DHS Whistleblower Complaint: 4 Of The Most Explosive Allegations Of Misconduct
In a damning whistleblower complaint filed Tuesday, a Department of Homeland Security official accused several of the agency’s top leaders of seeking to alter intelligence that would undermine President Donald Trump’s policy objectives.
Brian Murphy, the former head of DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, alleged in the complaint that department leaders retaliated against him after he pushed back on their requests to alter intelligence. He said he was reassigned last month to a reduced role in the department’s management division.
In light of the complaint, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) has asked Murphy to testify before the committee on Sept. 21.
The complaint “outlines grave and disturbing allegations that senior White House and Department of Homeland Security officials improperly sought to politicize, manipulate, and censor intelligence in order to benefit President Trump politically,” Schiff said in a statement Wednesday. “This puts our nation and its security at grave risk.”
Here are the most startling accusations from the complaint:
1. Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen Lied To Congress About The U.S.-Mexico Border Threat
Murphy alleged Nielsen, who served as Homeland Security secretary from December 2017 to April 2019, committed perjury by lying to Congress about the threat of terrorists crossing the border into the U.S. from Mexico.
According to the complaint, Nielsen’s top aides repeatedly pressured Murphy’s office to ensure its intelligence assessments fit the Trump administration’s claim that “large numbers” of known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) were entering the U.S. from the southwest border. Murphy’s office reportedly declined each time.
Murphy said he provided Nielsen with accurate intelligence on KSTs during a preparation session ahead of her December 2018 testimony before Congress. Nonetheless, Nielsen made “a knowing and deliberate submission of false...
