Former FBI Official To Testify On Agency Allegedly Inflating Domestic Terrorism Data

Authored by Rita Li via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Former FBI Counterterrorism Division Assistant Director Jill Sanborn is to be interviewed by the House Judiciary Committee on Dec. 2 over alleged politicization, including inflating domestic terrorism numbers, House GOP members announced Thursday.

Jill Sanborn, former assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, testifies to Congress in Washington on March 3, 2021. (Greg Nash/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

A joint letter released on Oct. 20 by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the committee’s ranking member, and Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), accused the ex-FBI official of failing to take “any meaningful steps” to arrange the interview over the past two months following an initial request.

In a letter to Sanborn on Aug. 10, the GOP lawmakers called on the former official to testify regarding whistleblower claims of the bureau pressuring agents to inflate the numbers of “domestic violent extremism” cases, including those didn’t meet the criteria. The pair asked Sanborn to contact the committee and schedule the interview no later than Aug. 24.

“Only late last Friday did your attorneys offer a specific date for a transcribed interview—December 2, 2022—a date six weeks in the future and nearly four months since our initial request,” the lawmakers wrote.

#BREAKING: Former FBI official Jill Sanborn to Appear for Transcribed Interview with House Judiciary Committee on December 2, 2022 pic.twitter.com/31OsTYaHMf

— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) October 20, 2022

Sanborn served as Counterterrorism Division assistant director at the law enforcement agency and then as executive assistant director at the National Security branch between January 2020 and April 2021, until she left the federal service.

With the Biden administration saying domestic violent extremism is the “greatest threat” facing the country, whistleblowers have sounded the alarm that officials “encouraged and incentivized” FBI agents to reclassify cases to pad domestic terrorism data “even though there is minimal, circumstantial evidence to support the reclassification.”

One whistleblower identified Sanborn as an official who pressured agents to hit self-created performance metrics, said the GOP officials.

According to the latest letter, Sanborn’s attorneys claimed that the FBI’s approval for the former official’s appearance must be in place.

“You should be aware that, here too, we do not share your attorneys’ view. Every federal employee, and former employee, has a right to speak with Congress without interference, intimidation, or obstruction from his or her employing agency,” the Republicans wrote in response. “To the extent that the FBI is or has been preventing your ability to respond to our request in a timely and comprehensive manner, we will be interested in examining these facts during your transcribed interview.”

The two also dismissed a forthcoming letter from the FBI, which Sanborn’s attorneys had claimed would fully respond to the committee’s request and could bypass the need for testimony.

“Our request to you for a transcribed interview is separate and distinct from the requests for documents and information we have made to the FBI and the Justice Department,” said Jordan and Johnson.

An FBI spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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