The FBI has created a special unit to deal with an “unprecedented” number of threats to prosecutors and FBI agents involved in the Hunter Biden investigation, as they face criticism for not being tough enough on the first son.
“We have formed an entire threat unit to deal with threats received by FBI employee facilities,” Jennifer L. Moore, then executive director of human resources for the FBI, told members of the House Judiciary Committee in June, according to a transcript reviewed by NBC News.
The new unit will consist of 10 agents whose “single mission every day” is to investigate “threats against FBI employees at the facility,” Moore said.
He called the number of threats and attacks on FBI agents “unprecedented,” saying, “These are numbers we’ve never had before.”
Threats against FBI agent facilities more than doubled, with more threats reported from October to March than the previous year, Moore told lawmakers.
Officials also say the threat rate spiked after the FBI began investigating former President Donald Trump last summer, and hasn’t slowed since.
The FBI agent investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings has been threatened by people who think the bureau isn’t tough enough on the firstborn.REUTERS
Only high-ranking FBI officials and prosecutors have armed protection — including special counsel Jack Smith and his team, as well as Robert Hur, the special counsel appointed to investigate classified documents found in President Biden’s home and office.
A federal prosecutor, Lesley Wolf — who was part of US Attorney David Weiss’ team investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings — received multiple credible threats after two IRS agents accused her of making decisions in favor of the first family.
He decided to seek security assistance from the US Marshals Service amid these threats, according to previously unreleased testimony from FBI officials to the House Judiciary Committee last week.
FBI agents also told the House Judiciary Committee that Laura Dehmlow, who heads the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force and has been accused by congressional Republicans of suppressing social media and news coverage of the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop, was the target of multiple threats, two congressional officials told NBC News.
Agents have also received threats for their investigation into Trump.
An agent accused of blocking the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop has reportedly been the subject of multiple threats.
Hunter Biden is being investigated by the FBI for his foreign business dealings, while his father faces an impeachment inquiry over his involvement. The Washington Post via Getty Images
An intelligence bulletin last year said the bureau was investigating an unprecedented number of threats against agents and facilities following the August 2022 raid at Mar-a-Lago.
Just days after the search, a man who had been at the Capitol riots was shot and killed when he tried to break into the Cincinnati FBI office wearing body armor and carrying a rifle.
On Thursday, the Atlanta field office also said in a statement that it was aware of threats of violence against officials in Fulton County, Ga., where Trump and 18 co-defendants face trial for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
It said, “Each and every potential threat brought to our attention is taken seriously. Individuals found responsible for making threats in violation of state and/or federal law will be prosecuted.”
Lesley Wolf — who was part of US Attorney David Weiss’ team investigating Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings — reportedly received multiple credible threats after two IRS agents accused her of making decisions in favor of the first family. Federal Attorney
Sources familiar with the matter also told NBC News that some FBI personnel have been victims of “swatting,” in which someone calls in a false report that causes armed police to rush to a home.
In some cases, threats against FBI agents have expanded to include their families, an agent involved in the Hunter Biden investigation told the House Judiciary Committee last week.
“The thing about their families, that has absolutely escalated,” Thomas Sabocinski said in a transcribed interview.
“The feeling of the workers, and especially the feeling of this family, is yes, they feel threatened.”
In a statement, Natalie Barra, president of the FBI Agents Association, a nonprofit group that supports current and retired agents, said, “FBI special agents and their families should not be threatened with violence, including for doing their job.
“This is not a partisan or political issue,” he said. “Calls for violence against law enforcement are unacceptable, and should be condemned by all leaders.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
