(Ken Silva, Headline USA) A now-retired FBI special agent in charge, or SAC, arranged to have his or her spouse sit on a committee and receive a cash award as a result, according to a report last week from the Justice Department’s Inspector General.
The DOJ Inspector General said it received information from the FBI’s Inspection Division, alleging that the unnamed SAC had assigned the spouse, who worked within the SAC’s chain of command, to serve on a committee and then arranged for the committee members, including the spouse, to receive cash awards in recognition of such service.
The DOJ-IG’s investigation found that the SAC indeed violated federal ethics regulations and related FBI policies by directing a subordinate to complete the paperwork necessary for the spouse to receive the award.
The SAC retired before the DOJ-IG could compel the official to be interviewed. The report doesn’t state whether the DOJ-IG compelled the spouse to be interviewed.
“Criminal prosecution of the SAC was declined,” the report concluded. “The OIG has completed its investigation and provided a report to the FBI for its information.”
Despite finding numerous instances of illegal activity in the FBI, the DOJ-IG’s investigations have often not led to prosecutions.
For instance, declined to prosecute a retired senior FBI official who solicited prostitutes from a foreign national’s massage parlor while he was still working for the bureau, according to a report released last October.
That OIG report came nearly two years after the OIG released a related report, which found that four FBI officials had sex with prostitutes while posted overseas, while a fifth also tried to—and all but one “lacked candor” about it during interviews and lie-detector test.
It was also alleged that one of the FBI officials provided another of the officials a package containing approximately 100 white pills to deliver to a foreign law enforcement officer.
According to that December 2021 report, two FBI officials resigned, two retired, and one was removed—all while the OIG’s investigation was ongoing.
The OIG’s December 2021 report said it referred the findings to the FBI for “appropriate action,” but nothing public has been revealed about the matter since then.
Meanwhile, the DOJ continues to prosecute the leading Republican presidential candidate, journalists, peaceful protestors and other non-violent dissidents—underscoring the widespread complaints about the U.S. having a two-tiered justice system.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
