{"id":14716,"date":"2024-01-27T00:46:18","date_gmt":"2024-01-27T00:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/27\/ex-fbi-official-who-shut-down-hunter-biden-lines-of-investigation-violated-hatch-act-with-anti-trump-posts\/"},"modified":"2024-01-27T00:46:18","modified_gmt":"2024-01-27T00:46:18","slug":"ex-fbi-official-who-shut-down-hunter-biden-lines-of-investigation-violated-hatch-act-with-anti-trump-posts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/27\/ex-fbi-official-who-shut-down-hunter-biden-lines-of-investigation-violated-hatch-act-with-anti-trump-posts\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-FBI official who shut down Hunter Biden lines of investigation violated Hatch Act with anti-Trump posts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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EXCLUSIVE: <\/strong>The U.S. Office of Special Counsel determined a former FBI official violated the Hatch Act in his political posts on social media \u2014 the same official whistleblowers claimed had shown a \u2018pattern of active public partisanship\u2019 which \u2018likely affected\u2019 investigations involving former President Trump and Hunter Biden.<\/p>\n

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, had referred former Washington, D.C., Field Office FBI assistant special agent in charge Timothy Thibault amid allegations that he engaged in prohibited political activity on social media for investigation.<\/p>\n

Grassley\u2019s calls for investigation came after whistleblowers approached his office alleging Thibault was instrumental in the opening of the elector investigation into the Trump campaign and its associates based, in part, on information from a left-aligned organization.<\/p>\n

The whistleblowers alleged that Thibault did so by \u2018circumventing normal process and procedure to open full field investigations.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

Grassley had learned through whistleblowers that Thibault\u2019s opening memo calling for a full investigation, which was ultimately approved by FBI Director Chris Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland, allegedly \u2018scrubbed and diluted\u2019 details of the sources\u2019 political bias.<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital also had previously reported that Thibault \u2018ordered closed\u2019 an avenue of \u2018derogatory Hunter Biden reporting\u2019 in October 2020.\u2019 At the time, Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson were investigating Hunter Biden\u2019s business dealings. Hunter Biden also was under federal investigation at the time\u2013an investigation beginning in 2018.<\/p>\n

The FBI ultimately removed Thibault from his post as an assistant special agent in charge. He later resigned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a letter the Office of Special Counsel sent to Grassley this week.<\/p>\n

\u2018This letter responds to your request that the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, and Federal Bureau of Investigation investigate former FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault and allegations that he engaged in prohibited political activity on social media,\u2019 the letter states, noting that the Office of Special Counsel has \u2018exclusive jurisdiction over civil Hatch Act matters,\u2019 and that Grassley\u2019s investigative referral was passed on to its office.<\/p>\n

\u2018Although Mr. Thibault has left government service, we completed our investigation and concluded that he violated the Hatch Act,\u2019 the OSC wrote.<\/p>\n

The Hatch Act governs the political activity of all federal civilian executive branch employees and prohibits them from using their official authority or or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election; knowingly soliciting, accepting, or receiving political contributions from any person; being candidates for public office in partisan elections; and knowingly soliciting or discouraging the political activity of any individual with business before their employing office.<\/p>\n

The Hatch Act also prohibits employees from engaging in political activity while on duty, in a federal room or building, wearing an official uniform or insignia, or using a government vehicle.<\/p>\n

The OSC explained that employees in agencies like the FBI are \u2018further restricted\u2019 and \u2018prohibited\u2019 from participating in partisan political management and campaigning by engaging in activity that is \u2018in concert\u2019 with a political party, partisan political group or candidate for partisan political office.<\/p>\n

OSC explained that when applied to social media, employees are restricted from sharing or retweeting messages from partisan political groups because \u2018like traditional leafletting, social media communications also promote the group\u2019s message.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

With regard to Thibault\u2019s social media activity, the OSC reviewed his posts on Twitter, now X, and LinkedIn.<\/p>\n

One post was from July 2020, in which Thibault retweeted a post from the Lincoln Project. OSC described the group as a \u2018hybrid political action committee, which is considered a partisan political group.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018The Lincoln Project\u2019s tweet included an article from The Atlantic entitled, \u2018Donald Trump is a Broken Man,\u2019\u2019 the OSC states.<\/p>\n

\u2018By retweeting the Lincoln Project\u2019s message, Mr. Thibault engaged in modern-day leafletting on social media,\u2019 the OSC determined, while noting that even though Thibault was \u2018on leave\u2019 at the time he retweeted the post, the Hatch Act prohibits all employees, \u2018even when they are off duty and away from work.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Accordingly, because Mr. Thibault shared a message from a partisan political group on Twitter, OSC has conduced that he acted in concert with a partisan political group, in violation of the Hatch Act,\u2019 OSC determined.<\/p>\n

\u2018Mr. Thibault has been warned that if in the future he engaged in activity prohibited by the Hatch Act while employed in a Hatch Act-covered position, OSC would consider such activity to be a willful and knowing violation of the law that could result in disciplinary action,\u2019 OSC wrote.<\/p>\n

The letter was signed by Ana Galindo-Marrone, the chief of the Hatch Act Unit in the U.S. Office of Special Counsel.<\/p>\n

Grassley told Fox News Digital that the American people \u2018deserve to have confidence that the officials entrusted to lead the top echelon of our federal law enforcement agencies are not letting political bias infect their work.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018These federal employees should not blur their official business with their political viewpoints,\u2019 Grassley stressed, telling Fox News Digital that OSC confirmed that Thibault \u2018failed to meet that standard.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019ve warned that this sort of political bias will erode public confidence in the FBI,\u2019 Grassley told Fox News Digital. \u2018It\u2019s up to the bureau to restore that trust through transparency and cooperation with congressional oversight.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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