A former FBI official claimed the bureau denied Boston Field Office agents access to 11,000 hours of U.S. Capitol video footage on January 6 out of fear it would reveal the identities of possible undercover officers and confidential informants present at the riot.

Members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government shared video testimony during a hearing Thursday of George Hill, who worked as a supervisory intelligence analyst for the Boston Field Office. Hill alleged the bureau’s Washington Field Office (WFO) pressured Boston agents to open investigations on 140 individuals who traveled to Washington, D.C., from Massachusetts to attend a political rally supporting former President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.

According to Hill, agents from the WFO told him to open 138 individual investigations based on their association with two Trump supporters who organized a bus trip transporting the group to Washington, D.C., and entered restricted areas of the nation’s Capitol building. WFO officials provided pictures of the two individuals inside the Capitol but refused to provide video evidence.

Hill told the WFO that Boston agents would look into the matter based on evidence that showed the 138 other individuals were inside the Capitol building, but would refuse to open up additional cases for simply attending a political rally — a First Amendment-protected activity.

“To which WFO said, ‘We can’t show you those videos unless you can tell us the exact time and place those individuals were inside the Capitol,’” Hill said.

Hill said when the Boston agents asked why they wouldn’t allow access to 11,000 hours of surveillance video available, WFO agents allegedly said, “There may be UCs, undercovers, or CHSes, confidential human sources, and we need to protect their identities.”

Joseph Bonavolonta, the special agent-in-charge and Hill’s supervisor, confirmed his colleague’s account about WFO asking Boston to open investigations on all 140 individuals, according to the subcommittee’s report. However, Bonavolonta also testified that FBI officials did not brief him on “that level of specificity” regarding Hill’s claim that undercover officers were present in the Capitol.

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

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) asked FBI Director Christopher Wray at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing last year if the bureau had any confidential human sources dressed as Trump supporters during the Capitol riot.

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Wray stonewalled the direct question and denied FBI informants were in the crowd on January 6.

“To the extent that there’s a suggestion, for example, that the FBI’s confidential human sources or FBI employees in some way instigated or orchestrated January 6, that’s categorically false.”

A spokesperson for the FBI told The Daily Wire the bureau’s mission is to “uphold the Constitution and protect the American people.”

“The FBI has not and will not retaliate against individuals who make protected whistleblower disclosures,” the bureau said.

The bureau did not return requests for comment regarding the claims made by Hill.

House Republicans investigating the alleged weaponization of the federal government summoned three FBI whistleblowers, who testified about the bureau’s “abuses of power.”

Former FBI special agents Garret O’Boyle and Steve Friend, as well as former FBI State Operations Specialist Marcus Allen, to speak in front of the House Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.

The whistleblower’s testimonies included details about how the bureau allegedly targeted American conservatives, directed agents to inflate so-called domestic violent extremism statistics to fit a political narrative for the Biden administration, and prioritized January 6 investigations over child sex crimes.

Less than 24 hours before the former federal law enforcement staff testified, the FBI revoked Friend and Allen’s top-security clearances for speaking out against “politicized rot” at the bureau.

This article is adapted from today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click here.

FBI Whistleblowers Testify

Three current and former members of the FBI testified in the House on Thursday and accused the bureau of wrongfully retaliating against them.

Garrett O‘Boyle, Steve Friend, and Marcus Allen told lawmakers that the FBI suspended their security clearances and froze their pay over questions about the Bureau’s January 6 investigations. O’Boyle and Allen are still employed by the bureau, but they’ve been without pay and barred from working for about a year. They say they’ve been forced to rely on charity and their retirement savings to stay afloat. Here’s O’Boyle:  

POWERFUL testimony from FBI Whistleblower Garret O’Boyle on how the agency rendered his family HOMELESS for speaking up against the FBI’s efforts to weaponize the bureau against Americans:

“In weaponized fashion, the FBI allowed me to accept orders to a position halfway across… pic.twitter.com/BTZm3z1oZN

— Joel Valdez (@realJoelValdez) May 18, 2023

In news reported first by The Daily Wire today, former Biden nuclear energy official, Sam Brinton, was arrested Wednesday as a fugitive of justice. This comes months after Brinton was fired amid allegations of stealing luggage and women’s clothing from airports.

The Daily Wire’s Luke Roziak learned exclusively that former Biden administration nuclear official, Sam Brinton, was arrested last night at his home in Rockville, Maryland. A neighbor told Roziak that four unmarked police cars went to his house at about 10:00 PM and pulled him out. On Thursday, a  judge ordered Brinton extradited to Arlington, Virginia to face charges of grand larceny related to alleged luggage theft out of Dulles Airport, in connection with those fugitive from justice charges.

Accused Cash App Killer Pleads Not Guilty

Nima Momeni, the 38-year-old man, accused of stabbing Cash App founder Bob Lee to death, back in April, pleaded not guilty Thursday. Momeni’s mother and sister were present in the San Francisco courtroom when the plea was entered. Momeni’s attorney argued her client should be released on bail but the judge refused bail saying Momeni is a threat to the community.

Montana Bans TikTok

Montana has become the first state to completely ban TikTok after Republican Governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill into law on Wednesday.

The law prohibits app stores from making TikTok available for download in the state. It comes as state lawmakers accused China of breaching user security.

TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company, and has been accused of allowing the communist country access to data on Americans’ phones. 

Elon Warns About China Taking Over Taiwan

Twitter owner Elon Musk is warning that U.S. policymakers should take China’s threats of taking over Taiwan “seriously.” Musk made the remarks during an interview with CNBC’s David Faber. Musk was asked if he was concerned about “the growing belligerence between China and the U.S.”

Ukraine Claims It Thwarted Russian Missile Attack

Ukraine is claiming that it thwarted 29 out of 30 airstrikes launched by Russia early Thursday, leaving one person dead. However, the Russian government denies those claims and says that it successfully hit key Ukrainian weapons and ammunition depots. 

To listen to the audio version of this podcast, click here. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.