WASHINGTON- Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is researching Justice Department records regarding the work history of a senior FBI official following revelations of his apparent political bias on social media. Ministry guidelines require employees to avoid even the appearance of bias, which could undermine investigations or call into question the credibility of the ministry’s work. However, Timothy Thibault, Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) at the FBI’s Washington Field Office, has been engaging and amplifying partisan content on social media, sometimes under the label of his official job title. Thibault is responsible for overseeing public corruption cases, often very sensitive, and involving political figures.
“It has come to my attention that while in a very sensitive role that includes making the threshold decision on which federal public corruption cases are opened for investigation, the Assistant Special Agent in Charge (“ASAC “) Washington Field Office Timothy Thibault, likely violated several federal regulations and Department guidelines designed to prevent political bias from infecting FBI business, including the Attorney General’s Guidelines for FBI Domestic Operations and the FBI’s social media policies…. ASAC Thibault has demonstrated a pattern of active public partisanship, such as the use of his official title for public partisan positions related to his superiors and matters within the jurisdiction of the FBI, which is likely a violation of his ethical obligations as an FBI employee,” grassley wrote in a letter today to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Chris Wray.
Grassley’s letter cited politically charged content from Thibault’s LinkedIn profile, including content directly related to Justice Department activity, where he identified himself as “Deputy Special Agent in Charge.” He also created and posted partisan content on Twitter.
Grassley also wrote to the Inspector General to request an investigation of Thibault for potential violations of rules and regulations aimed at preventing political bias from infecting FBI business.
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