A suspended special agent explains his decision to turn whistleblower and expose FBI politicization and abuse against conservative America in True Blue
Stephen Friend had his dream job as an FBI special agent. After nearly a decade of combating violent crime, human trafficking, and child predators, he was reassigned to the FBI’s unprecedented investigation of the political unrest at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Friend soon uncovered efforts by the FBI and Department of Justice to manipulate statistics and exaggerate the nationwide threat of domestic terrorism. Friend spotlighted how the politicized FBI was cooking the books to support an ongoing narrative from the Joe Biden administration to label Donald Trump voters as violent extremists.
Friend witnessed overzealous practices to harass conservative Americans and realized the FBI was turning its investigative processes into a punishment.
When the married father of two made his bombshell allegations in a whistleblower disclosure, leaders within the FBI exposed themselves as partisan, ambitious players who insisted that January 6th protestors killed police officers and attempted to seize American democracy. Hell-bent on suppressing Friend from exposing the truth, FBI officials seized his gun and badge and suspended him from working as a special agent. In this memoir, Friend reflects on the lessons and life experiences that led him to ultimately risk his career to uphold his FBI special agent oath to protect and defend the United States Constitution against all enemies—both foreign and domestic.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“A harrowing account of one man’s journey to change an agency at the breaking point.” — Dan Bongino, host of The Dan Bongino Show and Unfiltered with Dan Bongino
“Stephen Friend hates bullies. He’s patriotic and driven to service. He’s the prototype of what we all WISH the FBI stood for, but the Bureau’s recent behavior has shown us that our wishes are not reality. This book reveals Steve’s first-hand whistleblower account of the government’s politicized investigation into January 6, and his quality the FBI appears to have lost… integrity.” — Glenn Beck, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Reset: Joe Biden and the Rise of Twenty-First-Century Fascism and nationally syndicated radio host
“FBI insider Stephen Friend was ignored and then punished for standing against what he saw as troubling violations of the Constitution committed by the agency sworn to defend it. In True Blue, Friend digs deep to reveal disturbing details of how FBI leaders have become mired in rank political ideology, ambition, and greed. Most importantly, he uses inspiring real examples to remind us of the good the FBI can do. At a time when few dare to step forward, FBI insider Stephen Friend risked everything to tell the truth.” — Sharyl Attkisson, Emmy Award–winning investigative reporter
“The FBI is using its expanding and unaccountable authority to target American citizens on the Right. No one inside the bureau is courageous enough to speak out about these abuses—Steve Friend is the rare exception. Friend’s terrifying account of what’s happening in the most powerful law enforcement agency in the world is a must-read. Regardless of political affiliation, every American should be alarmed at the Gestapo-like trajectory of the FBI.” — Julie Kelly, political commentator, senior contributor to American Greatness, and author of January 6: How Democrats Used the Capitol Protest to Launch a War on Terror Against the Political Right
“In one taut memoir, Steve Friend reminds us both why FBI agents were once so trusted and admired, and also why they may have lost that trust. True Blue is an inspiring, intelligent book about the struggle to balance the demands of conscience, citizenship, and work in a fraught political environment. Would that all our public servants took their oaths so seriously.” — Matt Taibbi, author, journalist, podcaster, former contributing editor for Rolling Stone
“The truth will set you free—unless you work for the FBI. Then it’ll get you in a mess of trouble. Stephen Friend had the courage and integrity to speak up when a once-great police agency started to go bad. He paid the price. Now he tells his story.” — Andrew Klavan, host of The Andrew Klavan Show on the Daily Wire
About the Author
Stephen Friend grew up in Savannah, Georgia. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s in accounting. He transitioned from business to a career in law enforcement in 2009. Friend was a sworn police officer in Savannah and Pooler, Georgia, for four years before joining the FBI in 2014. He spent his first seven years in the FBI investigating violent crime and major offenses occurring on Indian reservations in Northeast Nebraska. Friend was also a member of the FBI Omaha SWAT team for five years. He transferred to Daytona Beach in 2021 to investigate child exploitation, human trafficking, and child sexual abuse material. Friend was reassigned to domestic terrorism casework in October 2021. He was indefinitely suspended as an FBI special agent following his whistleblower disclosures in September 2022.
Friend is a married father of two sons.
Miranda Devine is a New York Post columnist and Fox News contributor. She also works for the Australian media as a Daily Telegraph columnist and a Sky News contributor. Born in Queens, New York, she grew up in Tokyo and Sydney, and attended Northwestern University in Chicago. A reformed mathematician and mother of two, she currently lives in New York with her husband.
