The following is from Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).

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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) are requesting Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel investigate potential criminal leaks to the media of sensitive and classified information ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The senators are also requesting Bondi and Patel investigate former Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault and his associates’ potential breach of FBI information-sharing policies. Legally protected whistleblower disclosures reveal Thibault shared sensitive, non-public investigative information from his FBI email account with a private citizen with whom he was romantically involved.

“The FBI repeatedly lectures Congress, without any legitimate basis, that it can’t share information with Congress because the matter is an ongoing investigation. The FBI has asserted to Congress that [For Official Use Only] information and FBI email accounts and personnel names should remain non-public. Yet, here, Thibault sent all of that type of information to a private citizen while the FBI stiff-arms Congress and the American people.

Thibault’s conduct exemplifies the FBI’s ‘do as I say, not as I do’ hypocrisy and why its repeated complaints to Congress when it makes government information public should fall on deaf ears”

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).

Grassley and Johnson pointed to news reporting released shortly before the November 2024 election containing potentially “classified U.S. intelligence” as a further example of DOJ and FBI officials sharing non-public investigative information while ignoring congressional requests for the same. Accordingly, the senators are requesting DOJ and FBI open a criminal media leak investigation to hold accountable those responsible for sharing potentially classified and other sensitive information with the press.

The senators also made public an award given to Special Agent Walter Giardina, an FBI employee who worked on aspects of the Mueller and Jack Smith investigations, which he received for investigating Trump.

Read the full letter and attached legally protected whistleblower disclosures here.

Read the February 25 letter from Senators Grassley and Johnson to Attorney General Bondi and FBI Director Patel below.

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February 25, 2025

The Honorable Pamela Bondi
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530

The Honorable Kash Patel
Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20535

Dear Attorney General Bondi and Director Patel,

Based on legally protected whistleblower disclosures and public reporting, we request that the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation open a criminal investigation into leaks of potentially classified U.S. intelligence before the 2024 presidential election. These leaks appear to have been intended to influence the election by providing selective, non-public information to media outlets.

In addition, whistleblower disclosures indicate that former Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault may have violated FBI policies by improperly sharing sensitive, non-public investigative information from his FBI email account with a private citizen with whom he was romantically involved. We request that your agencies investigate whether Thibault or any of his associates violated federal law or FBI information-sharing policies.

As you are aware, the FBI has often refused to provide requested documents and information to Congress, citing ongoing investigations and the need to maintain the confidentiality of official records. However, it appears that in this case, at least one FBI official had no hesitation in sharing sensitive investigative information outside of proper channels. This double standard undermines public trust and raises serious concerns about the integrity of FBI investigations.

The leaking of classified intelligence to the media is a serious federal offense, and those responsible must be held accountable. We urge your agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into these matters and provide us with updates on your findings.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley
Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary

Ron Johnson
Ranking Member
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations

The post (READ) FBI accused of leaking classified intel before 2024 election appeared first on Sharyl Attkisson.

 

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