A Democrat congresswoman sitting on the House’s Judiciary Committee’s Weaponization of the Federal Government subcommittee hearing Thursday saw her “gotcha” moment blow up in her face as the anti-Pelosi J6 tweet she sought to hang around the neck of an FBI whistleblower turned out not to be his.
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) asks FBI whistleblower Marcus Allen to respond to a tweet saying that Nancy Pelosi staged January 6 from a Twitter account under his name.
It turned out to not be his account but she asks him if he agrees with the tweet anyway. pic.twitter.com/ZrjsrM2Kty
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 18, 2023
Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Ca., thought she had the goods on suspended FBI whistleblower Marcus Allen, an Iraq War vet and FBI “staff operations specialist” who testified that he faced severe retaliation for questioning the government’s narrative surrounding Jan. 6.
Sanchez read the contents of a “Marcus Allen” tweet in which the author blamed former House Speaker and Democrat Nancy Pelosi for “staging” Jan. 6.
The problem for the congresswoman, which she never acknowledged as she pressed on with her hostile questioning, is that the “Marcus Allen” tweet she quoted was from a different “Marcus Allen.”
Twitter conservative Greg Price commented: “It would appear Linda Sanchez found a random Twitter account with 118 followers with the same name as the witness that she brought to the hearing and claimed was his haha.”
According to the weaponization committee’s interim report exposing alleged FBI mistreatment of whistleblowers, “The FBI suspended [Allen’s] security clearance for simply performing duties of his job – conducting case-related research using open-source news articles and videos and sending his search results to his task force colleagues.”
As the Washington Free Beacon reported, Allen “was accused of disloyalty to the United States for allegedly promoting ‘conspiratorial views’ about January 6. Allen said he ‘questioned the official narrative’ of the events that day, but condemned ‘all criminal activity’ during the insurrection.”
The interaction between Sanchez and Allen went like this:
Rep. Sanchez: Mr. Allen, have you ever used Twitter, yes or no?
Allen: I have utilized Twitter, yes.
Sanchez: OK, and is your account: ‘@MarcusA970506645?
Allen: That is absolutely not my account, ma’am.
Sanchez: OK, that’s not your account. Well, on December 5th, 2022, an account under the name Marcus Allen retweeted a tweet that said–
Allen: –That is not my account, ma’am–
Sanchez–But you haven’t let me finish the question, sir [another congressman jokes: “Might have been the football player?”]–you haven’t let me finish the question. And the time is mine. On December 5th, 2022 an account under the name of Marcus Allen retweeted a tweet that said, “Nancy Pelosi staged January 6th. Retweet if you agree.” Do you agree with that statement, yes or no?
Allen: That, that – no, ma’am, that’s not my account at all. I have no idea–
Rep. Sanchez: I’m asking whether you agree with that statement, yes or no?
Allen: Can you please rephrase the statement?
[Subcommittee chair Jim Jordan tells Sanchez her time has expired.]
Sanchez: I just want him to answer. … Do you believe that Nancy, do you agree with the statement that this person tweeted that Nancy Pelosi staged January 6th, yes or no?
Allen: No.
Sanchez: Thank you.
According to the committee’s report, “The disclosures from these FBI employees highlight egregious abuse, misallocation of law-enforcement resources, and misconduct with the leadership ranks of the FBI.”
In his testimony, Allen said, “My family and I are surviving on early withdrawals from our retirement accounts while the FBI has ignored my request for approval to obtain outside employment.”
Sanchez’s failed attempt to implicate Allen was only the most outrageous by Democrats intent on diminishing the whistleblowers’ credibility. Longtime Fox News D.C. reporter Chad Pergram summarized Sanchez’s line of questioning in two tweets: “1) Dem CA Rep Sanchez at [House Select Committee’s] weaponization of gov’t [hearing] on FBI whistleblowers who say they faced retaliation: “I think it’s important that we recognize this hearing for what it actually is … this hearing is a vehicle to legitimize … January 6 and the people who perpetrated it; 2) Sanchez: And why? Because Donald Trump is running for president again. And if you normalize the events of January six, if you repeat his election fraud lies, then maybe he doesn’t seem quite so extreme.”
2) Sanchez: And why? Because Donald Trump is running for president again. And if you normalize the events of January six, if you repeat his election fraud lies, then maybe he doesn't seem quite so extreme.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 18, 2023
It would appear Linda Sanchez found a random Twitter account with 118 followers with the same name as the witness that she brought to the hearing and claimed was his haha. pic.twitter.com/Ix4QajY0I1
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 18, 2023
Fodder for Twitter
Naturally, Twitter conservatives had a blast poking fun at Sanchez and her arrogance in pushing through with an “interrogation” of Allen based on a false premise. A sampling of those tweets follows, including one by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fl., who, in the spirit of her line of questioning, demanded an answer for a “Linda Sanchez” tweet:
Apparently @RepLindaSanchez—or whoever dig up that tweet for her—figured it was too good to check.
Has all the hallmarks of a Russian disinformation campaign.
More time investigating the #whistleblowers’ allegations and less searching Twitter for thought crimes, please. https://t.co/z0CxuPuGio
— Jason Foster (@JsnFostr) May 18, 2023
It's you big moment in the biggest political scandal and corruption hearing in American history.
And you didn't have your staff verify the account?
This is what you voted for Democrats.🤦🏽♂️https://t.co/lkdPLqrT44
— Political-Veracities (@PoliVeracities) May 18, 2023
We're governed by children… https://t.co/fpalug7PKm
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) May 18, 2023
Congresswoman Linda Sanchez MUST answer for her tweet! https://t.co/fwVPbGFuVb
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) May 18, 2023
this is the modern democrat party. Pulls a RT from someone using a similar name that is NOT an account owned by this guy .. but asks him to comment as to whether he agrees to it. You can't make this up. https://t.co/C4VYV1RDvI
— Joe Pags Pagliarulo (@JoeTalkShow) May 18, 2023
Gaetz video backs up Allen
In related news, Gaetz provided video evidence at the hearing that the FBI’s D.C. FBI Field Office, in conversations with the Bureau’s Boston Field Office, essentially confirmed that Allen was correct in his suspicion that FBI undercover agents had infiltrated the pro-Trump J6 protests.
Gaetz played a video in which a Boston FBI official said he was privy to discussions in which D.C. FBI officials said they could not provide open access to the thousands of hours of J6 surveillance video for investigation purposes – as requested by the Boston Field Office – “because there may be … UC’s (undercover officers) or CHS’s (confidential human sources) on those videos whose identity we need to protect.”
“So, Mr. Allen, you got retaliated against for saying the very thing that the Washington Field Office was telling Boston,” Gaetz said at the hearing.
Gaetz tweeted: “BREAKING: The Washington, D.C. FBI Field Office CONFIRMED that undercover officers, confidential informants, and FBI assets were present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, despite FBI Director Wray testifying to the contrary!”
BREAKING: The Washington, D.C. FBI Field Office CONFIRMED that undercover officers, confidential informants, and FBI assets were present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, despite FBI Director Wray testifying to the contrary! pic.twitter.com/AzBhilAsZ3
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) May 18, 2023
via unsilencednews
