An individual reported to Congress that a leading FBI official was instructed to delete anti-Trump content from his Facebook page before being considered for a promotion to head the bureau’s Miami field office, which includes Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
The disclosure, made to the House Judiciary Committee, revealed that Jeffrey Veltri was promoted earlier this year to become the special agent in charge of the Miami office, despite being outspokenly anti-Trump.
The whistleblower accused FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, Deputy Director Paul Abbate and Executive Assistant Director Jennifer Moore of instructing Veltri to remove all of his Facebook and social media posts that were critical of Trump to present a non-political image.
The whistleblower asserted that the concern was not Veltri’s bias against Trump but the potential impact on Veltri’s public image. The bureau was allegedly more interested in removing information related to Veltri’s political bias from the public domain.
Additionally, the whistleblower claimed that Veltri, who served as acting deputy assistant director of the bureau’s Security Division until March, was involved in efforts to suspend agents’ security clearance if they appeared to be a “right-wing radical.”
Chris Swecker, a former assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, called for a thorough investigation into the whistleblower’s allegations, expressing concern that wiping clean Veltri’s social media presence was highly inappropriate.
However, the FBI denied the whistleblower’s allegations and defended Veltri’s promotion as being conducted impartially and by the book, stating that the reported allegations regarding political bias impacting decisions are demonstrably false.
Veltri’s position as special agent in charge has attracted further attention following claims from FBI whistleblowers alleging attempts to sideline agents deemed “radical” or “disloyal” to the U.S., including military veterans, by revoking their security clearances.
The FBI, in response to these claims, maintained that it does not retaliate against individuals for making protected whistleblower disclosures and does not target employees for their political views, emphasizing that the bureau values its many military veteran employees.
Regarding specific internal matters, such as the removal of security clearances from agents, the FBI cited Privacy Act restrictions, stating that it is prohibited from sharing such information without waivers from the whistleblowers and the agents involved.
The whistleblower’s identity was not included in the disclosure delivered to Congress, but lawmakers have been briefed on the whistleblower’s identity.
Veltri, who joined the bureau in 2002 as a special agent, advanced through various field offices before being appointed as the section chief of the Security Integrity and Investigations Section of the Security Division at FBI Headquarters in 2021.
FBI leaders have faced criticism for their handling of Trump-related matters, including the bureau’s “collusion” investigation and the handling of classified documents taken by Mr. Trump when he left office.
The Miami field office’s involvement in the investigation into the classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago has also attracted attention, with former FBI officials expressing reservations about the handling of the operation and questioning the decision to sideline Miami agents in favor of personnel from the Washington office.
Former FBI agents and legal professionals have emphasized the importance of impartiality and fairness within the FBI, especially when dealing with politically sensitive investigations, to maintain the bureau’s nonpartisan nature.
