In a recent revelation, an FBI agent known for his anti-Trump sentiments is alleged to have breached protocol, playing a pivotal role in the initiation and progression of the bureau's original investigation related to the 2020 election.
This investigation, which linked President Donald Trump to the probe without adequate justification, was brought to light by whistleblower disclosures obtained by Senator Chuck Grassley.
According to Fox News, the investigation into Trump, internally referred to as "Arctic Frost," was officially launched by the FBI on April 13, 2022. Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson, chairs of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations respectively, shared legally protected whistleblower disclosures, including internal FBI emails and predicating documents, exclusively with Fox News Digital.
The senators argue that these documents substantiate their claim that the federal election interference case against Trump was initiated by FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault. Thibault, who was dismissed from the FBI in 2024 for violating the Hatch Act with his political social media posts, had previously been accused by whistleblowers of exhibiting a "pattern of active public partisanship." This bias, they argue, likely influenced investigations involving Trump and Hunter Biden.
During the Senate Judiciary Committees confirmation hearing for Trumps nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, Grassley disclosed the existence of the whistleblower revelations. One email, reviewed by Fox News Digital, showed Thibault discussing draft opening language with a subordinate agent on February 14, 2022. This material would later form part of Special Counsel Jack Smiths elector case.
In another email, Thibault communicated with John Crabb, a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia, stating, "I had a discussion with the case team and we believe there to be predication to include former President of the United States Donald J. Trump as a predicated subject." However, sources informed Fox News Digital that Thibault was not authorized to open criminal investigations, a power reserved for special agents.
Despite this, Thibault proceeded to involve Trump in the investigation, even seeking approval from Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray to open the case. In a subsequent email, a subordinate agent, Michelle Ball, informed Thibault that Trump and others had been added as criminal subjects to the case, to which Thibault responded, "Perfect."
The email records suggest that Richard Pilger, an official in the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, reviewed and approved the FBIs Arctic Frost investigation. This approval allowed the DOJ to proceed with a full field criminal and grand jury investigation that ultimately evolved into Special Counsel Jack Smith's Trump-elector case.
In 2021, Grassley published a report expressing concerns about Pilgers record at the DOJ. He warned Attorney General Merrick Garland in July 2022 that Thibault and Pilger were "deeply involved in the decisions to open and pursue election-related investigations against President Trump." Whistleblowers informed Grassley that the Thibault-Pilger investigation's predicating document was based on information from "liberal nonprofit American Oversight."
Grassley and Johnson, in 2022, expressed concerns that Special Counsel Jack Smith was "overseeing an investigation that was allegedly defective in its initial steps and an investigation which his former subordinate [Pilger] was involved in opening." Smith, a former assistant U.S. attorney and chief to the DOJ's public integrity section, led the investigation into Trump's retention of classified documents after leaving the White House and whether the former president obstructed the federal government's investigation into the matter.
Despite being charged in both cases, Trump pleaded not guilty. The classified records case was dismissed in July 2024 by U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen Cannon, who ruled that Smith was unlawfully appointed as special counsel. Smith charged Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request.
During the confirmation hearing on Thursday, Grassley stated that he is requesting "the production of all records on this matter to better understand the full fact pattern and whether other records exist." The FBI, however, declined to comment. This case serves as a stark reminder of the importance of impartiality and adherence to protocol in investigations, particularly those involving high-profile political figures.
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