Internal reports show a disturbing pattern of misconduct going unpunished, former special agent Steve Friend claims
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) logo. Credit Image: Global Look Press/Keystone Press Agency. © Global Look Press / Keystone Press Agency
FBI agents caught committing a broad array of felonies have not only escaped going to prison for their crimes, but in many cases kept their jobs, according to internal reports from the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility obtained by former special agent Steve Friend and published by Just the News on Thursday.
The disciplinary reports, dating from 2017 to the present, depict an increase in alcohol abuse and sexual misconduct, reflecting the “sense of entitlement that has seeped into the agency,” Friend, who resigned after blowing the whistle on civil liberties abuses in the FBI’s investigation of the January 6 Capitol riot, told the outlet. He believes today’s agents are coasting on the reputation of their predecessors.
According to his data, for failing to declare a romantic relationship with an incarcerated felon, an agent was suspended for just 15 days. Another agent arrested for stealing his girlfriend’s possessions after an acrimonious breakup got just 14 days. Numerous prohibited relationships between supervisors and underlings are mentioned, netting as little as one day of suspension as a penalty.
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Of 23 drunk-driving cases, just five resulted in the agent being fired. One agent who hit a car while driving with a blood alcohol content twice the legal limit and multiple open bottles inside his vehicle was merely suspended for 50 days. Another got away with a 60-day suspension for drunk-driving his vehicle into a police car.
Another three dozen agents lost their guns, had them stolen, or otherwise handled them irresponsibly. One who shot a hole in the floor of his hotel room was suspended for 14 days.
An agent who hit his child, leaving bruises that were reported by the child’s teacher, was merely suspended for 40 days – despite the child apparently having “been coached to minimize what had happened.”
The FBI has its limits, however. Examples of agents whose conduct merited a “summary dismissal” listed in a 2017 report include an agent who admitted to sexually abusing his daughter and granddaughter for years, another who repeatedly stole drug evidence to feed their own addiction, and another who deliberately shot and killed two dogs belonging to neighbors.
The agency stopped disseminating the reports for seven months between 2021 and 2022, out of concern that “employees harmed by misconduct” would feel shamed, but ultimately resumed publication. In a statement to Just the News, it said the reports are actually proof that its disciplinary system works.
