{"id":1584039,"date":"2022-08-02T08:01:09","date_gmt":"2022-08-02T12:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1584039"},"modified":"2022-08-02T08:01:27","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T12:01:27","slug":"all-fbi-agents-must-blow-their-whistles-or-theyll-be-complicit-in-bureaus-politicization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/all-fbi-agents-must-blow-their-whistles-or-theyll-be-complicit-in-bureaus-politicization\/","title":{"rendered":"All FBI Agents Must Blow Their Whistles Or They\u2019ll Be Complicit In Bureau\u2019s Politicization"},"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\">28<\/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%2Fall-fbi-agents-must-blow-their-whistles-or-theyll-be-complicit-in-bureaus-politicization%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=1584039&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--><p>Sen. Chuck Grassley\u2019s office confirmed to The Federalist that the multiple FBI whistleblowers charging misconduct related to the Hunter Biden investigation only came forward in the last two months. While the existence of these new whistleblowers proves promising, other FBI agents with knowledge of misconduct or political bias must stop hiding behind the chain of command and start blowing their own whistles.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMultiple FBI whistleblowers, including those in senior positions\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/07\/28\/doj-may-have-obstructed-important-biden-corruption-investigations-out-of-pittsburgh-and-delaware\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">informed<\/a> the Iowa Republican senator that \u201cWashington Field Office assistant special agent in charge Timothy Thibault and other FBI officials \u2026 \u2018falsely portray[ed] as disinformation evidence acquired from multiple sources that provided the FBI derogatory information related to Hunter Biden\u2019s financial and foreign business activities, even though some of that information had already been or could be verified.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The whistleblowers further charged that \u201cin August of 2020, FBI supervisory intelligence analyst Brian Auten opened an assessment, which was used by a team of agents at FBI headquarters to improperly discredit and falsely claim that derogatory information about Biden\u2019s activities was disinformation, causing investigative activity and sourcing to be shut down.\u201d \u201cThe FBI headquarters team allegedly placed their assessment findings in a restricted access subfolder, effectively flagging sources and derogatory evidence related to Hunter Biden as disinformation while shielding the justification for such findings from scrutiny,\u201d Grassley revealed.<\/p>\n<p>The significance of these developments cannot be overstated, for several reasons. First, the whistleblowers accuse supervisory bureau officials \u2014 not merely low-level line agents \u2014 with manipulating evidence related to an investigation of the son of the president of the United States. The ongoing investigation also implicates the president and his brother in the pay-to-play scandal of influence-peddling.<\/p>\n<p>That reality alone should shock the core of the bureau, but there is more. The whistleblowers\u2019 charges, when read in light of FBI leaks to the Washington Post, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/07\/28\/doj-may-have-obstructed-important-biden-corruption-investigations-out-of-pittsburgh-and-delaware\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suggest<\/a> that \u201cFBI Headquarters either improperly withheld information or presented inaccurate information to the U.S. attorney\u2019s office in Pittsburgh and possibly also Delaware,\u201d which were tasked with investigating Hunter Biden.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Further, by burying evidence about Hunter Biden, which at the time included the laptop he had abandoned at a Delaware repair shop, the FBI agents <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/07\/26\/fbi-jeopardized-national-security-by-calling-verified-hunter-biden-evidence-disinformation-whistleblowers-say\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">concealed<\/a> a dangerous national security risk that both the intelligence community and Joe Biden needed to know, namely that Hunter believed Russians had stolen a second laptop that contained similarly compromising material.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The new information revealed by the FBI whistleblowers exposes yet a further scandal, which Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., highlighted in a letter he dispatched to Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz last week. In his letter, Johnson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ronjohnson.senate.gov\/2022\/7\/sen-johnson-whistleblower-allegations-reveal-corrupt-fbi-undermined-hunter-biden-investigations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted<\/a> that while he was investigating Hunter Biden\u2019s questionable business dealings, the FBI provided him and Grassley with a supposed briefing on August 6, 2020. That briefing \u201cwas not specific\u201d and was \u201cunconnected\u201d to their investigation, Johnson noted, and he and Grassley had \u201calways assumed [it] was a set up to intentionally discredit [their] ongoing work into Hunter Biden\u2019s extensive foreign financial entanglements.