Jan6: The American Gulag

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https://www.theepochtimes.com/fbi-is-now-a-weaponized-apparatchik-of-the-presidential-administration-whistleblower_5129425.html

https://empowr.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023-03-06-Empower-to-DOJ-OIG-1.pdf

FBI Is Now a ‘Weaponized Apparatchik’ of the Presidential
Administration: Whistleblower

There’s a growing divide between the rank-and-file officers of the FBI
and upper management, according to FBI agent-turned-whistleblower
Steve Friend, and it’s those at the top who are pushing a political
agenda.

“I spent close to nine years in the FBI, spent a good chunk of my time
just keeping my head down and working the cases in front of me,”
Friend noted in a March 14 interview with NTD News, The Epoch Times’
sister outlet.

“There are a lot of agents that sort of share that sentiment and just
want to drive the mission forward. Unfortunately, there’s a big
disconnect between the rank-and-file and the management class, and as
you climb that ladder, it’s tending to become more and more
political.”

The evidence, Friend said, could be seen in the bureau’s disparate
treatment of pro-life activists—like Mark Houck, whose home was raided
by the FBI over an altercation outside of a Planned Parenthood—and
pro-abortion activists, like those who protested outside of Supreme
Court justices’ homes and were never investigated.

“I think there’s an argument to be made that the FBI has now just
become a weaponized apparatchik of the presidential administration,”
he added, holding that public trust in the agency has diminished
largely as a result of the perception of political bias.
Blowing the Whistle

Friend—now a senior fellow at the Center for Renewing
America—previously worked as a special agent in the FBI’s
Jacksonville, Florida, office, but was suspended from the agency after
he came forward last September with concerns about how the bureau was
handling child sexual abuse cases and allegations that cases were
being inappropriately assigned.

Friend had also objected to the FBI’s use of SWAT teams to arrest
individuals suspected of committing misdemeanors during the Jan. 6
Capitol breach.

According to a March 6 letter (pdf) written by whistleblower
organization Empower Oversight, Friend was informed in December by the
Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
that, “after careful consideration,” the OIG had decided against
opening an investigation into his allegations.

However, on March 16, DOJ Assistant Inspector General Sean O’Neill
responded that DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz “still intends
to schedule an interview with Mr. Friend regarding his disclosures.”
Views on Jan. 6

Prior to his suspension, Friend was involved in investigations
relating to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach—an incident he said could only
be fully understood through “radical transparency.”

“I’m hoping that this slow drip of surveillance footage is just
eventually abandoned, and we just get the whole amount of it,” he
said, alluding to the recent exposés aired by Fox News’ Tucker
Carlson.

“There’s no reason why it should be leaked out slowly because that
just gives cannon fodder to both sides to accuse the other of
cherry-picking their information.”

As for his views on the events of that day, Friend said he thought the
incident involved a “mixed bag” of people who did some “deplorable and
abhorrent” things and should be held accountable and those who were
just there to exercise their First Amendment rights.

And the Capitol Police, he noted, did appear to give protesters
permission to enter the building.

“Whether or not the Capitol Police were trying to deescalate the
situation doesn’t mitigate the fact that they gave permission to those
folks and assured them that they were within the law to walk through
the Capitol peacefully and admire the House of Representatives and the
Senate.”
The Oath ‘Has to Mean Something’

Given the stresses of the internal conflict between the rank-and-file
officers and leadership, Friend noted that some officers might be
tempted to keep quiet about misconduct at the bureau until they can
collect their pensions and leave.

But that temptation, he said, should not supersede their oath of office.

“You swear an oath in the very beginning, and that has to mean
something at the end of the day,” he said. “I stood up and I swore an
oath before God, my family, and my colleagues that I was going to
protect the Constitution and my fellow countrymen. And I joined the
FBI to do the work of the FBI, not to retire from the FBI.”

As for others on the inside looking to speak out, Friend encouraged
them to do so—but smartly.

“You should look into the proper whistleblowing procedures and make
sure your concerns are brought forward. And hopefully, the select
committee looking at government weaponization will protect
whistleblowers, so that you’re not going to have to sacrifice that
career.”

The Epoch Times has contacted the FBI for comment.