Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) recently sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland accusing FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault of violating FBI ethics by using his position for partisan political purposes.
Grassley alleged that Thibault used his status as an FBI agent to advance several liberal political causes, notably through posts on social media attacking the character of his superiors and discussing current FBI operations, the Washington Examiner reported. Grassley said these infractions constitute violations of both federal and state department policies, particularly attorney general policies for domestic FBI operations and FBI social media rules.
"It has come to my attention that while serving in a highly sensitive role that includes threshold decision-making over which Federal public corruption matters are opened for investigation, Assistant Special Agent in Charge ('ASAC') at the Washington Field Office, Timothy Thibault, likely violated several federal regulations and Department guidelines designed to prevent political bias from infecting FBI matters, including the Attorney General Guidelines for Domestic FBI Operations and FBI social media policies," Grassley said in a release. "ASAC Thibault has demonstrated a pattern of active public partisanship, such as using his official title for public partisan posts relating to his superiors and matters under the FBI's purview, that is likely a violation of his ethical obligations as an FBI employee."
Grassley said that Thibault liked both a LinkedIn post and a Washington Post article criticizing former Attorney General William Barr, the Washington Examiner reported. Grassley also alleged that Thibault retweeted a Lincoln Project tweet criticizing former President Donald Trump.
"Donald Trump is a psychologically broken, embittered, and deeply unhappy man," The Lincoln Project said in the tweet.
The Washington Examiner said that Thibault once replied to Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) on Twitter, calling her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, a "disgrace" in a now-deleted tweet.
Grassley alleged that these examples point to Thibault being inappropriately politically involved during his tenure as an FBI agent, the Washington Examiner reported.
"Without commenting on any specific personnel matters, all FBI employees are held to the highest standards of professional and ethical conduct," an FBI spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. "Any allegations of misconduct are taken seriously and referred to the Inspection Division."
The Washington Examiner alleged that Thibault set his Twitter account to private, hiding all his posts from view, following an attempt from the article's reporter to reach out to him for comment.
