered "readily available" evidence that the defendant assaulted police officers on Jan. 6.Allen was asked repeatedly Thursday whether it was appropriate for an agent to express support for those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. He at one point offered a brief "no" in the context of his answer, but he otherwise declined requests to state "yes or no," even asking for the question to be rephrased. Ultimately, he said, "You should not be voicing support for criminal conduct."The final FBI witness was Garret O'Boyle, a suspended special agent. O'Boyle has allegedly liked tweets claiming the 2020 election was stolen and compared coronavirus vaccine mandates to Nazi Germany.
Posted by Orrin Judd at May 19, 2023 12:00 AM