{"id":1664850,"date":"2022-09-29T14:55:23","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T18:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1664850"},"modified":"2022-09-29T14:59:57","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T18:59:57","slug":"30-ex-fbi-agents-show-support-for-whistleblower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/30-ex-fbi-agents-show-support-for-whistleblower\/","title":{"rendered":"30 Ex-FBI Agents Show Support for Whistleblower"},"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\">14<\/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%2F30-ex-fbi-agents-show-support-for-whistleblower%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=1664850&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--><aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--columnist inline-module--author\">\n<div class=\"inline-module--author__img\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Thirty former FBI agents, including a retired deputy assistant director, head of counterterrorism and five SWAT team members, have spoken out publicly in support of suspended <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/09\/26\/gop-senators-demand-wray-ag-garland-end-fbi-whistleblowers-suspension\/\">FBI whistleblower Stephen Friend.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Their heartfelt messages, obtained exclusively by The Post, show a deep and widespread anguish about the politicization of the FBI.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s time to stop the FBI from being the enforcer of a political party\u2019s ideology,\u201d says Ernie Tibaldi, a retired agent from San Francisco. \u201cWe need to re-establish the FBI as the apolitical and independent law enforcement entity that it always was.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He expressed gratitude to Friend \u201cfor having the courage to stand up to the corruption that has taken over the leadership of the FBI.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many former agents hailed Friend, a SWAT team member in Florida, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/09\/25\/facebook-silencing-activity-related-to-fbi-whistleblower-steve-friend\/\">as a \u201chero\u201d<\/a> after he was punished for refusing to participate in what he regarded as unnecessarily heavy-handed SWAT raids over Jan. 6 misdemeanors.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In his whistleblower complaint to the Department of Justice inspector general, Friend alleged that the FBI has been manipulating case-file management in order to falsely inflate the threat of domestic terrorism, and using unconstitutional excessive force against political dissenters.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/devine-486.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-486.jpg\" alt=\"FBI Special Agent Stephen Friend\" class=\"wp-image-24050139\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-486-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-486-2.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-486-2.jpg&amp;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Whistleblower Stephen Friend was suspended from the FBI for refusing to participate in a raid on Jan. 6 suspects.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>\u2018Moral courage\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Terry Turchie, former deputy assistant director of the FBI\u2019s Counterterrorism Division, describes Friend as \u201ca model example of what FBI agents nationwide should be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoral courage, leadership in the face of pressure, and true to the Oath of Office FBI agents take to defend the United States Constitution and protect America and its citizens.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am beyond proud to offer him my support in the decisions he had to make.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/devine-489.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-489.jpg\" alt=\"FBISpecial Agent Stephen Friend\" class=\"wp-image-24050142\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-489-1.jpg 1023w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-489-2.jpg 682w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-489-3.jpg 341w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-489-4.jpg 1024w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Five former SWAT team members in Friend\u2019s support group agree that raiding a nonviolent person on a misdemeanor offense was wrong.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Anna Friend<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Turchie, who led the Unabomber task force, says he didn\u2019t even use a SWAT team in 1996 to arrest Theodore Kaczynski, a violent domestic terrorist who had killed three people and injured 23 others.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo real FBI agent would defend the position of using SWAT teams to arrest non-violent senior citizens and others with political opinions not currently tolerated by this administration, compounded by the idea that many of these cases involve misdemeanor criminal charges.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis activity actually generates tension in communities and increases the potential for tragic results and injuries to FBI agents and citizens.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Five former SWAT team members in Friend\u2019s support group agree that raiding a nonviolent person on a misdemeanor offense was wrong and potentially dangerous.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI was involved in numerous arrests where we never used any SWAT teams,\u201d says retired Special Agent David Baldovin, who served from 1969 to 2000, including 25 years in SWAT.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe current use \u2014 or should I say abuse \u2014 of bureau SWAT teams has been outrageous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Baldovin expressed thanks to Friend \u201cfor having the courage to say \u2018hell, no\u2019 to the current bunch of FBI bureaucrats and tyrants.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey do not exemplify Fidelity, Bravery and Integrity, but you, sir, certainly do \u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe SWAT colleagues of yours who agree to participate in these police state tactics are doing the same thing as those in Germany who participated in war crimes. \u2018Only following orders,\u2019 right?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another SWAT member, retired Special Agent Bob Fricke, who served from 1987 to 2008, says: \u201cWhen I see the FBI using extreme SWAT tactics on elderly and other citizens who pose no physical threat, it makes me sick. It has to be purely political \u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI participated in many searches authorized by legally obtained search warrants\u00a0\u2026 [All] included serious felonies. The only time I recall participating in a pre-dawn raid in which we all wore body armor and needed SWAT team \u2026 assistance involved an extremely violent motorcycle gang \u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe Special Agent Friend is an American hero. He is a shining example of what I attempt to inculcate in my students, honor above self.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/devine-487.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-487.jpg\" alt=\"FBI Special Agent Stephen Friend\" class=\"wp-image-24050140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-487-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-487-2.