Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., failed to link a random Twitter user’s actions to an FBI whistleblower with the same name who offered testimony before a House select committee on Thursday.
Sanchez’s remarks came while the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government listened to testimony from three FBI whistleblowers, some of whom claimed the law enforcement agency targeted pro-life groups, Catholics, and parents attending school board meetings with investigations in an effort to “inflate” the sense that they were a domestic terrorism threat.
During her questioning of suspended FBI staff operations specialist Marcus Allen, Sanchez asked: “Mr. Allen, have you ever used Twitter. Yes or no?”
“I have utilized Twitter, yes ma’am,” Allen responded.
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Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., failed to link a random Twitter account’s actions to an FBI whistleblower with the same name who offered testimony before a House select committee on Thursday. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Sanchez read out the name of the account, which was Allen’s first name and a string of numbers.
“That is absolutely not my account,” Allen responded.
“Okay, that’s not your account,” she said. “Well, on December 5, 2022, an account under the name Marcus Allen retweeted a tweet that said quote —”
“That’s not my account, ma’am,” Allen said again.
Suspended FBI agent Marcus Allen testifies during a hearing before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government of the House Judiciary Committee on May 18, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“You haven’t let me finish the question, sir,” Sanchez shot back. “You haven’t let me finish the question and the time is mine. On December 5, 2022, an account under the name of Marcus Allen retweeted a tweet that said, quote, ‘Nancy Pelosi staged January 6. Retweet if you agree.’ Do you agree with that statement, yes or no?”
“No ma’am. That’s not my account at all…” Allen responded before being interrupted by Sanchez.
“I’m asking whether you agree with that statement, yes or no,” Sanchez asked once more.
Allen ultimately answered Sanchez by saying that he did not agree with the tweet shared by the account.
Sanchez’s comments and attempt to portray Allen as the user behind the account during the hearing drew backlash from her colleagues across the aisle from several House Republicans, including Troy Nehls of Texas and Matt Gaetz of Florida.
In pointing out the fact that there are several Twitter accounts that share the same name as other Americans, Nehls shared a screenshot from a recently created Twitter account that appeared under the name Linda Sanchez to write: “Donald Trump is the greatest President of my lifetime!”
“Finally, something we can agree on! @RepLindaSanchez,” Nehls wrote in a tweet, tagging Sanchez’s official government account.
Similarly, Gaetz weighed in on the matter in a tweet and shared the random account’s praise of former President Donald Trump.
“Congresswoman Linda Sanchez MUST answer for her tweet,” Gaetz wrote in response to the tweet from the new account sharing the same name as Rep. Sanchez.
Gaetz’s remarks on the matter drew a chuckle from GOP Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Paul Gosar of Arizona, who both responded to Gaetz’s tweet with laughing emojis.
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this article.
