FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed on Monday that the FBI will be creating a leak investigation unit to crack down on agents giving sensitive information to reporters.
WATCH:
Wray said during a hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee that he is taking the culture of leaks in the FBI seriously and will take a multi-faceted approach to prevent unauthorized relationships between agents and reporters.
The inspector general report that came out last week revealed that dozens of FBI agents were in contact with journalists despite having no official reason to talk to them. Reporters were also reportedly gifting agents with dinners, drinks, golf tickets, tickets to sporting events, and more. (RELATED: IG Report: FBI Agents Regularly Received Free Handouts From Journalists)
Such gifts could violate federal gift-giving rules. (RELATED: IG Revelations On Agent/Journo Gift-Giving Could Be Federal Crimes)
“First, we, in addition to creating a new policy to make it painfully and crystal clear so no one can have an excuse that they don’t know what the rules are…second, we’ve created a dedicated leak investigation unit inside the bureau specifically focused to ensure that those investigations have priority,” Wray explained on Monday.
Wray also promised to make penalties for leaking more severe.