If you thought the ranks of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were tough to join, it turns out that FBI Director Kash Patel has a message for you: It’s no big deal if you’ve broken the law in the past, even if you engaged in prostitution, had sex with an animal, or stole from a previous employer.
CBS News journalists Sarah N. Lynch and Daniel Klaidman report that the FBI fears it has been too strict with its hiring rules and may be losing potential agents who merely made a mistake in the past.
“In June, the FBI quietly lowered some of the standards it uses when it conducts background checks on would-be federal agents and other personnel. According to multiple sources briefed on the matter, the FBI did so to facilitate hiring in some cases, even if candidates acknowledged they engaged in sexually deviant activities or stole from an employer.”
“The move comes as the FBI has lost scores of employees through firings, retirements and resignations since the start of the Trump administration.”
When it comes to the having sex with an animal, the FBI is willing to overlook anything that took place before the person turned 18, meaning that roll in the hay with Fluffy or Fido was just a childish bit of experimentation instead of a criminal act in all 50 states.
Former FBI agent James Davidson, who now leads the nonprofit FBI Integrity Project, said changing the standard is a big mistake.
“Bestiality is clearly a potential indication of a more serious emotional issue, and even in a circumstance where it is not, the pool of candidates should be extensive enough that the criteria should certainly not be eliminated,” he said.
According to Patel, it makes no sense for the FBI to exclude so many potential candidates.
“We are losing too many qualified candidates to the rigors of the requirements from yesteryear.
“We’ve never had recruiting numbers and application numbers this high in the history of the bureau. We’re not reducing our standards — we’re actually making it harder. You’ve got to be fit to be an FBI agent.”
Yes, as long as you’re physically fit, it doesn’t matter if you fooled around with a goat way back when. All that matters is you can pass the physical and try to stay away from the nearest farm or pasture.
The real reason the FBI is short of agents is because so many have been forced out by the administration because they were part of investigations into so-called “President” Donald Trump or members of his administration.
“Some of the agents and analysts who have been fired were assigned to cases that the Trump administration disliked, such as those pertaining to the investigations into President Trump’s retention of classified documents and efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.”
“After driving out thousands of career employees, DOJ has struggled to fill those positions for many reasons — including the fact that no one wants to be ordered to conduct politically driven investigations that are often unethical, illegal or unconstitutional,” said Stacey Young, a former Justice Department attorney who now runs the nonprofit advocacy group Justice Connection.
The FBI used to be the premier law enforcement agency on the globe. But with Trump and Patel at the helm, it’s going to be rife with crooks, sexual deviants, and other undesirables, much like the current resident at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