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In fact, as Johnson highlighted in his letter, leakers from the FBI fed the fact of the briefing to the Washington Post. The Post then <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/rudy-giuliani-fbi-warning-russia\/2021\/04\/29\/5db90f96-a84e-11eb-bca5-048b2759a489_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">framed<\/a> the briefing as \u201can extensive effort by the [FBI] to alert members of Congress \u2026 that they faced a risk of being used to further Russia\u2019s attempt to influence the election\u2019s outcome.\u201d That spin worked to falsely portray Grassley and Johnson\u2019s investigation into Hunter Biden\u2019s foreign financial dealings as corrupted by Russian disinformation.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson\u2019s letter to the DOJ, FBI, and OIG concisely captured the significance of these facts and the horror of the scandal: \u201cIf these recent whistleblower revelations are true, it would strongly suggest that the FBI\u2019s August 6, 2020, briefing was indeed a targeted effort to intentionally undermine a Congressional investigation. The FBI being weaponized against two sitting chairmen of U.S. Senate committees with constitutional oversight responsibilities would be one of the greatest episodes of Executive Branch corruption in American history.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>The Whole FBI Owns This<\/h2>\n<p>The FBI scandal does not end there, however, and concerns not merely the alleged misconduct by a few in the upper echelon of the bureau. Rather, the fact that the whistleblowers, including \u201cthose in senior positions\u201d of the FBI, are only now coming forward to expose the malfeasance they witnessed \u2014 even though the investigation into Hunter Biden has been ongoing since 2018 and the alleged spiking of the evidence occurred in 2020 \u2014 renders the scandal owned by the entire agency and every member of the organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The failure of other FBI agents and \u201cthose in senior positions\u201d to object to the shameful politicization of the bureau finds its root in the Russia collusion hoax, with agents ignoring the misconduct by the bureau\u2019s leaders, such as Director James Comey, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, FBI Deputy Assistant Director Peter Strzok, and FBI Special Counsel Lisa Page. FBI Special Agent William Barnett, in a detailed interview with former U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen, revealed both the breadth of the bureau\u2019s partisan impropriety and the reticence of apolitical agents to challenge their bosses.<\/p>\n<p>Barnett, who served as the FBI\u2019s case agent in the investigation of former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, spoke with then-U.S. Attorney Jensen after then-Attorney General William Barr tasked Jensen with reviewing the Flynn case. As The Federalist previously <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/09\/25\/get-trump-fbi-whistleblower-on-mueller-team-details-real-reason-flynn-was-targeted\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, Barnett \u201ctold Department of Justice (DOJ) investigators that the handling of the probes troubled him so much that he threatened to quit working on it in one case, and threatened to go to the Inspector General in another.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>A summary of Barnett\u2019s interview noted that he believed \u201cthere was never any basis for the bizarre \u2018collusion\u2019 theory the agency and the special counsel relentlessly pursued, to the point that agents made jokes about how they could take any piece of information and claim it was evidence of collusion.\u201d Barnett also believed the Special Counsel Office \u201cpursued Flynn simply as a means to \u2018get Trump\u2019 and viewed FBI investigators as a \u2018speed bump\u2019 slowing down the work of the attorneys leading the inquisition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jensen\u2019s comprehensive summary of his interview with Barnett revealed many more extensive problems dating from 2016 and through Special Counsel Robert Mueller\u2019s investigation. But it wasn\u2019t until September 2020 when Barr initiated a review of the Flynn case by a U.S. attorney outside of D.C. that Barnett\u2019s firsthand experience became known to those willing to address the corruption.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The now-former attorney general did just that when he moved to dismiss the criminal case against Flynn, concluding the FBI\u2019s questioning of Flynn that served as the basis for the criminal charge \u201cwas untethered to, and unjustified by, the FBI\u2019s counterintelligence investigation.\u201d The federal judge presiding over the Flynn case refused to dismiss the case, though, and with the legal wrangling continuing past the 2020 election, prompted outgoing President Donald Trump to pardon Flynn.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Beyond the numerous FBI improprieties that occurred during the Crossfire Hurricane and Mueller investigations \u2014 including high-level leaks by agents \u2014 the interview of Barnett revealed a follow-the-marching-orders mentality that cannot continue if agents want to restore integrity to the bureau.