House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) has called on the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate whether the FBI is targeting employees with conservative political views. Jordan’s request follows a report that FBI security clearance reviews questioned employees’ political beliefs and activities, including support for former President Trump and skepticism about COVID-19 vaccines.
Jordan’s letter to Inspector General Michael Horowitz highlights concerns that the FBI may be using political litmus tests to purge employees. “The FBI appears to be purging itself of employees who do not share its preferred political views,” Jordan wrote, noting that such actions undermine public trust in the agency.
A recent report by Just the News revealed that during a security clearance review, FBI officials asked whether an employee had voiced support for Trump, attended a Second Amendment rally, or expressed doubts about vaccines. Jordan argues that these questions are irrelevant to security risk assessments and violate the First Amendment.
In his letter, Jordan emphasized that targeting employees for their political beliefs is unacceptable and called for a thorough investigation. “These actions only serve to further erode the dwindling public trust in the FBI,” he wrote.
Jordan also pointed to evidence uncovered by Judicial Watch suggesting that FBI officials leaked nonpublic information about whistleblowers to a Democrat member of Congress. This information was allegedly used to discredit the whistleblowers, who were scheduled to testify about FBI misconduct.
Tristan Leavitt, the lawyer representing the affected FBI employee, praised Jordan’s efforts. “It’s good to see Congress holding the FBI’s feet to the fire,” Leavitt told Just the News. “Both Congress and the inspector general need to get to the bottom of how these kinds of questions were used to purge conservative employees.”
The FBI has declined to comment on why employees’ political views or vaccine hesitancy were relevant to security clearances. The agency also did not address whether similar questions were asked about support for Joe Biden or other issues, such as abortion.
