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Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Chuck Grassley says the whistleblowers’ allegations reveal a “deep-rooted political infection” within the FBI.
In an Aug. 17 letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, the Iowa Republican demanded an accounting for alleged political bias influencing high-level investigations, particularly from the office of ‘FBI in Washington, DC.
“As of May 31, 2022, I have written three letters to you about the political bias that has infected the FBI’s Washington field office,” Grassley writes. “Two of these letters provided specific and credible allegations based on numerous whistleblowers who have come to my office with information that can only be concluded to be indicative of a deep-rooted political infection that has spread to the investigation of former President Trump and Hunter Biden.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, speaks during testimony for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett on the third day of her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on October 14, 2020 in Washington , DC
(Photo by SUSAN WALSH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Grassley claims the FBI approved Trump campaign investigative activity with questionable preaching while choosing to “shut down investigative activity and sources, which included verified and verifiable information, related to Hunter Hunter Biden.”
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Even after numerous public statements and letters from the top GOP senator, Grassley says the FBI has yet to refute those claims and says the agency’s failure to address them is eroding public trust in the FBI .
In a July 18 letter to Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland, Grassley said FBI whistleblowers allege a pattern of political bias by senior officials, including Deputy Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault. According to Grassley, the whistleblowers say that DOJ and FBI employees must follow strict guidelines for presenting substantial facts to open an investigation, and that Thibault failed to follow those guidelines.
Grassley stated that the Trump campaign research’s prediction of 2020 voters was based on news articles that relied on information from American Oversight, a “liberal” government watchdog. Grassley said the briefing paper submitted to the attorney general and FBI director for final sign-off on a full investigation included “selective statements” and “deleted or diluted material” related to politically biased procurement.
Grassley said whistleblowers had indicated that Thibault and also Richard Pilger, who works in the Election Crimes Branch of the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section, were at the center of the ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign. Grassley wrote that he had previously investigated Pilger for misconduct.
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A former DOJ official told Fox News that Senate Republicans are taking a hard look at “much-needed” structural changes at the FBI, and that the Grassley investigation marks the first step in that process.
Grassley is seeking a full organizational breakdown of the Washington field office to see how it is staffed and who is responsible for units and teams within the office.
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“As you know, Deputy Special Agent in Charge Tim Thibault is not the only politically biased FBI agent in the Washington field office,” Grassley writes. He added that “the FBI answers to Congress and the American people.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks at the Department of Justice on January 5, 2022 in Washington, DC
(Carolyn Kaster-Pool/Getty Images)
Grassley gave Wray an August 31 deadline to respond.
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment. The FBI confirmed it had received the letter but had no further comment.
Kelly Laco of Fox News contributed to this report
