An FBI whistleblower recently came forward and issued warnings about alleged politicization at the FBI, saying that the bureau is spying on law-abiding Americans and that many of its domestic counterterrorism cases are tantamount to “entrapment.”
Kyle Seraphin, who has spent six years in the FBI, was suspended without pay and cannot seek another job without quitting or asking for permission.
“The number of guys who say, ‘I don’t agree with what’s going on here, but I’ve got three years to retire,’ it’s heartbreaking,” he told podcast host Dan Bongino in a Sept. 22 interview.
In one instance, Seraphin said he was forced to blow the whistle last year when Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers that the Department of Justice was not targeting parents. He first provided a member of Congress with an email that was circulated within the FBI that stated Garland ordered the usage of the controversial PATRIOT Act to target parents with a tag, “EDUOFFICIALS.”
At the time, in May 2022, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mike Johnson (R-La.) alleged that the investigations involved parents who were “upset about mask mandates and state elected officials who publicly voiced opposition to vaccine mandates,” while accusing Garland of making false statements to Congress.
But of that investigation, Seraphin suggested the FBI is targeting individuals for political purposes.
“That’s when you become part of political hatchet jobs, and I didn’t sign up for that, and nobody I know signed up for that either,” Seraphin told Bongino. “That’s not what people want to get involved in.”
Later in the podcast interview, Seraphin suggested that more FBI employees will come forward in the future due to the bureau’s now-partisan nature.
At least 14 FBI whistleblowers have come forward in recent months to provide information about recent actions inside the bureau, said Jordan, on the FBI’s investigations into the Jan. 6 Capitol breach, parents at school board meetings, and Hunter Biden’s laptop.
‘Entrapment’
Also, in an interview with the Washington Times last week, Seraphin said the bureau’s investigations into domestic violent extremism, white nationalists, and right-wing extremists are mostly entrapment operations with questionable moral and ethical underpinnings.
“My team was deployed to 20 or 25 different high profile, national terrorism organization or terrorism investigations between 2018 and 2021. And what I saw, as the most obvious statement, is that there are three things about counterterrorism investigations,” he said.
Seraphin stated: “Number one, the demand for white supremacy vastly outstrips the supply of white supremacy.”
“Number two,” he added, “the FBI‘s playbook when it comes to counterterrorism investigations is always and unequivocally morally equivalent to entrapment, even if there’s a legal definition that allows them to skirt that.”
As for No. 3, Seraphin added to the Washington Times that the FBI doesn’t have an objective metric on how they prioritize cases.
“There’s an entirely ridiculous internal process for determining every single national priority,” the whistleblower said.
The Epoch Times has contacted the FBI for comment. A bureau spokesperson told the paper that his claims about entrapment lacked merit.
“This comment is inaccurate and represents a clear misunderstanding of the policy and practice in FBI investigations,” the FBI said in a statement to the outlet.
Seraphin also touched on the Aug. 8 raid targeting former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. Trump has often said that the search was political in nature and meant to harm his 2024 chances.
Recalling the search, Seraphin appeared to question the FBI agents who were involved and added that he wouldn’t participate if he were asked.
“You ask me to go raid President Obama’s house, you ask me to raid President Bush’s house, it’s not happening,” he continued. “It’s not happening. I’m sorry, it’s not happening. I’m not doing that. I’m going to be, probably pretty vocal. That’s probably going to be my last day.”