Three Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee seek to question former FBI agent Timothy Thibault over alleged pressure to reclassify agency cases as “domestic violent extremism.”
Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Mike Johnson (R-LA), in a letter sent to Thibault Friday, laid out accusations by whistleblowers.
Among them are that he urged the reclassification of FBI federal cases as “domestic violent extremism” when there was little evidence or support for the change.
Further, the trio cited sources who revealed that the former agent worked with others to undermine support of allegations of possible criminal conduct “by members of the Biden family.”
Rep. Jim Jordan: "Based on 14 FBI agents who have come talk to our office as whistleblowers, One of those agents said…'At the highest levels of the FBI, specifically the Washington Field Office…it's rotted to the core.'" pic.twitter.com/83scFWVf9A
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 17, 2022
According to Rep. Johnson, there have now been two whistleblowers who came forward asserting that pressure from above meant inflated case numbers.
The latest, Jill Sanborn, worked for the FBI for over two decades. She detailed in a letter the actions by then-Assistant Special Agent In Charge Thibault to pump up the appearance of domestic terrorism.
The latest letter sent to Thibault is the third asking the former agent to testify. But though his attorneys insist that he “welcomes any investigation,” the just-retired agent has declined to appear.
He was already the focus of accusations of bias for his role in probes into former President Donald Trump and Hunter Biden.
Despite the House Judiciary Committee having oversight power over the FBI, thus far there has been little progress in rooting out alleged bias in the agency. Democrats, who have the committee’s majority until January, have stymied pursuit of investigations based on whistleblower claims.
This, of course, will not be the case in 2023. Rep. Jordan’s office has received over a dozen allegations of FBI bias this year alone. This follows on the heels of the agency’s unprecedented raid on Trump’s Florida residence in August.
It is imperative that the nation’s top law enforcement agency be free from even the appearance of political witch hunts. With the GOP in charge of the Judiciary Committee beginning in January, the multiple allegations against Thibault and others should finally be investigated properly.
