FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate, according to a protected disclosure submitted to the Office of the Inspector General by a senior FBI official, advised the agency’s internal critics of its January 6-related cases to seek employment elsewhere and offered to personally resolve their concerns.

FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate, according to a protected disclosure submitted to the Office of the Inspector General by a senior FBI official, advised the agency’s internal critics of its January 6-related cases to seek employment elsewhere and offered to personally resolve their concerns.

During a routine meeting in February 2021, according to a sworn affidavit from an FBI special agent with 15 years of experience, the deputy director allegedly addressed internal concerns that the bureau had not approached its investigations of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021 in the same manner as it had with the riots and protests surrounding the death of George Floyd.

“He had heard that some employees were contrasting the response to January 6th with the response to the post-George Floyd protests and riots in the summer of 2020,” the whistleblower alleges. “DD [Deputy Director] Abbate told the audience that anyone who questions the FBI’s response or his decisions regarding the response to January 6th did not belong in the FBI and should find a different job – or something to that effect.”

Abbate allegedly continued by emphasizing that the FBI acted ethically and that its responses to both issues were consistent.

He then “challenged all Special Agents in Charge (‘SACs’), that if they had an employee that did not agree, the SACs could have that employee call DD Abbate personally and he would set them straight,” the affidavit says.

Every Wednesday, in a typical Secure Video Teleconference (SVTC), the FBI director addresses all bureau divisions. The remark was allegedly uttered by Abbate during this meeting. According to the declaration, field office directors, foreign legal attachés, and headquarters divisions frequently attend this function.

“I have witnessed hundreds of Director SVTCs and have never seen a direct threat like that any other time,” the whistleblower asserted. “It was chilling and personal, communicating clearly that there would be consequences for anyone that questioned his direction.”

The FBI issued the following statement to Just the News:

“Throughout his 27-plus year career, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate has strongly supported the people and the work of the FBI, treating employees with dignity, compassion, and respect. He continues to proudly serve the American people and the FBI as Deputy Director. Deputy Director Abbate is going nowhere and any suggestion otherwise is baseless.”

In a letter to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz on Wednesday, the whistleblower advocacy group Empower Oversight requested that he “independently corroborate” the claims made by the whistleblower. Other FBI whistleblowers who claim political prejudice within the agency and acts of retaliation against whistleblowers are presently being represented by Empower. The affiant “does not know and is not associated” with Empower’s other clients, the company emphasized.

Special Agent Stephen Friend, a client of Empower, had voiced concerns regarding the bureau’s alleged manipulation of crime statistics, its handling of the defendants in the January 6 incident, and its use of SWAT teams. Moreover, he asserts that he was suspended by the FBI because he raised concerns about these matters.

More on this story via The Republic Brief:

The group also wrote to important legislative figures to request that they investigate the allegations and hold Abbate accountable. CONTINUE READING…