Washington Post, Rolling Stone issue corrections about FBI Jan. 6 whistleblower Stephen Friend

The Washington Post and Rolling Stone issued corrections on stories about the House Republican-led Weaponization of Government Subcommittee after making claims about FBI whistleblower and former agent Stephen Friend.

The Washington Post's correction, which was added to the top of an article published Friday titled "Democrats challenge credibility of GOP witnesses who embrace false Jan. 6 claims," stated: "An earlier version of this article erroneously said former FBI official Stephen Friend had not reported to a supervisor one of his concerns related to the use of a SWAT team in arrests related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riots. He said he did tell the supervisor, but he did not mention it in a written declaration, according to a report from Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee. The article has been corrected."

The article now states that as an FBI case agent in Florida, Friend objected to the use of a SWAT team to arrest five people suspected of being members of a militia-type group over their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 riot. 

As Friend had spoken with his supervisor about his concerns, the original story had incorrectly stated: "Friend told the subcommittee in his testimony that he had objected because the men had indicated they would cooperate with the FBI, but he didn’t mention that to his supervisor at the time." 

Rolling Stone's correction, which was placed at the end of the article "Inside Jim Jordan’s Disastrous Search for a 'Deep State' Whistleblower," states: "This story has been corrected to reflect that Steven Friend’s security clearance was suspended."

Jason Foster, founder of the nonprofit watchdog Empower Oversight, called the stories a "hit job" by House Democrats on Friend and said it "caused a lot of confusion about the facts—precisely what it was designed to do."

The correction comes after Friend told Just the News in September that he was suspended after raising concerns about the use of SWAT teams, the treatment of Jan. 6 suspects and the alleged manipulation of crime data.

Friend told Just the News that he resigned in February after he was not paid for 150 days straight and his security clearance was placed under review following his whistleblower disclosures. 

In another recent notable correction from the Washington Post, the paper said it "inaccurately characterized comments by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) regarding the origins of the coronavirus" in a 2020 article.