Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) joined other members of Congress in calling for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to investigate reports from an FBI audit. The audit released earlier in the month shows a troubling trend of mistakes and errors made by FBI agents tasked with sensitive investigations. These investigations involve politicians, news media, religious groups, and other individuals or groups that carry certain protections under the Constitution.Â
According to a March 31 press release from Senator Cruz, the FBI must meet specific compliance standards when conducting these types of investigations to avoid misuse of the substantial power the law enforcement agency possesses, which it reportedly failed to do.
“As the report details, of the 997 non-compliance errors made, 79% were substantial in nature, meaning they were ‘of significance to the matter and…more than a minor deviation from a … requirement,'” Cruz said in a statement. “Notably among those is the failure to obtain authorization in opening an investigation, which is about as radical as it gets. Further, several portions of the audit, including those regarding investigative methods, search warrants, and recommendations, were redacted, presumably to shelter the FBI from public criticism.”
The audit was conducted internally and was first reported by the Washington Times, which received a heavily redacted version through Freedom of Information Act requests. The audit was completed in 2019 and related to investigations that occurred for an 18-month period beginning in 2018. The audit does not specify who was investigated or whether the investigations were politically motivated but does show that 191 of the 343 cases examined involved domestic political candidates, with ten cases involving elected officials and eleven cases involving news media outlets.Â
Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are calling for further investigations into the matter. While the exact nature of the rule-breaking is not entirely clear, the audit shows that field agents opened investigations without approval, did not follow standard legal procedures while conducting investigations, and did not report to superiors about ongoing investigations.Â
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent letters to the FBI director Chris Wray. They requested a further audit and investigation by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General to get additional information about the rule-breaking behavior.Â
“These widespread and apparently systemic violations of approval and notification requirements make clear that the FBI has failed to rigorously adhere to the Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG),” Durbin and Grassley wrote. “The sheer number of FBI investigations that failed to comply with the DIOG’s rules suggests a pattern and practice of evading the rules, which consequently opens the door for political and other improper considerations to infect the investigative decision-making process.”
U.S. House representatives are also calling for additional investigations to ensure that the pattern of rule-breaking is put to an end.Â
“We need to dispel the absurd but prevalent misconception that the FBI is an independent agency accountable to no one or even capable of self-policing,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said according to the Charlie Kirk Show. “They are part of the executive branch, and the president should fire any director who tolerates this level of malfeasance.”
Investigate, not adhering to the rule of law is nothing to scoff at! The public must know that they can trust our government agencies! It is past time to clean house!