Ex-FBI official who shut down Hunter Biden lines of investigation violated Hatch Act with anti-Trump posts

Posted 97 days ago

From WWW.FOXNEWS.COM

EXCLUSIVE: The U. S. Office of Special Counsel determined a former FBI official violated the Hatch Act in his political posts on social media — the same official whistleblowers claimed had shown a "pattern of active public partisanship" which "likely affected" investigations involving former President Trump and Hunter Biden.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, had referred former Washington, D. C., Field Office FBI assistant special agent in charge Timothy Thibault amid allegations that he engaged in prohibited political activity on social media for investigation.

Grassley’s calls for investigation came after whistleblowers approached his office alleging Thibault was instrumental in the opening of the elector investigation into the Trump campaign and its associates based, in part, on information from a left-aligned organization.

The whistleblowers alleged that Thibault did so by "circumventing normal process and procedure to open full field investigations."

Grassley had learned through whistleblowers that Thibault’s opening memo calling for a full investigation, which was ultimately approved by FBI Director Chris Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland, allegedly "scrubbed and diluted" details of the sources’ political bias.

Fox News Digital also had previously reported that Thibault "ordered closed" an avenue of "derogatory Hunter Biden reporting" in October 2020." At the time, Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson were investigating Hunter Biden's business dealings. Hunter Biden also was under federal investigation at the time--an investigation beginning in 2018.

The FBI ultimately removed Thibault from his post as an assistant special agent in charge. He later resigned.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a letter the Office of Special Counsel sent to Grassley this week.

"This letter responds to your request that the U. S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, and Federal Bureau of Investigation investigate former FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault and allegations that he engaged in prohibited political activity on social media," the letter states, noting that the Office of Special Counsel has "exclusive jurisdiction over civil Hatch Act matters," and that Grassley’s investigative referral was passed on to its office.

"Although Mr. Thibault has left government service, we completed our investigation and concluded that he violated the Hatch Act," the OSC wrote.

The Hatch Act governs the political activity of all federal civilian executive branch employees and prohibits them from using their official authority or or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election; knowingly soliciting, accepting, or receiving political contributions from any person; being candidates for public office in partisan elections; and knowingly soliciting or discouraging the political activity of any individual with business before their employing office.... (Read more)












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