A former FBI special agent and his family have been left homeless after he bravely stepped forward to blow the whistle on the top federal law enforcement agencies.
Testifying Thursday during the House Judiciary Committeeโs investigation on the weaponization of the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ), Garrett OโBoyle revealed that he has faced severe retaliation for coming forward.
He described the ordeal that the FBI and DOJ have been putting him and his family through.
“The FBI allowed me to accept orders to a new position halfway across the country.
“They allowed us to sell my familyโs home.
“They ordered me to report to the new unit when our youngest daughter was 2 weeks old.
“Then, on my first day on the new assignment, they suspended me, rendering my family homeless,โ he told the committee.
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OโBoyle added that the FBI then โrefused to release our goods, including our clothes, for weeks.โ
With his paycheck and health benefits suspended and no access to any of their possessions, they were โstrandedโ in Wisconsin with winter fast approaching.
He said they were forced to turn to family and accept charity for necessities like clothing.
โIt was horrible,โ OโBoyle told panel member Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
โIt was a difficult time.โ
FBI whistleblower shares heartbreaking story of how the FBI moved his family across the country and held their possessions for six weeks without pay or health insurance. pic.twitter.com/BfiD1kvnq5
โ MRCTV (@mrctv) May 18, 2023
That, he said, was just one example of what the agency has done to silence anyone who might be tempted to speak out.
โThe FBI will crush you,” OโBoyle told lawmakers.
“This government will crush you and your family if you try to expose the truth about things they are doing that are wrong.โ
FBI Whistleblower Garret O’Boyle, whose family had to beg for clothes after exposing corruption at the FBI: “The FBI will crush you. This government will crush you and your family if you try to expose the truth about things they are doing that are wrong.” pic.twitter.com/NfJCbLVOrK
โ Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 18, 2023
OโBoyle said he served in the Army and as a police officer before joining the FBI.
He said he viewed becoming an FBI special agent as โthe pinnacle of law enforcement and a way to continue to serve this nation and protect and defend the Constitution.โ
OโBoyle received โthe highest annual review an employee can receive,โ winning an award for his work and was selected for the FBI SWAT team.
However, despite his achievements, OโBoyle said, โIโve been smeared as a malcontent and subpar FBI employeeโ since speaking up about what he sees as the weaponization of the agency.
The harsh FBI tactics are apparently very effective in preventing most people from coming forward to speak up about what they know is wrong, OโBoyle said.
โDespite our oath to uphold the Constitution, too many in the FBI arenโt willing to sacrifice for the hard right over the easy wrong.
โThey see what becomes of whistleblowers โ how the FBI destroys their careers, suspends them under false pretenses, takes their security clearances and pay with no true options for real recourse or remedy.
โThis is by design. It creates an Orwellian atmosphere that silences opposition and discussion.
โWe know what is right to do, yet we too often refuse to do what is right, because of the difficulty and suffering it incurs.โ
OโBoyle recognized that there would be consequences, but he said, โI couldnโt knowingly continue on this path silently without speaking out against the weaponization I witnessed, even if it meant losing my job, my career, my livelihood, my familyโs home, and now my anonymity.โ
โIโm sad, Iโm disappointed and Iโm angry that I have to be here to testify about the weaponization of the FBI and DOJ โ weaponization against not only its own employees but against those institutions and individuals that are supposed to protect the American people,โ he said.
โIโm here today because, even though I am wrongfully suspended from the FBI, I remain duty-bound to the American people to play my small role in rectifying these issues.
“After all, I never swore an oath to the FBI. I swore an oath to the Constitution.โ
OโBoyle emphasized that he has no problem laying down his life to fulfill his oath to protect and defend the Constitution.
โMy oath, however, did not include sacrificing the hopes, dreams, and livelihood of my family โ my strong, beautiful, and courageous wife and our four sweet and beautiful daughters, who have endured this process along with me.โ
Despite all he has been through, OโBoyle said he is not ready to give up.
โAll I wanted to do was serve my country by stopping bad guys and protecting the innocent,โ he said.
โTo my chagrin, bad guys have begun running parts of the government, making it difficult to continue to serve this nation and protect the innocent.
โBut I, for one, will never stop trying, and Iโll never forget my oath.โ