Audit Finds FBI Routinely Breaks Rules When Targeting Political Figures

A 2019 internal review of FBI procedures found agents routinely violated major rules when investigating “politicians, candidates, religious groups, news media and others,” The Washington Times reports.

A review of 353 cases involving political, news or religious figures over an 18-month period found 747 instances of agents ignoring or breaking rules intended to maintain the integrity of investigations.

“These errors included agents’ failure to obtain approval from senior FBI officials to start an investigation, failure to document a necessary legal review before opening an investigation and failure to tell prosecutors what they were doing,” the Times reports.

“A majority of the cases studied, 191, involved domestic public officials. Dozens of cases involved religious organizations or their prominent members, and dozens of cases involved domestic political organizations and individuals. Ten cases involved domestic political candidates, and 11 cases involved news media,” the Times reports.

The audit was revealed in a lawsuit brought by the libertarian Cato Institute.

Shockingly, the Times reports “35 full investigations and four preliminary investigations did not have the approval of an FBI special agent in charge.”

“When they open investigations without authorization, to me, that’s about as radical as it gets,” said Cato Institute senior fellow Patrick Eddington.

The audit was revealed after one Justice Department official pleaded guilty to falsifying a warrant in a case involving former President Donald Trump, and as Texas Democrat Congressman Henry Cuellar, who is critical of President Joe Biden’s border policies, was raided by FBI agents just weeks before his Democrat primary election.

While the report does not identify which investigations were involved, it covers investigations conducted between Jan. 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019.  In 2018 and 2019 three sitting or former members of Congress were convicted on federal charges, all conservative Republicans.

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AmericanActionNews.com

Michael Brigham

Michael Brigham has written for American Action News since the summer of 2019. His areas of expertise include foreign affairs, government, and politics, but regardless of the subject matter, he has a nose and an insatiable appetite for news. In his free time, he enjoys reading nonfiction, watching a mix of comedies and true crime documentaries, and spending time away from the swamp hiking in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.