Internal Memos Chronicle Years of Drunk Driving, Lost Weapons and Other Misconduct at the FBI
Scores of FBI employees have been caught over the last five years engaging in unethical and illegal conduct such as driving drunk, stealing property, assaulting a child, mishandling classified documents, and losing their service weapons — but they often escaped being fired, according to internal disciplinary files provided to Just The News.
One agent left a highly lethal M4 carbine unsecured in his government car during a Starbucks run and had the weapon stolen, but even he received only a two-week suspension despite violating the bureau’s protocols for weapons storage, the records show.
“Although there was a lockbox in the trunk for storage of weapons and sensitive items,” One report indicates that the agent placed the rifle bag behind his front passenger seat. “While Employee was in the Starbucks, the Bucar was burglarized. The rear passenger, rear driver, and tailgate windows were broken, and the rifle bag containing the M4 was stolen.”
Reports from 2017 also showed sexual misconduct, including inappropriate affairs in prison with felons, confidential sources, and subordinate employees. But, unlike drunk driving and losing weapons offenses, the sexual transgressions often led to dismissals.
Typically emailed to all Bureau employees each calendar quarter, the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) reports provided to Just the News by a whistleblower afford an unprecedented look into the breadth of misconduct among the FBI’s workforce of 35,000, including agents, intel analysts, lab scientists and crime scene technicians.
You can You can find all the reports here.
These reports come at a sensitive moment for the FBI, which is currently dealing with a massive congressional probe into two dozen whistleblowers’ allegations of political bias and misconduct as well as weaponization of law enforcement power.
Due to concerns that they were not being used properly, the FBI had to suspend distribution of these extensive reports for seven months from 2021-2022. “employees harmed by misconduct” You might feel ashamed. The bureau published them again in the hope that it would encourage workers to not commit crimes or violate conduct policies.
“OPR suspended sending our quarterly email that details employee misconduct and its consequences,” The email dated April 20,22 was notated and stated: “We wanted to weigh the value of publishing this information with the discomfort employees harmed by misconduct may feel at its having been published.”
According to the bureau, most agents want the memo to be kept as a reminder about the ethical and professional standards they have sworn to uphold.
“In the seven months since, we’ve spoken extensively with affected employees and consulted with several divisions, including the Victim Services Division,” Email related. “After a great deal of deliberation, we have decided to resume the quarterly email. We made this decision as the vast majority of employees we spoke with indicated they wanted publication to resume.”
Reports show that there were at most 23 instances of Bureau agents and Bureau staff driving while impaired (DUI). Only five cases resulted in termination. The rest received suspensions or retirement. There were several other incidents involving alcohol unrelated to driving that also drew short-term suspensions.
At least 3 dozen agents reported guns being stolen, lost, or unsafely handled. One agent even accidentally discharged his weapon, piercing the hotel floor with his gun.
Just the News was told by a former FBI senior executive that OPR reports had been privately published within the FBI for many decades. “always distressing, because you can’t believe some of the behaviors that you’re reading about.”
The batch obtained by Just the News indicated that the bureau was becoming more serious about firing employees in certain offenses. However, he was worried by the low penalties for alcohol offenses and thought the FBI might be. “backsliding” Some punishments.
“I was seeing that in a lot of cases, particularly in the DUIs, there was not many dismissals,” Kevin Brock, retired Assistant Director, said. “They were getting, you know, 20, 30, 40 days of suspension without pay. And that struck me as something a little bit of a divergence from the past. Louis Freeh, when he was director, drew a bright line. He said anybody who misuses alcohol and gets in a bureau car is going to be dismissed. And that stopped a lot of bad behavior.”
Steve Friend, an FBI Special Agent, recently left the bureau following his whistleblowing on alleged civil liberties abuses in the Jan.6 Capitol riot probe. He stated that the increase in cases of alcohol abuse and sexual misconduct was a sign of a culture problem within the bureau.
“There’s definitely a sense of entitlement that has seeped into the agency, and too many people are just content to have a gold badge and gun on their hip and not actually do the work that’s required,” Friend spoke Wednesday night in an interview on the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show. “They’re sitting on the shoulders of giants, people that investigated Bonnie and Clyde, Al Capone, terrorist networks, organized crime, and they need to uphold that reputation as opposed to just living on the exhaust fumes.”
Friend explained that he made the disciplinary report public to increase public pressure for reforms within the bureau.
“I’m a believer in radical transparency,” He said. “You get credentials in the FBI. You’re not a secret agent. You’re supposed to present those credentials to anybody upon request. So I think everybody should be held accountable.”
According to the FBI, the Just the News reports show that the disciplinary system is working even though it seeks outside help.https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/DOJ%20OIG%20Releases%20Report%20on%20the%20FBI%E2%80%99s%20Adjudication%20Process%20for%20Misconduct%20Investigations%20(justice.gov)%E2%80%9D”>including From the Justice Department inspector general.
“The FBI has a well-established and effective disciplinary process, and we remain committed to ensuring it remains fair, transparent, and is consistent with FBI Policy,” According to the bureau, “In 2021, The Department of Justice, Office of Inspector General published a report about the FBI’s adjudication of misconduct investigations. It found that the FBI adjudicated misconduct cases in accordance with FBI policy.
“The FBI concurred with the OIG’s recommendations for improving transparency and effectiveness and has resolved those issues, as noted in the report.”
