DOJ Inspector General Seeking Testimony of Former FBI Agent Steve Friend, Contradicting Democrat Claims

Former FBI Special Agent Steve Friend will be interviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Inspector General’s Office in regard to allegations he made about the agency.

Last fall, Friend raised concerns about FBI handling of child sexual abuse cases. She also raised concerns about FBI arrests of people involved in the Jan. 6, 2020, breach of U.S. Capitol. Friend claimed the FBI used heavily armed SWAT squads to arrest people who were suspected of misdemeanor offenses. He objected at one SWAT raid that was conducted on Aug. 24, however.

Friend claimed that the FBI had abandoned its normal case management procedures and listed numerous field offices in the country as the lead investigators for domestic violent extremism, (DVE) cases. However, agency officials in Washington actually direct the cases. Friend claimed that the FBI pressured its agents into prioritizing these DVE cases which created a false sense of the danger posed by domestic extremists. Friend also claimed that the FBI had specifically focused on cases of child sexual abuse, and told him that such cases were not being considered. “no longer an FBI priority.”

On Monday, DOJ Assistant Inspector General Sean O’Neill responded (pdf) to a March 6 letter (pdf) by the whistleblower organization Empower Oversight, confirming the Office of the Inspector General “intends to schedule an interview with Mr. Friend regarding his disclosures.” Friend has raised allegations against the FBI through Empower Oversight.

Friend was terminated from the FBI without pay after making accusations against it. The FBI revoked Friend’s security clearance, credentials and firearm.

In February, Friend resigned as FBI agent. Just The News reported that Friend had been working without pay for 150 days before his suspension.

Democrats claim IG already dismissed the claims of a friend

Earlier this month, the Democratic minority on the House Judiciary released a report (pdf) disputing the allegations raised by Friend and two other former FBI officials, George Hill and Garret O’Boyle.

The Democratic report of March 2 disputed Republican characterizations that Hill, Friend and O’Boyle were whistleblowers. Friend and the other former FBI agents are not protected from retaliation if they don’t have whistleblower status.

“The three individuals we have met are not, in fact, ‘whistleblowers,'” According to the minority report. “These individuals, who put forward a wide range of conspiracy theories, did not present actual evidence of any wrongdoing at the Department of Justice or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).”

According to the Democrat report, Friend acknowledged that he did not know of any discussion among FBI leadership regarding a case different from the usual. “could not clearly explain why such a departure might be harmful.” The report stated that Friend had not reviewed the decision-making matrix used by SWAT teams during arrests, and also acknowledged the arrest targets for the August 24 SWAT raid he was against “were known by the FBI to be armed and dangerous.”

According to the minority report, the DOJ inspector general had rejected Friend’s claims. Empower Oversight investigated the DOJ inspector general’s handling Friend’s claims and asked whether the Democratic claims that it had dismissed Friend were valid.

“[O’Neill’s] letter corrects widely circulated false claims that the DOJ-OIG has ‘rejected’ Friend’s allegations and indicates that an interview of him will be scheduled shortly,” Empower Oversight wrote Wednesday.

Government ‘Weaponization’ Investigations

Friend and the other ex-FBI officers gave closed-door testimony to a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee on Weaponization in the Federal Government earlier this month. Chairman Jim Jordan (R. Ohio) requested further testimony from 16 former and current FBI officials. O’Boyle, Hill and Friend were all mentioned in congressional interviews.

According to the Democratic minority report, the Republican side brought forward witnesses such as Friend or the two other former FBI agents. “entirely lacking in credibility.”

“Committee Democrats thus conclude that Republicans are not running good-faith investigations,” The Democrats also added. “Instead, they are using this committee as a political messaging campaign designed ‘make sure’ that Donald Trump wins in 2024.”

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