WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Judiciary Committee and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government released an interim report, “FBI Whistleblower Testimony Highlights Government Abuse, Misallocation of Resources, and Retaliation,” detailing egregious problems infecting the senior leadership ranks of the FBI. Whistleblower disclosures from rank-and-file agents and employees reveal a recurring theme of abuse, misallocation of resources, and retaliatory conduct.
The report builds on earlier whistleblower accounts describing the FBI’s Washington hierarchy as “rotted at its core” with a “systemic culture of unaccountability.” One whistleblower characterized the current state of the FBI as “cancerous” as the Bureau has “let itself become enveloped in this politicization and weaponization.” The report also highlights how the FBI’s metric-based bonus structure leads to the improper and unnecessary use of law enforcement tools, how FBI leadership has pressured agents to reclassify cases as domestic violent extremism (DVE) to create the perception that DVE is organically rising across the country, and how the FBI suspended whistleblowers after making good-faith, protected disclosures about agency wrongdoing.
Furthermore, the report details how the FBI seemingly worked with a major financial institution to receive, without legal process, financial records of Americans who used credit or debit cards in the Washington, D.C. area around January 6, 2021. This invasion of the privacy of United States citizens is deeply disturbing and should concern every American. Additionally, the report exposes how FBI’s Washington Field Office pressured the Boston Field Office to open investigations into 138 individuals who simply traveled to Washington, D.C., to exercise their First Amendment rights on January 6, 2021, with no specific indication that these people were involved in any way in criminal activity.
The report also highlights the retaliatory conduct that these whistleblowers have faced since coming forward. One whistleblower testified that he transferred across the country only to be suspended on the first day of his new assignment. The FBI’s actions forced his family to beg and borrow warm coats for their children and warm clothes for their baby because the family’s belongings were locked in an FBI-controlled storage facility.
This report is focused on the disclosures of various whistleblowers to assist the Committee and Select Subcommittee in understanding the problems at the FBI so that Congress may consider potential legislative reforms to America’s preeminent law enforcement agency.
Read the full interim report below and here.
FBI Whistleblower Testimony Highlights Government Abuse, Misallocation of Resources, and Retaliation
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