FBI official was warned after Jan. 6 that some in the bureau were 'sympathetic' to the Capitol rioters
Category: News & Politics
Via: jbb • 2 years ago • 16 commentsBy: Ryan J. Reilly and Ken Dilanian (NBC News)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Link copied Oct. 14, 2022, 3:38 PM UTC By Ryan J. Reilly and Ken Dilanian
WASHINGTON — A week after the Jan. 6 attack, an email landed in a top FBI official's inbox expressing concern that some bureau employees might not be particularly motivated to help bring to justice the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol and threatened lawmakers' lives.
"There's no good way to say it, so I'll just be direct: from my first-hand and second-hand information from conversations since January 6th there is, at best, a sizable percentage of the employee population that felt sympathetic to the group that stormed the Capitol," and that it was no different than the Black Lives Matter protests of the summer of 2020, the person wrote in an email to Paul Abbate, who is now the No. 2 official at the bureau. "Several also lamented that the only reason this violent activity is getting more attention is because of 'political correctness.'"
The email, recently disclosed publicly in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, reflects an issue that's been hanging over the Jan. 6 investigation since it began: the notion that there are some in the bureau who weren't, and aren't, particularly driven to bring cases against the Capitol rioters.
Members of the FBI SWAT team patrol the Longworth House Office Building after a joint session of Congress to certify the votes of the 2020 presidential election on Jan. 6, 2021.Erin Scott / Bloomberg via Getty Images file
The content of the full email, which includes a reference to "my first unit," coupled with the fact that Abbate replied suggests that the sender, whose name is redacted, was likely someone plugged into the bureau or a former agent. The email was labeled external, indicating it was not sent from an active bureau account.
"I literally had to explain to an agent from a 'blue state' office the difference between opportunists burning and looting during protests that stemmed legitimate grievance to police brutality vs. an insurgent mob whose purpose was to prevent the execution of democratic processes at the behest of a sitting president," the person wrote to Abbate. "One is a smattering of criminals, the other is an organized group of domestic terrorists."
The person also wrote that an official in one FBI office in a "red state" said that more than 70% of that office's counterterrorism squad and about three-quarters of its agent population disagreed with the violence, "but could understand where the frustration was coming from."
In his response, Abbate wrote: "Thank you [redacted] for sharing everything below."
When he received the email, Abbate was the associate deputy director in charge of all FBI personnel, budget, administration and infrastructure. The next month, he was named deputy director, the highest-ranking official under FBI Director Christopher Wray.
The FBI declined to comment on the email.
Brian O'Hare, president of the FBI Agents Association, said his organization "does not comment on ongoing investigations," but added that, "FBI Agents understand the importance of separating their own personal views from their professional work."
Despite the apparent Jan. 6 tension in the bureau, the FBI has had major successes in what officials have repeatedly described as an unprecedented investigation. More than 850 defendants have been arrested on charges ranging from misdemeanor parading to felony seditious conspiracy. So far, the investigation has had a flawless track record before juries.
FBI special agents have extracted confessions from rioters, including one who drove a stun gun into the neck of a police officer abducted by the mob, and have given compelling testimony about responding on Jan. 6 and escorting tearful lawmakers back into the building that evening.
But sources close to the investigation have told NBC News that there have been some special agents in the country who have resisted Jan. 6 cases. Many special agents have been very proactive, while others in various field offices have engaged in half-hearted investigative efforts and seem content to let things peter out, the sources said.
"There are definitely varying degrees of enthusiasm from agents across the country," one source close to the investigation said. The source said it was "disappointing" to see a "lackluster response" from some special agents, while noting that there were many at the FBI who did their job regardless of politics.
Secret Service received multiple warnings of threats to Capitol, lawmakers before Jan. 6
Oct. 13, 202207:56
Some of the internal resistance at the FBI has gone public.
Steve Friend, an FBI special agent from Florida, was praised as "patriotic" by Republican lawmakers after he was suspended not long after telling a superior he was "going to refuse to participate in any J6 cases." As NBC News has reported, Friend chose to make his stand by objecting to the arrest of a member of a militia with ties to a former congressional candidate in Florida.
