FBI agent claims investigations into Giuliani and Trump allies were ‘suppressed’.

FBI agent claims investigations into Giuliani and Trump allies were 'suppressed'.

The FBI’s Suppression of Investigations: A Whistleblower’s Story

An exclusive revelation by Insider has brought to light claims made by a veteran FBI counterintelligence agent that his superiors suppressed investigations into former President Donald Trump and his associates, including Rudy Giuliani. The whistleblower, who served 14 years as a special agent for the bureau, has alleged a pattern of interference and suppression of investigations aimed at protecting politically active figures with connections to Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs. This includes anyone in the Trump White House and former or current associates of President Trump.

The 22-page statement prepared for the Senate Judiciary Committee alleges a highly suspicious and deliberate attempt to suppress investigations and intelligence-gathering. The whistleblower, motivated by a desire to improve the FBI and hold policymakers accountable, has claimed that public corruption investigations were stifled. In an interview with Insider, the whistleblower stated, “This is a decision point. Are we going to do public corruption or not?”

Insider is withholding the name of the whistleblower due to concerns over retaliation from the FBI, and the whistleblower’s ongoing efforts to seek congressional whistleblower protections. The authenticity of the whistleblower’s claims has been independently verified by Insider, although not all of the claims have been corroborated.

The whistleblower reveals that he was ordered to stop investigating Giuliani and the Trump White House in August 2022. This came after persistent efforts by his superiors to frustrate his work, culminating in a meeting with three FBI supervisors at a field office. The whistleblower’s account of the meeting has been confirmed by a second source with knowledge of the situation.

The whistleblower’s work as a Russian-speaking counterintelligence specialist involved maintaining a network of overseas sources, which were utilized by agents nationwide to investigate a range of issues. He had received consistent performance appraisal reports of “excellent” or “outstanding” during his career and even worked alongside investigators for Robert Mueller during the special counsel’s time.

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However, during the August 2022 meeting, the whistleblower’s job performance was called into question, and he was given strict orders to refrain from filing intelligence reports regarding Giuliani or any other Trump associate.

The whistleblower’s frustration with the interference in his investigations stretches back to Trump’s time in the White House. In January 2022, he filed an internal complaint under the Whistleblower Protection Act, alleging suppression of his reporting on foreign influence and the Capitol riots, as well as retaliatory acts and defamation of his character.

Among the investigations that were suppressed, the whistleblower had developed information from confidential informants suggesting that Giuliani had done paid work for Pavel Fuks, a Ukrainian oligarch and alleged asset of the Russian intelligence services. The whistleblower also looked into claims that Giuliani had fraudulently raised money from investors for an unfinished film about Joe Biden before the 2020 election.

The agent’s reporting on Giuliani was met with resistance at the FBI’s New York field office. The whistleblower’s statement mentions a supervisor from the New York field office who took issue with his reporting. The whistleblower believes that a group of individuals with ties to the bureau and Giuliani were responsible for the manipulations and retaliatory actions. One possible source of these efforts mentioned in the statement is Charles McGonigal, the former head of FBI counterintelligence in New York, who has been indicted.

The whistleblower’s account also reveals that not only were investigations into Giuliani and Trump suppressed, but the FBI informant who provided valuable intelligence on Giuliani’s activities was also cut off from further contact with the bureau. This order came from the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, established to combat foreign influence.

It’s important to note that the friction described in the whistleblower’s statement may stem from a risk-averse bureaucracy struggling to balance its law enforcement duties with its public image, rather than political motivations. The FBI is a diverse and decentralized organization, with 35,000 employees spread across 56 field offices. The whistleblower’s story provides a glimpse into the challenges faced by one field office and its interactions with headquarters.

The agent’s decision to submit a formal statement to Congress appears to be a last resort. Prior to this, he approached the FBI’s internal ombudsman and submitted an official whistleblower complaint to the head of his field office. However, instead of protection, the agent faced punishments, including reassignment to a new post far from his area of expertise.

The whistleblower’s motivation in sharing his story with Congress is not to harm the FBI but rather to improve and correct public misperceptions. Despite acknowledging the presence of biased individuals within the FBI, he believes that the majority of his colleagues are doing the right thing.

The emergence of this new whistleblower adds another layer to the already complex landscape of the FBI’s investigations into Trump and his associates. Multiple whistleblowers have previously testified before the GOP-led Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, with some alleging bias against Trump and his supporters.

In conclusion, the allegations made by this whistleblower shed light on a troubling pattern of suppression and interference in FBI investigations into Trump and his associates. The whistleblower’s claims, if substantiated, raise concerns about political influence within the bureau and the need for accountability to preserve the integrity and reputation of the FBI.

(Contact: Mattathias Schwartz, Insider’s chief national security correspondent, can be reached by email at [email protected].)

• FBI
• Russia
• Trump