A report from April 2017 included general examples of past FBI misconduct. One agent was dismissed after admitting to sexually abusing his granddaughter and daughter for many years. Another example was taken. “as an agent of a foreign government.” One employee stole heroin evidence in order to feed his heroin addiction while the other pulled out a gun on a private citizen in an instance of road rage. The female victim was arrested. “against a concrete lane divider, causing temporary loss of consciousness and large contusion.”
Other reports detail an employee who shot and killed his neighbor’s dog and another who was driving drunk — with a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit — and killed an 18-year-old in the process. However, not all of the subjects were sentenced and some retained their jobs.
One employee neglected to protect their weapon and left it in their car. It was later stolen. The agent also violated rules regarding how firearms should be secured. He was supposed to have received written permission to store a gun in their vehicle overnight. The penalty: A 3-day suspension and forfeiture of the weapon. Two other people who did not protect their weapons in similar manner received brief suspensions.
Supervisory employees “hit his minor child” It was only discovered after the child had left school. “noticed bruises and contacted Child Protective Services.” OPR discovered that the child had been adopted. “been coached to minimize what happened” The bureau required that the agent take parenting classes. The employee was only suspended for 40 days. “Assault and Battery.”
One employee “seized two thumb drives and notebook from a fugitive during an arrest.” The thumb drives were then scanned by the employee. “without a warrant” A page in the notebook that contained information about a government agent was removed. The notebook was then suspended for five days.
After you send “a threatening and vile email to his girlfriend’s ex-husband,” One agent was placed under temporary protective orders. The employee threatened to shoot the process server who attempted to serve the subpoena. He then failed to report it to his supervisor. Punishment: 25-day suspension.
As two separate agents engaged in an illegal activity, the penalties seemed to be less severe the year after. “improper relationship with [a] source,” They were both placed on 2- and 3-day suspensions. The first employee to engage in “sexual banter” With the source, who suggested that they could use their sexually charged text messages to extort Bureau for money or favors. While their family was there, the second employee invited their sources to dinner at their home.
An employee “admitted engaging in a romantic relationship with an incarcerated felon and sending him money,” According to the report. According to the report. “failed to report contact with the felon,” However, the suspension was only for 15 days.
Similar situation after a failed project. “romantic relationship” An employee was made to quit. “certain jointly-owned property from the apartment of Employee’s former significant other and damaged other property,” The email was sent. “Although no criminal charges were filed, Employee was arrested for vandalism and theft.” Final verdict: 14-day suspension.
For misfiring their gun, another agent had to pay fourteen days. “in the middle of the night while in a hotel room” before falling asleep and ceasing to act. The agent was later charged with a misdemeanor, yet suspended from duty for only two weeks.
The smallest yet most surprising disciplinary decision was that an agent was suspended for one day for failing to complete a virtual exam about evidence handling. This was the test the agent’s coworker was supposed to take.
Another worker for the government “stopped at a grocery store in a Bureau vehicle to purchase beer” Highway patrol pulled him over, finding that he was driving while impaired. However, the disciplinary action against him was only a 60-day suspension. Another DUI incident earned one of his coworkers a 42-day suspension.
A Bureau employee was suspended for 40 days after he used its official databases to search for relatives and friends.
Internally, relations among FBI employees are not taken lightly. One employee was involved in an affair with another. “new agent trainee” But was suspended for only two weeks. The Bureau also took a soft stance against misuse or abuse of credentials after an off-duty officer flashed his badge to local police during a stop for driving while impaired. He was nevertheless arrested and pleaded guilty.
Another 60-day suspension was issued after an employee misused their credentials “to intimidate” Workers “a child’s day care center and, in a separate matter, to obtain law enforcement information from the local police regarding a friend’s suicide.” The other person is also “engaged in an office romance that resulted in unprofessional conduct on duty and the misuse of a Bureau vehicle.”
After driving a Bureau vehicle, one worker was allowed by the Bureau to retire and not be removed. “without authorization, to two strip clubs and a casino,” One was given a three day suspension for losing their weapon.
After consuming several alcoholic beverages, another agent was pulled over by a police vehicle and arrested for DUI. He received a two-month suspension.
The October 2019 Quarterly Report began with Niccolo Machiavelli’s quote: “Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times.”
That month’s report went on the outline instances of failure to secure weapons, improper relationships with subordinates, and failure to report foreign travel — yet many of these cases were settled with similar suspensions that were less than a week, with the longest being 60 days.
In 2021, an employee “engaged in intimate activity with another Bureau employee by ‘kissing/making out’ in a Bureau vehicle, on and off duty, approximately 50-60 times.” The result was a 12-day suspension.
One agent turned to a contractor, who was doing business in the same family as him, to help him get a better business deal.
“According to the contractor, Employee claimed the FBI had an open investigation into the contract dispute between the contractor and Employee’s family member,” The report was read. “Employee attempted to hide Employee’s personal relationship with the family member. By utilizing Employee’s position with the FBI, Employee put additional pressure on the contractor to resolve the contract dispute with Employee’s family member in his favor.” This resulted in the subject being suspended for two weeks.
Citing someone who “began dating a foreign national that Employee met online,” Recall the April 2022 Report “Employee failed to report the foreign contact for approximately two years, despite multiple in person meetings with the foreign national.” For false and misleading information, and for compromising security documents, the employee was placed on a 40-day suspension
Another agent was fired for taking classified materials home unpermitted and without notice.
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