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile Barnett questioned the investigative theory, he did not think at the time the investigation was illegal, particularly due to the oversight by attorneys (i.e., CLINESMITH) and the direction being given by top FBI officials,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2020\/09\/25\/get-trump-fbi-whistleblower-on-mueller-team-details-real-reason-flynn-was-targeted\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">summary<\/a> of Barnett\u2019s interview stated, with Barnett noting he \u201cwas willing to follow instructions being given by the Deputy Director as long as it was not a violation of law.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Turn the Tide<\/h2>\n<p>The last two months seem to suggest a potential change in attitude, with FBI whistleblowers willing to work with outsiders committed to reform.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In addition to whistleblowers exposing the alleged misconduct related to the Biden family, they have also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grassley.senate.gov\/news\/news-releases\/whistleblowers-reports-reveal-double-standard-in-pursuit-of-politically-charged-investigations-by-senior-fbi-doj-officials\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">alerted<\/a> Grassley to the FBI\u2019s politicizing of election crimes and campaign finance investigations. And with whistleblowers also <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/07\/28\/jordan-fbi-exaggerates-domestic-violent-extremism-cases-to-bolster-bidens-greatest-threat-narrative\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">alerting<\/a> Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan that \u201cFBI leaders are instructing agents to reclassify cases to bolster the Biden administration\u2019s narrative that \u2018domestic violent extremism\u2019 is a major threat,\u201d there is hope that the dedicated men and women of the bureau want to restore integrity to the agency.<\/p>\n<p>It may be difficult for FBI agents, trained to trust the hierarchy, to reboot their reticence, but recent events establish that the FBI leadership cannot right itself. What the FBI needs, then, to rehabilitate itself is a cavalcade of whistleblowers exposing the rot within the bureau. Every agent at every level must join the few brave whistleblowers who have come forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If, knowing what they do now about DOJ and FBI leadership\u2019s inability to clean the political mess, agents remain mum, they will be complicit in the scandal, and Americans will no longer distinguish between the hardworking men and women of the FBI and the supposedly few bad apples \u2014 we will view the entire bureau as bad.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Margot Cleveland is The Federalist&#8217;s senior legal correspondent. She is also a contributor to National Review Online, the Washington Examiner, Aleteia, and Townhall.com, and has been published in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. <\/p>\n<p>Cleveland is a lawyer and a graduate of the Notre Dame Law School, where she earned the Hoynes Prize\u2014the law school\u2019s highest honor. She later served for nearly 25 years as a permanent law clerk for a federal appellate judge on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Cleveland is a former full-time university faculty member and now teaches as an adjunct from time to time. <\/p>\n<p>As a stay-at-home homeschooling mom of a young son with cystic fibrosis, Cleveland frequently writes on cultural issues related to parenting and special-needs children. Cleveland is on Twitter at @ProfMJCleveland. The views expressed here are those of Cleveland in her private capacity.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-comments mt-30 mt-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-comments-container d-flex flex-column align-items-center py-30\">\n    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"110\" height=\"106\" src=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/fdrlst-mark.svg\" class=\"img-fluid mb-20\" alt=\"The Federalist logo eagle mark\" \/>    <\/p>\n<p>Unlock commenting by joining the Federalist Community.<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/plans\/pricing\/\" class=\"btn btn-on-white\">Subscribe<\/a>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. Chuck Grassley\u2019s office confirmed to The Federalist that the multiple FBI whistleblowers charging misconduct related to the Hunter Biden investigation only came forward in the last two months. While<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":499,"featured_media":1897868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1584039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_finder_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/08\/02\/all-fbi-agents-must-blow-their-whistles-or-theyll-be-complicit-in-bureaus-politicization\/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=all-fbi-agents-must-blow-their-whistles-or-theyll-be-complicit-in-bureaus-politicization","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1584039","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\/499"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1584039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1584039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1897868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1584039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1584039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1584039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}