Aide to Capitol Riot Inquiry Is Accused of Whistle-Blower Retaliation

WASHINGTON — A 2nd unit subordinate connected the House prime committee investigating the Jan. 6 pro-Trump onslaught connected the Capitol has been accused of retaliation against a whistle-blower, the latest improvement that threatens to distract from the panel’s inquiry.

On Wednesday, Mark S. Zaid, the lawyer for a erstwhile Department of Homeland Security quality chief, Brian Murphy, accused the committee’s newest elder aide, Joseph Maher, of being progressive successful an effort to retaliate against Mr. Murphy erstwhile helium became a whistle-blower astatine the department. He said Mr. Maher, who is elaborate to the committee from the department, was progressive successful Trump-era efforts to bounds investigations into right-wing home extremism.

The committee instantly defended Mr. Maher, pointing to astir 2 decades of enactment successful home information that helium brings to the investigation.

“Mr. Maher believes that immoderate allegations implicating him are wholly baseless, that helium did not retaliate successful immoderate mode against anyone, and that helium did not instrumentality immoderate steps to forestall the bureau from collecting quality connected convulsive extremists of immoderate type,” said Tim Mulvey, the panel’s spokesman. “The prime committee is committed to protecting whistle-blowers and treating whistle-blower accusation with the discretion and seriousness it deserves.”

The allegation came aft the committee’s unit director, David B. Buckley, was besides accused of retaliating against a whistle-blower, and immoderate groups person called for his resignation.

Danielle Brian, the enforcement manager of the watchdog radical Project connected Government Oversight, said the allegations against Mr. Buckley and Mr. Maher could hamper the prime committee arsenic it looks for answers into the onslaught connected the Capitol that led to respective deaths and the injuries of astir 140 constabulary officers.

“For this committee to bash its important work, they volition request to trust connected the grounds of insiders, some successful Congress and successful the quality community,” Ms. Brian said. “These 2 hires marque it intolerable to responsibly promote these susceptible sources to travel forward. This did not person to happen. This is different unforced error.”

The contention began erstwhile Mr. Murphy was reassigned implicit allegations that his bureau compiled reports astir protesters and journalists during demonstrations successful Portland, Ore. He past became a whistle-blower and accused Trump medication officials of ordering him to modify quality assessments to marque the menace of achromatic supremacy “appear little severe” and see accusation connected convulsive “left-wing” groups and antifa.

The New York Times has reported connected an effort wrong the Trump administration to stifle interior concerns astir far-right threats and contradict backing for analysts to hunt societal media posts for warnings of imaginable convulsive extremism.

After Mr. Murphy’s reassignment, Mr. Maher, who has served arsenic the main lawman wide counsel for the Homeland Security Department, replaced him arsenic the acting nether caput for quality and investigation and “immediately unopen down open-source postulation efforts connected home extremists that were being advocated and conducted by Mr. Murphy,” Mr. Zaid said. “To enactment it bluntly, Mr. Maher is apt (or should be) a nonstop information witnesser arsenic to wherefore D.H.S. failed — nether his enactment — to identify, foretell oregon assistance forestall the menace that grew into the events of Jan. 6.”

Mr. Murphy did not impeach Mr. Maher successful his archetypal ailment with the department’s inspector wide past twelvemonth but named him successful an addendum filed successful January. In that document, Mr. Murphy said Mr. Maher had extended his reassignment and told others helium did not privation Mr. Murphy to instrumentality to his quality job. Mr. Zaid described the actions arsenic “unlawful retaliation.”

Mr. Murphy maintains that helium was punished for governmental reasons to support erstwhile President Donald J. Trump and that Chad F. Wolf, past the acting homeland information secretary, told him to halt producing assessments connected Russian interference. He said the department’s second-highest authoritative astatine the time, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, ordered Mr. Murphy to modify quality assessments to downplay the menace of achromatic supremacy.

The committee spokesman, however, said Mr. Maher was simply drafted to assistance cleanable up a chaotic concern aft the section opened an probe into whether Mr. Murphy’s bureau was inappropriately examining the enactment of reporters covering the government’s effect to Portland protests.

“He was asked to measurement into the enactment presumption astatine the Office of Intelligence and Analysis past summertime erstwhile its manager was reassigned from that position,” Mr. Mulvey said, “following reporting raising concerns that the bureau had been improperly assembling quality connected journalists.”

“The prime committee,” helium added, “has nary crushed to judge that Mr. Maher is the focus” of a continuing inspector wide probe into the matter.

Mr. Maher was recommended for the committee by Representative Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming, 1 of 2 conservatives connected the panel, arsenic portion of an effort to bolster the investigation’s bipartisan credentials. Mr. Maher began moving for the Department of Homeland Security successful 2003, erstwhile helium was hired nether President George W. Bush, and served successful a fig of ineligible positions. His hiring by the committee was announced the aforesaid time that erstwhile Representative Denver Riggleman, Republican of Virginia, joined the panel’s staff.

Olivia Troye, a erstwhile homeland information and counterterrorism advisor to Vice President Mike Pence who besides emerged arsenic a whistle-blower, confirmed Mr. Murphy’s account. She said Mr. Murphy had been providing invaluable accusation connected the activities of achromatic supremacist groups earlier helium was removed.

“He came successful and unopen the full happening down,” Ms. Troye said of Mr. Maher. “I see it a beauteous large struggle of involvement that helium was straight progressive successful starring the constituent that should person been much proactive. The integrity of the committee’s enactment matters truthful much.”

The committee has present doubly selected arsenic elder unit members radical who person been accused of retaliating against whistle-blowers, including against the C.I.A. whistle-blower whose complaints led to the archetypal impeachment of Mr. Trump.

At slightest 2 extracurricular groups, the Project connected Government Oversight and Whistleblower Aid, person called for the removal of Mr. Buckley arsenic the prime committee’s unit director. Both cited a 2019 inspector wide study that recovered that helium had retaliated against Andrew Bakaj, the erstwhile pb counsel for the C.I.A. whistle-blower, erstwhile the 2 men worked successful the agency’s inspector wide office.

Democrats connected the sheet person defended Mr. Buckley’s grounds and denied that helium retaliated against a whistle-blower.