ACLJ Files Critical Federal Appeals Court Brief Defending FBI Whistleblower's Constitutional Rights

July 7

6 min read

The ACLJ just filed a crucial brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on behalf of our client, FBI Special Agent Garret O’Boyle – a courageous whistleblower who was unjustly punished by the Biden Administration’s Department of Justice for exercising his constitutional rights.

While our client bore the brunt of this particular attack on constitutionally protected rights, this case represents far more than one man’s fight for justice. It’s also about defending the fundamental constitutional principles that protect every American’s right to speak truth to power without fear of government retaliation.

A Hero’s Story of Service and Sacrifice

Special Agent O’Boyle is no ordinary federal employee. He’s a true American patriot who has dedicated his life to serving our nation. From 2006 to 2012, he served as an infantryman in the United States Army, deploying to both Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. This is a man who has repeatedly put his life on the line for our country – and now he has been punished by his own government for trying to protect it from within.

On September 26, 2022, Agent O’Boyle’s world was turned upside down. Upon reporting to his new FBI duty station in Virginia, he was subjected to a surprise interrogation where he was falsely accused of leaking FBI information to the media. The truth? O’Boyle had made legally protected disclosures to Congress – exactly what whistleblower laws are designed to protect.

Instead of recognizing his protected activity, the FBI retaliated swiftly and severely:

His security clearance was immediately suspended.
He was indefinitely suspended from his job without pay.
He has been left without work or income since January 1, 2023.

This was the Biden Administration’s response to an FBI agent who followed the law and reported potential government misconduct through proper channels to Congress.

What Agent O’Boyle helped expose is shocking in breadth and scope. As we previously explained:

Garret made headlines with his ominous congressional testimony [in 2023]: “The FBI will crush you. This government will crush you and your family if you try to expose the truth about things that they are doing that are wrong. And we are all examples of that.”
In fact, without O’Boyle’s courage and willingness to come forward to Congress, we may never have known that the FBI was weaponizing threat tags to target pro-lifers in the wake of the Dobbs decision last year that overturned Roe v. Wade. In the face of increasing violence against pro-life Americans and pro-life Pregnancy Resource Centers, Biden’s FBI decided to target peaceful pro-lifers, and it was Special Agent O’Boyle who brought this travesty to light before Congress.

Now he’s been forced to pay a heavy price for upholding the Constitution.

The ACLJ’s Fight for Justice

Our legal team just filed a comprehensive brief that exposes the constitutional violations Agent O’Boyle has endured and demands justice. Here are four critical issues we’re fighting:

Statutory Authority: The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) has full authority to review whistleblower retaliation claims by FBI employees under federal law. Congress has explicitly granted the MSPB authority to hear FBI whistleblower cases through 5 U.S.C. § 7701. The government’s attempt to claim otherwise contradicts clear statutory language.
Constitutional Protection: The government cannot hide behind security clearance decisions to violate citizens’ First Amendment rights to free speech and Fifth Amendment due process rights. The Supreme Court’s decision in Webster v. Doe established that constitutional claims arising from security clearance decisions are reviewable by courts. The government cannot use Department of Navy v. Egan to shield constitutional violations.
Due Process Violations: The FBI failed to provide Agent O’Boyle with basic due process protections, including adequate notice of the charges against him. Federal employees, including FBI agents, have fundamental due process rights that cannot be ignored simply because national security is involved.
Sufficiency of Evidence: The government has failed to prove that its actions against Agent O’Boyle were justified rather than retaliatory. Whistleblowing to Congress is core political speech protected by the First Amendment, and the government cannot retaliate against such protected activity.

Exposing the Biden Administration’s Assault on Whistleblowers

This case reveals a disturbing pattern within the Biden Administration of punishing those who exposed government wrongdoing while protecting those who engaged in it. The Biden Administration’s actions and positions resulted in a system where FBI employees could never challenge retaliation in court – making the agency both judge and jury (and, in this case, financial executioner) of its own misconduct. The effects of that conduct are still being seen in the Deep State today. O’Boyle’s ordeal is one in a long list of egregious retaliatory actions by FBI bureaucrats over the last several years.

This dangerous precedent would:

Silence government employees who witness actual misconduct.
Eliminate constitutional protections for federal workers in the security space.
Allow security-related agencies to operate without accountability.
Undermine the rule of law itself.

The constitutional principles at stake in Agent O’Boyle’s case affect every American’s relationship with their government. If federal agencies can retaliate against employees who report misconduct without any judicial oversight, what protection do any of us have against government abuse? The Deep State FBI doesn’t fire these whistleblowers; instead, the FBI finds a way to take away their security clearances so the whistleblowers can’t do their jobs, and then suspends them without pay for no longer having security clearance, holding them in limbo while facing an overwhelming legal process, and squashing career opportunities.

What’s at Stake: The Future of Government Accountability

The outcome of this case will determine whether Deep State federal agencies can operate above the law or must be held accountable to the Constitution. If the FBI Deep State prevails, it will send a chilling message to every federal employee: Speak up about misconduct and face career destruction with no recourse.

Our client isn’t just another case number – he’s an American hero who deserves better from his government. He served our nation in combat, protected our communities as a police officer, and continued that service as an FBI agent. When he tried to protect America from government misconduct, the Deep State turned against him. Where the Biden Administration failed whistleblowers like O'Boyle and violated their rights, the Trump Administration now has an opportunity to right wrongs and restore accountability.

As it stands now, it’s not the America our Founders envisioned, and it’s not the America we’ll accept. The Constitution still matters. The rule of law still applies. And Americans still have rights that no government official can take away.