{"id":1524124,"date":"2022-06-20T14:04:40","date_gmt":"2022-06-20T18:04:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1524124"},"modified":"2022-06-20T14:04:57","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T18:04:57","slug":"potential-violations-of-the-hatch-act-doj-inspector-general-refers-top-fbi-agent-to-special-counsels-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/potential-violations-of-the-hatch-act-doj-inspector-general-refers-top-fbi-agent-to-special-counsels-office\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Potential Violations Of The Hatch Act\u2019: DOJ Inspector General Refers Top FBI Agent To Special Counsel\u2019s Office"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpotential-violations-of-the-hatch-act-doj-inspector-general-refers-top-fbi-agent-to-special-counsels-office%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1524124&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><ul>\n<li><strong>An FBI agent in the nation\u2019s capital may have violated the law after promoting anti-Trump content on social media, the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s (DOJ) watchdog told Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley Wednesday.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The DOJ\u2019s watchdog referred FBI special agent Timothy Thibault\u2019s \u201cpotential violations of the Hatch Act\u201d to The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) after Grassley demanded a probe in May.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Passed in 1939, The Hatch Act \u201climits certain political activities of federal employees, as well as some state, D.C., and local government employees who work in connection with federally funded programs,\u201d according to the OSC.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A top FBI official in Washington, D.C., may have broken the law for what one Republican senator argues are \u201cpartisan posts\u201d criticizing former President Donald Trump and former U.S. Attorney General William Barr, according to the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s watchdog (DOJ).<\/p>\n<p>DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grassley.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/justice_deptinspectorgeneraltograssleywashingtonfieldoffice.pdf\">informed<\/a> Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley Wednesday that his body will refer assistant FBI special agent Timothy Thibault\u2019s \u201cpotential violations of the Hatch Act\u201d to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC). In May, Grassley <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grassley.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/grassley_to_justice_dept.fbiwashingtonfieldoffice.pdf\">urged<\/a> Horowitz to investigate Thibault \u201cfor potential violations of federal regulations and Department guidelines designed to prevent political bias from infecting FBI matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter carefully reviewing the information in your letter, we determined that some of the allegations and conduct you described in your letter implicate potential violations of the Hatch Act, which limits certain political activities of federal employees,\u201d said Horowitz in his letter to Grassley. \u201cThe U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is responsible for investigating and prosecuting alleged violations of the Hatch Act.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a result, we have referred the relevant allegations to OSC to review and respond as it deems appropriate,\u201d Horowitz also said.\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/06\/14\/ex-fbi-unauthorized-media-doj\/\">(RELATED:\u00a0Ex-FBI Official Who Oversaw Clinton And Trump Probes Had Unauthorized \u2018Media Contacts,\u2019 DOJ Says)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>An FBI spokesperson told The Daily Caller News Foundation that \u201cany allegations of misconduct are taken seriously and referred to the Inspection division\u201d and that \u201call FBI employees are held to the highest standards of professional and ethical conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7454776\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7454776\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 DECEMBER 18: Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz testifies before the Senate Committee On Homeland Security And Governmental Affairs during a hearing at the US Capitol on December 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. Last week the Inspector General released a report on the origins of the FBI\u2019s investigation into the Trump campaign\u2019s possible ties with Russia during the 2016 Presidential elections. (Photo by Samuel Corum\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Hatch Act passed in 1939 and \u201climits certain political activities of federal employees, as well as some state, D.C., and local government employees who work in connection with federally funded programs,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/osc.gov\/Services\/Pages\/HatchAct.aspx#:~:text=%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B,connection%20with%20federally%20funded%20programs.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according<\/a> to the OSC. The law is to ensure \u201cfederal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grassley also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grassley.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/grassley_to_justice_dept.fbiwashingtonfieldoffice.pdf\">wrote<\/a> to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray in May with a June 14 deadline to provide documents in connection with Thibault and his work for the bureau.<\/p>\n<p>Thibault, who has overseen \u201cthe FBI\u2019s most significant federal public corruption investigations,\u201d has demonstrated \u201ca pattern of improper commentary\u201d on social media with regard to Trump and Barr, Grassley said. Thibault\u2019s LinkedIn network is comprised of \u201ccurrent and former FBI personnel\u201d and he has posted publicly, the senator said.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI official \u201cliked\u201d a LinkedIn post for a February 2020 opinion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2020\/02\/12\/trumps-damage-justice-department-will-outlast-his-presidency\/\">article<\/a> in The Washington Post arguing the DOJ should have convicted longtime Trump friend and former campaign adviser Roger Stone in connection with the Russian probe, according to Grassley. Thibault also \u201cliked\u201d a September 2020 opinion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2020\/09\/17\/william-barr-has-gone-rogue\/\">article<\/a> in The Washington Post on LinkedIn titled \u201cWilliam Barr Has Gone Rogue,\u201d the senator said.<\/p>\n<p>Tom Jones, executive director of the federal watchdog American Accountability Foundation, told TheDCNF that given that \u201cpublic corruption investigations\u201d are some of the \u201cmost sensitive\u201d cases, officials should not act partisan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact that there are agents who cannot seem to set their political biases aside will have a corrosive effect on public confidence in public corruption investigations for a division that has been struggling to reassure the public for decades of its impartiality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Thibault also retweeted a post in 2020 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ProjectLincoln\/status\/1285609470056378368\">post<\/a> by the <a href=\"http:\/\/lincolnproject.us\/\">anti-Trump<\/a> Lincoln Project of an article in The Atlantic titled \u201cDonald Trump is a Broken Man,\u201d according to Grassley. Thibault tweeted to Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney that her \u201cdad is a disgrace\u201d in 2020, according to Grassley.<\/p>\n<p>Thibault did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the OSC, the DOJ or Grassley\u2019s office.<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An FBI agent in the nation\u2019s capital may have violated the law after promoting anti-Trump content on social media, the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s (DOJ) watchdog told Republican Iowa Sen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":381,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1524124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1524124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1524124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1524124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1524124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1524124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1524124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}