Senior FBI Official Accepted Dinners & Fancy Event Invitations from Media, Violating Ethics Policies
A former senior FBI official reportedly got too chummy with the fake news media, violating FBI ethics policies during a time in history when media leaks were common at the FBI.
The Federalist (among others) reported that the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found a former senior official, who is now retired, accepted numerous gifts from members of the media without prior authorization.
“The OIG also found that the Senior FBI Official violated federal regulations and FBI policy when the Senior FBI Official accepted tickets from members of the media to two black tie dinner events, one valued at $225 and the other valued at $300, and received transportation to one event from a reporter, all without prior authorization,” the OIG report said.
The report “substantiated the allegation that the Senior FBI Official had numerous unauthorized contacts with the media from 2014 through 2016, in violation of FBI policy.”
“The large number of FBI employees who were in contact with journalists during this time period impacted our ability to identify the sources of leaks,” the report found.
A limited number of FBI officials are authorized to speak to the media, however, the report found that many officials had unauthorized relationships with media outlets. These unauthorized relations, the report concluded, violated the FBI’s ethics policies.
“For example, we identified instances where FBI employees received tickets to sporting events from journalists, went on golfing outings with media representatives, were treated to drinks and meals after work by reporters, and were the guests of journalists at nonpublic social events,” the report said.
“When later contacted by the OIG for a voluntary interview, the Senior FBI Official declined to be interviewed. The OIG has the authority to compel testimony from current Department employees upon informing them that their statements will not be used to incriminate them in a criminal proceeding. The OIG does not have the authority to compel or subpoena testimony from former Department employees, including those who retire or resign during the course of an OIG investigation,”
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