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-487-2.jpg&amp;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>\u201cThe current use \u2014 or should I say abuse \u2014 of bureau SWAT teams has been outrageous,\u201d says one former special agent.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cOur founding fathers wanted people of high moral character to serve the American people. It is good to know that people such as Special Agent Friend still exist. May God protect him and his family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Former Special Agent Brian Shepard, who also served in SWAT, had this message for Friend: \u201cI highly commend your courage! I am standing with you all the way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a 30-year career in law enforcement, SWAT team member Greg Dillon served in the FBI just five years to 1990, before he, too, was forced to become a whistleblower. His book, \u201cThe Thin Blue Lie: An Honest Cop vs The FBI,\u201d is a searing account of falsified affidavits, corruption, cover-ups and retaliation.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018A brave stand\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI served on SWAT teams in the Alexandria Division and the Washington Field Office. In state service, I served as a supervisor in a Fugitive Unit and later in a Gang Unit. Rarely were SWAT teams used to effect an arrest; those rare circumstances were reserved for career criminals with a history of violence, those known to resist arrest, or suspected of being heavily armed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI applaud Steven Friend for adhering to his moral compass and taking a brave stand few are willing to make. Hopefully, his courage will inspire other colleagues to step forward in support.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>Gary Karns, another former SWAT team member, said Friend\u2019s actions were \u201can act of patriotism. To stand by your principles during these times is the honorable and right thing to do. God Bless you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Former Special Agent Dewanna Jackolski was damning about the current state of the bureau: \u201cFBI Agents pledged to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. [We] did not pledge unquestioning loyalty to any supervisor, director, president or political party.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe oath does not state that we are to obey orders if those orders are being used to persecute individuals who disagree with the actions and policies of the politicians in power. There comes a time and place where our conscience, morality and humanity demand that we speak out and condemn the actions of this FBI.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Urey Patrick, a supervisory special agent who served in the FBI from 1973 to 1996, says: \u201cThe FBI has mutated over the years. [When I joined, it] was an independent investigative agency essentially devoid of political partisanship, subordinate to but not subservient to the DOJ \u2026 Since then, it has inexorably devolved into just another supplicant agency doing the bidding of whatever political regime is in control of the DOJ.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know if that is irreparable or not, but I do know that, if there is to be a restoration of FBI integrity, honor and calling to duty, it will be only because of men and women like you [Friend]. For what it is worth, I am with you \u2026 in any way I can be \u2014 as are countless others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Retired FBI agent Steve Nash kept it short and sweet: \u201cIf no one speaks up, evil wins. I support the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018A police force for the Dems\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Terry Turchie, the FBI\u2019s first head of counterterrorism, and a retired front-line agent of almost 30 years, feels it is his moral duty to support Friend, and has been contacted by dozens of current and former agents wanting to help.<\/p>\n<p>Serving agents with whom he has been in contact \u201cbelieve the FBI is wrong to be doing these things, but simply are fearful of speaking up for now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Turchie points out that the FBI has a long tradition of whistleblowers. In the past, FBI agents of integrity \u201cdid attempt to fight back\u201d to stop the bureau abusing its powers.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/devine-490.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-490.jpg\" alt=\"FBISpecial Agent Stephen Friend\" class=\"wp-image-24050143\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-490-1.jpg 1023w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-490-2.jpg 682w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-490-3.jpg 341w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/devine-490-4.jpg 1024w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Friend alleged that the FBI has been manipulating case-file management in order to falsely inflate the threat of domestic terrorism.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Anna Friend<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After 9\/11, for instance, FBI employees, including the management of the New York Field Office, sounded the alarm over the abuse of national security surveillance powers, warning then-Director Robert Mueller that the bureau \u201cshould not be opening counterterrorism investigations based solely and exclusively on National Security Agency intercepts of conversations of US citizens,\u201d says Turchie.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMueller rejected that advice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2013, when Mueller retired, hundreds of FBI employees signed a letter to incoming Director James Comey, warning him about \u201cpolitical bias and political compromise of the FBI,\u201d and saying that Mueller had led the bureau in the \u201cwrong direction \u2026\u00a0as a result of its transformation from a law enforcement to an intelligence organization.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Comey did not even acknowledge that he had received the letter and the FBI has continued down the same ill-fated path to this day, with current Director <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/08\/31\/fbi-agents-say-christopher-wray-has-got-to-go-report\/\">Christopher Wray<\/a> \u201cdoubling down on that course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe FBI has been collapsed into nothing more than a police agency for the Democratic Party,\u201d says Turchie. \u201cMany of us feel that over the decades [we have seen] the complete compromise of the bureau.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More than 20 FBI whistleblowers have <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/09\/26\/gop-senators-demand-wray-ag-garland-end-fbi-whistleblowers-suspension\/\">come forward to Republican members of Congress<\/a> in recent months, and Turchie says those numbers will grow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thirty former FBI agents, including a retired deputy assistant director, head of counterterrorism and five SWAT team members, have spoken out publicly in support<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1363926,"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-1664850","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\/1664850","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1664850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1664850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1363926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1664850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1664850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1664850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}