Poolitico:
CIA feud complicates Jan. 6 probe.
[SNIP: Yeah, I know I know. Just hold your nose and click]
A long-percolating conflict between two prominent alumni of the CIA’s secretive internal watchdog office has burst into public view, creating a headache for the House’s investigation of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
David Buckley is now the top Democratic staffer on the select committee investigating the insurrection. But 11 years ago, he was a CIA inspector general who made clear upon taking office that he wanted a cultural shift: Buckley sought a more aggressive approach to rooting out alleged wrongdoing in the agency, prioritizing probes that could lead to criminal prosecutions over inside-the-family resolutions, according to multiple people familiar with the dynamics there.
The shift Buckley imposed was risky. And a dust-up inside the cloistered spy agency during his tenure there — linked to a case involving $3 million and numerous meals at Hooters — shows what’s at stake when government watchdogs disagree over who counts as a whistleblower. It’s a question Buckley may be called on to judge as part of his role in the Jan. 6 probe, and whistleblower advocates warn that his reputation could deter potential witnesses from coming forward.
“I as a whistleblower attorney would definitely need to weigh the costs and benefits of recommending to a client that they go to this committee while David Buckley is the staff director,” Kel McClanahan, a lawyer who represents national security whistleblowers, said in an interview. “Especially if those clients are of the type that don’t have strong whistleblower protections, like Capitol Police or Intelligence Community employees.”
Buckley’s past already has worked its way into the Jan. 6 investigation once thus far. Andrew Bakaj, the former CIA IG office employee who, like Buckley, was connected to the Hooters-related probe, is now a prominent whistleblower attorney who represented two of the four law enforcement officers who testified at the select panel’s first hearing. The two men’s years-old dispute created a dramatic subplot for the proceedings.
Despite the whistleblower advocates urging the select panel to replace Buckley, there are no signs that House Democrats are considering it or have lost any confidence in him. more here
H/T Tore Says.
Can they put on some more crying cops and rino’s ?
Very interesting dynamic.
I hope his spine and stays so.
“And the tension over Buckley’s leadership has underpinned advocates’ calls for his ouster from the committee. On Thursday, the Project on Government Oversight — a prominent nonpartisan government watchdog group — joined Bakaj, his law partner Zaid, and McClanahan in urging Buckley be replaced.”
I am digging into the archives. Weren’t the Dems pushing for whistleblowers during the Bush (2) administration and protections for them? We can’t have the same for anyone not following our protections. Yeah, whatever.