It has been recently revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) threatened agents who questioned the bureau’s investigation into the Capitol protests of Jan. 6, 2021.
According to an FBI whistleblower, Deputy Director Paul Abbate threatened to fire agents and other employees of the agency who said there were contrasts in the responses to the U.S. Capitol protests on Jan. 6, 2021, and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) riots in 2020.
An FBI whistleblower has revealed to Congress that Deputy Director Paul Abbate threatened to fire agents and other bureau employees who said there were disparities in the responses to the U.S. Capitol riot in 2021 and the George Floyd riots in 2020.https://t.co/8VrkGiasx4
— Washington Times Opinion (@WashTimesOpEd) June 26, 2023
In an affidavit delivered to Congress, the whistleblower alleges that Abbate made the threats during a video teleconference with the special agents in charge of the FBI’s 56 field offices. Abbate told the supervisors that several agents were questioning the bureau’s investigative response towards the Jan. 6 prisoners who protested at the Capitol in 2021.
“Abbate told the audience that anyone who questions the FBI’s response or his decisions regarding the response to Jan. 6 did not belong in the FBI and should find a different job — or something to that effect,” according to the affidavit.
In a letter, the whistleblower’s lawyer, Tristan Leavitt, explained, “Abbate had heard that some employees were contrasting the FBI’s response to Jan. 6 with its failure to protect federal personnel and property, or to aggressively investigate interstate conspiracies and resulting damage, during the civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.”
The FBI defended Abbate regarding the allegations mentioned in the affidavit.
“Throughout his 27-plus year career, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate has strongly supported the people and the work of the FBI, treating employees with dignity, compassion, and respect,” The FBI told The Washington Times.
“Employees are free to take any concerns they have to FBI leaders, including the Deputy Director. Any suggestion Deputy Abbate threatened employees who disagreed about the handling of January 6 cases is categorically false,” the bureau added.
Leavitt said Abbate followed through with his threats, as is alleged by multiple other FBI employees who were fired.
The affidavit and the letter were recently sent to the House Judiciary Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus, and Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz.