After receiving support from 30 former FBI special agents, Friend joined Trump's Truth Social platform this week, where he was welcomed by Kyle Seraphin, another suspended FBI special agent who joined Truth Social and did an interview with conservative firebrand Dan Bongino after his suspension. Seraphin has written that the Jan. 6 cases keep him awake at night, and promoted a fundraiser for a Jan. 6 legal defense fund.
Seraphin himself, in a video posted online, said that he was at a shooting range with local law enforcement officials when the Jan. 6 attack happened, and thought that a bunch of "goofballs" were behind the attack.
"We were laughing about it, and there's no other way to say it," he said. "We were literally laughing, people were cracking up, you know, somebody has Nancy Pelosi's podium. Is that the way that our country is supposed to act? No, but these were a bunch of clowns, that's not what an insurrection looks like to me."
In another message on Truth Social, Seraphin said he had "literally hundreds of employees" standing behind him. "You'll only see me. But you will hear them. And we aren't happy."
The email sent to Abbate was released the same day the House Jan. 6 committee held its ninth public hearing and shed light on some of the warning signs the FBI received ahead of the attack on the Capitol. The committee revealed the FBI had briefed the Secret Service on Jan. 5 that right-wing groups were establishing armed "quick reaction forces" and said groups like the Oath Keepers were "standing by at the ready should POTUS request assistance." Those revelations line up with information that has come out in the ongoing Oath Keepers trial.
A tip the FBI received about the Proud Boys ahead of Jan. 6, highlighted by the committee, was even starker.
"Their plan is to literally kill people. Please please take this tip seriously and investigate further," the December 2020 tip stated.
Frank Figliuzzi, a former FBI official and NBC News contributor, said on MSNBC on Thursday that it should be abundantly clear to FBI employees that the attack on the Capitol during the certification of the Electoral College vote was a very serious matter.
"If a FBI employee can't understand the difference between Black Lives Matter violence and an attempt to overthrow the government and stop a valid election," he said, "then they need to find another job."
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a justice reporter for NBC News.
Ken Dilanian
Ken Dilanian is the justice and intelligence correspondent for NBC News, based in Washington.
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Back in reality, the FBI is a very conservative agency.
Secret Service received multiple warnings of threats to Capitol, lawmakers before Jan. 6
And the law makers did nothing to prepare
Like Pelosi refusing Trump's offers of additional security? Yeah.
Much if not all of that depends upon which talking heads you have enough faith in to believe and to regurgitate.
There is no record of former President Donald Trump officially authorizing 20,000 National Guard troops for the U.S. Capitol ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
There is no evidence that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denied such an authorization, and experts said she doesn’t have the authority to do so in the first place.
A Vanity Fair report said Trump made a passing remark to his acting defense secretary about potentially needing 10,000 National Guard troops, not 20,000. But there’s no evidence the comment was treated as a formal authorization.
Thank-you, Pat for providing facts
I know they can be pesky but they are [important...deleted]
[deleted]
Where did I use Vanity Fair ?
Politifact is listed as center left on MBFC but, bottom line, facts are facts.
Please see comment 1.1.3 :
With some 35,000 employees the FBI likely reflects the general population.
Which is the reason the FBI became an arm of the Democrat Party. Taking Hillary's Steele Dossier which they knew was fake- and using it to get FISA warrants to spy on Trump.
It is also the reason the FBI conducted a raid in which they grabbed material, including some of Melina's dresses (must be Hoover wannabes), that had jack shit of nothing to do with what they were looking for. All at the behest of the same Democrat DOJ, and overly partisan Garland.
It is also the reason that members standing up to the witch hunt the Democrat DOJ and overly partisan AG have them on against Jan 6th rioters are being fired.
Reality doesn't match leftist bullshit.
Spin the fuck away. No one is believing your shit anymore.
You aren't supposed to mention ANY of that. It makes the left cry.
Were Garland so "overly partisan" as you are so wont to claim he would have charged DJT by now.
It makes me laugh.
Garland got the memo from the DNC that they would really like Joe Biden to run against Trump again in 2024.
In other words, slow walking the criminal charges is the partisan thing to do.
Letitia James is the only Democrat doing her job with regard to prosecuting Trump as far as I can tell.
The coup, second time around, is going to look a lot different.