Retired FBI Agent Knocks Down Right-Wing Narrative He ‘Suppressed’ Hunter Biden Investigation After Wild Trump Allegations
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Timothy Thibault found himself at the center of a right-wing firestorm this week after he announced his resignation from the FBI last Friday.
On Monday, FoxNews.com ran a headline blaring, “FBI agent accused of political bias, suppressing Hunter Biden laptop leaves the bureau.”
The next day, former President Donald Trump got in on the action, slamming the FBI with inflammatory social media posts Tuesday.
“The fired agent who was just escorted out of the FBI headquarters is the person who got the FBI to do a Raid on a home, Mar-a-Lago, that has ‘stirred’ the World and created anger and hostility toward the FBI and DOJ the likes of which have perhaps never been seen in our Country before,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social.
Trump added, “The ‘Special Agent’ In Charge of the unprecedented and unnecessary Raid and Break In of Mar-a-Lago, who concealed the partisan nature of evidence to secure the FBI’s approval to open an investigation into the 45th President in the first place, was also involved in the hiding and suppressing from the Public and the Media, the ‘Laptop from Hell,’ the 2020 Presidential Election Scam, and so much more!”
FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Thibault “was walked out of the building on Friday, which is standard procedure, per the source,” reported Fox News in its article.
While Trump never addressed Thibault by name, to whom the former president was referring was certainly clear.
Thibault’s counsel at Morrison & Foerster LLP released a letter soon after addressing Trump’s wild accusations and systematically shot them down.
The letter began by arguing “there have been a number of inaccurate media stories and allegations on social media about our client.”
“On August 26, 2022, Mr. Thibault (pronounced TEE-bow) voluntarily retired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mr. Thibault was not fired, not forced to retire, and not asked to retire,” the letter continues, taking aim at Trump’s allegation the agent was fired.
“On his last day, as part of his processing, Mr. Thibault turned in his security badge and walked with two long-time special agent friends through the field office to finish processing his paperwork. He walked out of the building by himself. Claims to the contrary are false,” the letter adds, knocking down another accusation.
The statement continues with an explanation of the timing surrounding Thibault’s retirement and a brief overview of his service at the bureau:
Mr. Thibault was eligible for retirement and informed his supervisors about a month ago that he intended to retire, following more than 30 years of devoting himself to the protection of the American people and to upholding the Constitution of the United States in a nonpartisan fashion. This included nearly two decades leading and supervising investigations into public corruption by members of both political parties, such as investigations that led to the convictions of Congressmen William Jefferson and Jesse Jackson, Jr. During his tenure at the FBI, Mr. Thibault received more than a dozen awards, including the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service, one of the Department of Justice’s highest honors.
The letter then goes on to note that Thibault, who until recently had served as the special agent in charge at the FBI’s Washington Field Office, was cooperating with investigations into allegations surrounding his conduct.
“There have been allegations that Mr. Thibault’s social media posts potentially violated the Hatch Act, and those allegations are being investigated by the Office of Special Counsel,” the letter adds.
FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Congressional hearing earlier this month that allegations Thibault “liked” social media posts critical of Trump allies was “troubling.” Wray also vowed to be “scrupulous in our adherence to rules related to whistleblowers.”
Thibault was first accused of political bias by Sen. Chuck Grassley who said whistleblowers had come forward alleging “an avenue of derogatory Hunter Biden reporting was ordered closed” by Thibault.
“[T]he allegations provided to my office appear to indicate that there was a scheme in place among certain FBI officials to undermine derogatory information connected to Hunter Biden by falsely suggesting it was disinformation,” Grassley claimed in a letter in October of 2020.
“Mr. Thibault is cooperating with that investigation, urges the Office to complete its review, and expects to be fully exonerated,” the letter continued, adding:
There have also been allegations that Mr. Thibault took certain actions in investigations for partisan political reasons. Mr. Thibault welcomes any investigation of these false allegations, regardless of his retirement. He firmly believes that any investigation will conclude that his supervision, leadership and decision making were not impacted by political bias or partisanship of any kind. He is confident that all of his decisions were consistent with the FBI’s highest standards for ethics and integrity.
The letter then offers a fact set aimed at debunking various narratives surrounding Thibault:
To further set the record straight:
1. Mr. Thibault was not involved in the search at Mar-a-Lago, either in its planning or its execution.
2. Mr. Thibault did not supervise the investigation of Hunter Biden, which, as confirmed by the FBI Director on August 4, 2022, is being handled by the Baltimore Field Office. In particular, Mr. Thibault was not involved in any decisions related to any laptop that may be at issue in that investigation, and he did not seek to close the investigation.
