The majority of Americans distrust the FBI due to the agency’s “appearance of partiality and bias” and the “demonstrably different manner” under which some investigations are conducted, according to a former employee.
James Gagliano, a retired FBI supervisory special agent who serves on the board of directors at the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, made the comments in an opinion piece published on Fox News on Dec. 6.
Mr. Gagliano said Americans’ loss of trust and confidence in the FBI directly impacts national security.
“A staggering 63 percent view the bureau negatively—and the reasons are hidden in plain sight. Over the past few years, valid criticisms have been leveled at the partisan decision-making within upper echelons of FBI leadership,” Mr. Gagliano wrote.
The former FBI agent listed a number of incidents that he said have prompted distrust of the federal agency among Americans in recent years, including the 2016 Trump-Russia collusion investigation, which he called a “sham,” and the “heavy-handed over-charging of Trump campaign surrogates.”
Former President Donald Trump is currently facing four criminal prosecutions, including the Department of Justice’s federal election case accusing him of attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and a civil fraud trial in New York.
Mr. Gagliano also cited what he said was the “blatantly uneven treatment of right-wing and left-wing protesters and rioters,” and the FBI’s alleged labeling of concerned parents who spoke out at school board meetings as “domestic terrorists.”
FBI ‘Disinterest’ in Hunter Biden Laptop
Additionally, the former FBI supervisory special agent claimed the agency’s alleged actions “aiding Big Tech’s 2020 election suppression of information” and “seeming disinterest in Hunter Biden laptop revelations and Biden family’s obvious influence-peddling schemes” have only served to create further distrust.
FBI Director Christopher Wray on Dec. 5 evaded questions from Republican senators regarding the FBI’s handling of internal investigations of President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, amid allegations they engaged in a criminal bribery scheme.
Still, House Republican leaders expect to vote to formalize their impeachment inquiry into President Biden next week, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
The White House has repeatedly criticized that inquiry, which comes as President Biden is seeking reelection, as “illegitimate.”
Hiring Process Leading to Left-Leaning Recruits
Elsewhere, Mr. Gagliano said the FBI’s current recruitment processes aren’t helping either, with the former agency employee claiming that the FBI is adopting an increasingly diverse hiring process which results in more left-leaning recruits.
“The FBI proclaims that diversity remains ‘at the core of [its] mission.’ Same preferred diversity of which American universities clamor—race, gender, sexual orientation—all while seemingly avoiding diversity in thought,” he wrote.
“And while the FBI does not proudly promote its legacy of quotas, they have been a part of its diversification efforts dating back to at least the 1980s. A solidly conservative (and Caucasian) agent population rightly needed to be adjusted to better reflect the nation’s population. But at what cost?” Mr. Gagliano continued. “Ultimately, it translated into a system of racial preferences that unfairly rewarded less-qualified applicants for the color of their skin or gender. Certainly, no meritocracy.”
The former FBI agent concluded that the majority of Americans distrust the FBI because of the “appearance of partiality and bias,” and the way in which the agency appears to conduct various investigations differently depending on whether the “target” is a Republican or Democrat.
“As the ideological underpinnings of FBI recruits continue to swing leftward, FBI leadership needs to remain ever more vigilant to ensure trust and confidence in FBI’s impartiality is not further degraded,” Mr. Gagliano concluded. “Why does eroded trust in the FBI matter? Because part of the business is securing trust of crime victims, investigative targets, and the American public—as they all serve as the agency’s ‘eyes and ears.’”
“As calls to do away with the FBI grow louder, the FBI needs to heed these warnings. We need the FBI. But it can’t continue to whistle past the graveyard, refusing to embrace necessary reforms. To do otherwise will serve as the agency’s Waterloo,” he said.
The Epoch Times has contacted the FBI for further comment.
From The Epoch Times
