(José Niño, Headline USA) An FBI agent who served on Robert Mueller’s special counsel team alleged that “overzealous thoughts and bias permeated the investigation” into Donald Trump, and that investigators operated with a “let’s get him” attitude throughout the two-year probe into false Russia collusion claims.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel on Sunday revealing details from a December 2020 FBI interview with the unidentified agent. The interview was conducted as part of an internal investigation into Supervisory Intelligence Analyst Brian Auten, a central figure in both the Russia collusion investigation and the Hunter Biden laptop controversy.
“The FD-302 confirms long-standing concerns that political bias rotted the decision-making process within the Mueller team,” Grassley wrote in his letter, which was first reported by The New York Post. “The American public deserve answers.”
According to the interview document, multiple personnel were removed from Mueller’s team because they “saw concerning things and voiced their concern.” The agent described “a general atmosphere of bias” led by prosecutor Aaron Zelinsky. “There were caricatures and cartoons that were anti-Trump” displayed in the office, and the whistleblower even provided a sketch showing where the drawings were hung.
The agent alleged chronic FISA surveillance abuses. When asked about renewing a FISA warrant for a third time, one investigator named Khoury said “No!” because “they were getting all of the information they needed from interviews with the target of the investigation who was cooperating and providing everything they needed.” The agent stated that “there was nothing in the past FISA that aided the investigation other than to prove the Target was being honest with the investigators.”
When the agent pointed out needed corrections to a fourth FISA application, FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith responded “We can’t send this to DOJ.” According to the New York Post, Clinesmith later pleaded guilty to doctoring an email underpinning a FISA application for Trump adviser Carter Page and received 12 months’ probation.
The whistleblower stated there was “no authority for the SCO to open a case on Tom Barrack” and that “the WFO was asked to consider opening on Barrack earlier, but opined the investigation should have been on the agent who was interacting with Barrack, not Barrack himself.” Despite this, Mueller’s team arrested and charged the Trump ally. The New York Post reported that a jury acquitted Barrack in 2022 and he now serves as US ambassador to Turkey.
The document also alleges that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe “referred to President Trump in a derogatory manner” and that prosecutors pressured agent Michelle Taylor to change the tone of an official record. Taylor refused and left the bureau shortly after.
Mueller prosecutor Zainab Ahmad allegedly “brought classified documents to a meeting at WFO without adherence to FBI security policy by bringing her classified notebook to the meeting without a proper carrying bag. What was worse, she came to WFO from her residence, meaning she kept her notebook at the residence.” The agent also witnessed “alcoholic drinks being consumed while in the SCO team area.”
Mueller’s investigation cost taxpayers over $30 million but found no evidence of Russia collusion. Special Counsel John Durham later described the probe as “seriously flawed,” per a report by The New York Post.
Grassley has requested all relevant emails, FISA applications, journals, and the “1A file including all anti-Trump drawings and caricatures” by March 29.
Grassley’s letter can be found here.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
