FBI's reputation nosedives over handling of Hunter Biden laptop story
Former Utah federal prosecutor Brett Tolman offers reaction and analysis on "The Story."
The FBI appears to be "unraveling" from the inside as allegations mount that the agency's behavior in the Hunter Biden laptop story may have violated federal law enforcement norms, a former Utah federal prosecutor told Fox News on Tuesday.
Brett Tolman told "The Story" that recent actions and overtures from within the bureau and the Justice Department are either "an unraveling … or perhaps it's damage control."
"It is no coincidence in my mind that you have the Joe Rogan interview with [Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg] that reveals that the FBI clearly made a connection of Russian disinformation in the Hunter Biden release. You then have some of the specific agents in question like Tim Thibault," he said.
Thibault, an assistant special agent-in-charge in the District of Columbia, resigned over the weekend. Thibault has been accused of instilling political bias in his handling of the Hunter Biden investigation.
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Joe Biden's brother-in-law, Jack Owens, emailed Hunter Biden, above, in 2014 to help him obtain a Chinese business license. (Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images)
Tolman suggested that reported new rules governing DOJ political appointees handed down by Attorney General Merrick Garland add to the perspective that the politicization of the FBI is "starting to get away from them."
The perception that the bureau has become unable to contain such behavior in-house may be leading the brass to make these sudden moves, he said, so that they can later claim they took care of the politicization when they found out about it.
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Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks at the Department of Justice on Jan. 5, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Carolyn Kaster-Pool/Getty Images)
"Unfortunately, it's a little too late," Tolman said, adding that the Hunter Biden investigation being undertaken by federal prosecutors in Wilmington, therefore, now appears to be the subject of "interference" from the main Justice Department in Washington.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware David Weiss, the lone Trump appointee held over by President Biden in what was seen as an attempt to preclude conflict-of-interest allegations in the Hunter Biden probe, should have "separate and exclusive authority" to prosecute the president's son without regard for the sentiments of those at the J. Edgar Hoover building, he added.
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The federal investigation into Hunter Biden and his tax affairs has reached a "critical stage," a source told Fox News, as officials are looking into whether to charge President Biden’s son with various tax violations, possible foreign lobbying violations and more. (Randy Holmes via Getty Images)
"This is cataclysmic in terms of how bad it looks and how much mistrust it is going to instill in these agencies," Tolman said.
Before Thibault's resignation, whistleblowers within the FBI had reported to Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, political bias from high-level officials within the bureau.
Thibault was named explicitly in a July letter on the matter from Grassley to FBI Director Christopher Wray.
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