Brandon Wright, who is suing over his termination from the Department of Homeland Security following his meeting with a James O'Keefe operative. O'Keefe is a self styled journalist who has been running sting operations against federal workers and contractors with the help of young women on online dating sites.Tyrone Turner/WAMUhide caption
Brandon Wright was fresh off a brutal divorce when he joined a dating app in Washington. A woman who called herself Heidi caught his attention right away.
"The very first thing she asked me when she connected, she said, 'So you're like the James Bond of IT?'"
Actually, Wright was a rank-and-file tech worker at the Department of Homeland Security. He'd been a public servant for eight years, through administrations led by both Republicans and Democrats.
That seemingly innocuous contact marked the start of a process that would leave Wright without a job. He's one of many federal workers and contractors to be ensnared in legal challenges that test the boundaries of the First Amendment.
Wright tried to be careful. He set up a video call with Heidi to make sure he wasn't being catfished. Turned out, he and Heidi had some common interests. Not long after, they met in person, at a restaurant Heidi chose.
"And as things went on, as we continued to sip cocktails, she kept steering the conversation back to politics," Wright said. "That's not weird in D.C. In fact, talking politics is called a date in Washington D.C."
Then, Heidi excused herself, and when she returned, Wright said she moved her phone camera in a way that faced him.
"She sat down and immediately began asking me about, 'So is there anything else you want to tell me about your political views?' And at that moment my body started going, 'Something's wrong.'"
Something was wrong. Wright was on tape saying Kristi Noem, who at the time was President Trump's nominee to lead the Homeland Security Department, was not a smart person. He added that the heads of Cabinet agencies set priorities, but they don't have the time or inclination to personally direct career employees.
Source: Drudge Report
