FBI headquarters
WASHINGTON – Eight more whistleblower retaliation cases with the FBI have been resolved, and a nonprofit group is applauding the moves.
“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 and chairman Jason Foster and President Tristan Leavitt said in a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley. “There are more who still have no remedy and no justice. The work to combat weaponization and whistleblower retaliation is far from over.”
Empower Oversight thanked Glassley (R-Iowa) in the August 26 letter for his leadership and for providing a summary of the settlement agreements. The group said the eight latest settlements and two other settled disputes represent more than 12 years of suspended days corrected by the agreements.
One of the settlements involved Marcus Allen, who had been forced to resign. But the FBI still had not paid him fully nearly a year after until the settlement was completed. Allen had made protected disclosures regarding congressional testimony of FBI Director Christopher Wray following the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
Allen, a decorated U.S. Marine combat veteran, said the FBI retaliated against him by falsely accusing him of disloyalty to the United States and illegally suspending him without pay for more than two years. In October 2023, Empower Oversight filed Allen’s appeal based on evidence contradicting the FBI’s claims from its own files.
A second settlement was finalized August 1, and the other ones were done in the last few weeks.
Empower Oversight says the FBI targeted these employees for their political beliefs by suspending or revoking their security clearances and taking other reprisals against them, often leading to indefinite suspensions.
The group says these tactics put whistleblowers in limbo, enabling the FBI to avoid due process and inflict financially distress. By suspending their pay and blocking alternative job opportunities 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.
Each of the agreements differ slightly depending on each employee’s particular situation, case and circumstances. Of these eight settlement agreements:
None required any resignations as a condition of the agreement.
Four involve or facilitate voluntary retirements.
All include lump sum payments for damages.
Four require full restoration of back pay and benefits to be calculated according to the Back Pay Act, which 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.”
Three require the FBI to return the employees to duty, including Garret O’Boyle, Steve Friend, and Zachery Schoffstall.
Foster and Leavitt praised Grassley’s efforts.
“Your leadership and advocacy for whistleblower protections were essential both publicly and behind the scenes,” they wrote. “Without your office, these brave whistleblowers would almost certainly not have received a fair hearing.
“On behalf of our clients, their families, and the Americans who advocated for them — thank you.”
The pair also thanked President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel. They also praised the work of the Deputy Attorney General’s office and the Weaponization Working Group (WWG), and they asked Congress to continue support the work of the WWG to remedy the injustices suffered by many others.
