Grassley DEMANDS that FBI Director Wray explain raid on Clinton Foundation, Uranium One whistleblower
(National Sentinel) Answers: The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is upset that the FBI raided a whistleblower last month who had already given Congress sensitive information regarding possible malfeasance related to the Clinton Foundation and the Uranium One deal and is demanding that the bureau’s director, Christopher Wray, explain why it happened.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Wray (pictured above) a series of questions pertaining to the Nov. 19 raid of former FBI contractor Dennis Cain’s home in Maryland, in which agents took electronically-stored information that had been provided under Intelligence Community whistleblower protection laws to the Justice Department’s inspector general, Michael Horowitz, and to congressional committees, The Daily Caller reported Tuesday.
Horowitz had designated Cain a whistleblower who should have been protected under the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act, Cain’s lawyer, Michael Socarras, told the news site.
In his Nov. 30 letter, Grassley demanded to know whether the FBI was aware that Cain had made a lawful transaction of information to the government prior to the raid. Also, the chairman wants to know if the bureau knew the information had been passed along to the House and Senate intelligence committees.
Grassley also asked if any information seized from Cain was classified, and — importantly — what was the basis for the raid.
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Wray has until Dec. 12 to respond, according to the letter.
As we reported, on the morning of Nov. 19, no less than 16 FBI agents arrived at the Union Bridge, Md., home of Cain, who is also a former FBI contractor, Socarras said. The raid was authorized per a Nov. 15 court order signed by federal magistrate Stephanie A. Gallagher in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
He was supposed to be protected.
TheDC reported that FBI agents believed the materials possessed by Cain were stolen, according to his lawyer.
Cain told the agent in charge when he was still at the front door that he was a recognized and protected whistleblower under the Intelligence Community Whistleblower Protection Act and that DoJ inspector general, Michael Horowitz, had recognized his status.
He also told the agent that the classified information had already been properly transmitted to the House and Senate Intelligence committees, as provided for in the Act.
No matter. Socarras said the agent in charge immediately directed his personnel to begin searching the home.
The fact is if this raid is excused — that is if no one is held legally accountable for ordering it — then the whistleblower protection law is worthless and we’ll be lucky if anyone steps forward in the future to report corruption.
Then again, maybe that’s the whole point of the raid.
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