The FBI is reducing hiring standards to the point where it is considering overweight applicants and hiring barely literate agents, a group of current and former FBI agents and analysts allege.
In a report delivered to the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees, the FBI officials describe how Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is being prioritized in the hiring process to the point where standards are being reduced for physical fitness, drug usage, finances, mental health, experience and integrity, the report states. (RELATED: Empower Oversight Accuses FBI Of Illegal Retaliation Against Suspended Whistleblower Marcus Allen)
READ THE REPORT:
“To more easily accommodate a larger pool of available applicants, FBI Special Agent hiring standards have been relaxed and requirements measurably lowered in categories that include physical fitness, illicit drug use, financial irregularities, mental health, full-time work experience, and integrity,” the report asserts. The New York Post first reported on the FBI hiring document.
The current and former FBI agents and analysts received the anecdotes described in the report from 20 sources and sub-sources who are either currently employed by the FBI or retired. (RELATED: FBI Investigation Of Alleged Child Predator Was ‘Halted’ To Hunt Down January 6 Rioters, Court Docs Show)
Many of the sources and sub-sources had first-hand knowledge of the information and are all highly credible, according to the report. Sources and sub-sources are protected by code names to shield them from FBI retaliation.
Reduced hiring standards have allowed applicants to advance through the FBI’s hiring process despite struggling with relaxed fitness standards, multiple credible sources cited in the report said.
For example, one of the sources “disqualified another applicant because she was more than 50 pounds overweight using the FBI’s body fat index and could not pass the PFT,” according to the report. However, the FBI headquarters instructed the source to continue considering the candidate, the report alleges.
The overweight candidate was a black woman who allegedly told the source she “hates working out and was never active” despite the physical requirements for being in the FBI.
One 20 year FBI veteran with experience teaching New Agent Trainees (NATs) stated “NATs often fail to utilize proper capitalization, punctuation, and sentence structure,” the report states. Conversations with the source took place over the course of years, and the individual’s reliability was verified.
All new FBI agents and intelligence analysts are subject to more than 800 hours of training in academics, firearms, operations and case exercises at the FBI academy.
DEI hires are being selected over higher quality candidates, and the FBI employees running the hiring process are being chosen for their DEI credentials, according to the report.
“FBI Special Agent DEI hires are selected over other FBI Special Agent candidates who are more qualified based on criteria unrelated to DEI priorities,” the report alleges. “FBI Special Agent Assessors who are responsible for evaluating FBI Special Agent candidates are themselves selected based on their propensity to prioritize diversity and inclusion over the qualifications of the applicants.”
Hiring numbers are declining, and first hand reporting contradicts FBI Director Christopher Wray’s assertions that recruiting is going well for the bureau, the FBI officials found.
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 12: FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing about oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Capitol Hill July 12, 2023 in Washington, DC. Conservative House Republicans claim that the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies have been “weaponized” against conservatives, including former U.S. President Donald Trump and his allies. Wray defended the FBI workforce, emphasizing that the agency protects Americans every day “from a staggering array of threats.” (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“Despite these findings from highly credible and reliable Sources and Sub-sources with direct access and first-hand knowledge, FBI Director Christopher Wray reportedly continues to assert within FBI circles that FBI recruitment for Special Agents is ‘going extremely well,'” the report notes.
In order to strengthen the FBI’s hiring practices, the group of active and former FBI agents and analysts recommend the Judiciary Committee and Oversight Committee conduct a 90-day audit, work with government agencies to develop recommendations for fixing the problem and collect FBI recruiting data over the past two decades.
Further, they recommend lawmakers investigate the FBI and hold public hearings with testimony from the FBI director and other senior officials. Lastly, they suggest proposing legislation to strengthen the FBI’s oath to ensure agents do not prioritize political activism over protecting the American people.
The FBI disputed the findings of the report and defended its recruiting practices in a statement to the Daily Caller.
“The FBI continues to maintain the very highest standards in selection and hiring. Any notion that standards have been lowered is both inaccurate and an affront to the talented and patriotic men and women who dedicate their lives to serving others. Random and anonymous allegations devoid of any supporting data or other evidence cannot change the facts: the FBI continues to recruit the best and brightest candidates from all walks of life, and year over year only a small percentage of applicants ultimately make it through our difficult process to become a special agent,” the FBI said.
“This is indicative of the selectivity and rigor of our process, and the suggestion that we are lowering standards to increase diversity is both offensive and not true. The average age of new agents has remained steady at about 31 years old, which means they bring a wealth of experience and well-developed skills to the Bureau. The number of agents with prior military and law enforcement experience has remained steady at around 20-30% of each new class, while the number of new agents with advanced degrees has swelled to nearly 40% of each new agent class. Our agents continue to meet the highest standards of personal and professional conduct and rigorous physical fitness requirements.”
Beginning in 2013, the FBI opened its office of diversity and inclusion separate from its equal employment office, the bureau’s website touts. Two years later, the FBI created a diversity and inclusion policy directive outlining its diversity and inclusion section and various internal bureaucratic organizations and roles designed to promote diversity.
Inside the FBI, employees are permitted to form employee groups for specific demographics such as black Americans and Jewish Americans. Similarly, the FBI offers recruitment events intended to recruit racial minorities and women across the country.
The FBI’s Beacon Project is a separate initiative with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to develop relationships and bring students into the bureau.
As of May 2023, 27% of the FBI workforce are racial minorities and 45% female, representing substantial increases over the past five years, according to FBI hiring stats.
Conservative legal organization America First Legal (AFL) is investigating the FBI’s chief diversity officer Scott McMillion for alleged racial and sex discrimination in hiring based on the hiring statistics. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on race, sex and additional factors.
McMillion became the FBI’s chief diversity officer in 2021 and heads the office of diversity and inclusion. He chairs the black affairs diversity committee designed to recruit and accommodate minority employees.