Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) sternly warned Attorney General Merrick Garland in a Sept. 1 letter that retaliation by Department of Justice (DOJ) officials against FBI whistleblowers or any other federal employee talking to Congress is a violation of numerous federal laws.
“As you are aware, the department and FBI have a reputation for retaliating against whistleblowers that provide information to Congress. Accordingly, I’d like to remind the department that, as a basic matter of law, all employees of the U.S. Government have a right to petition Congress or furnish information to Congress,” Grassley told Garland in the letter.
Grassley reminded Garland that 5 U.S.C., §7211 requires that “the right of employees, individually or collectively, to petition Congress or a Member of Congress, or to furnish information to either House of Congress, or to a committee or Member thereof, may not be interfered with or denied,” Grassley wrote….