Ex-FBI agent Nicole Parker: Bureau ‘politically weaponized, starting from the top’
Former FBI Special Agent Nicole Parker testified to a House panel investigating the “weaponization” of the federal government that the bureau is plagued by “low morale,” has become “politically weaponized,” and has lowered its standards for new agents.
Parker’s emotional testimony Thursday highlighted the first hearing by the new House Judiciary Committee’s Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.
“Over the course of my 12-plus years of service, the FBI’s trajectory transformed,” said Parker.
“The FBI became politically weaponized, starting from the top in Washington [and] trickling down to the field offices,” she alleged, saying that it felt “as if there became two FBIs.”
Parker, who worked out of the FBI’s Miami field office, resigned from the bureau last year and publicly announced that she had left in an op-ed for Fox News last month, from which she borrowed much of her testimony on Thursday.
In the op-ed, Parker claimed the bureau has been troubled by “one politicization issue after another,” citing the case of agents in FBI vests who knelt with Black Lives Matter protesters in Washington following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
“Although agents have their First Amendment rights, they are not at liberty to publicly express any potential political support while on duty wearing official FBI gear,” Parker wrote, adding that it was “appalling” that the agents were not even reprimanded.
In her testimony, Parker further alleged that “there has also been a shift in recruiting practices – a lowering of the eligibility requirements – which is negatively impacting the agency’s performance.”
“All this adds up to a loss of trust in the FBI by many Americans and low morale among many FBI employees,” Parker said.
The FBI told The Post on Thursday that bureau employees “are expected to uphold the highest standards.”
“FBI employees carry out their duties in accordance with the law and are expected to uphold the highest standards. Our work is critical in protecting the American people from a variety of threats and in upholding their constitutional rights,” the FBI said in a statement.
In January, the House voted to establish the “weaponization” subcommittee on a straight party-line vote.
The panel will investigate how the federal government and private companies collect and analyze information on Americans, as well as other civil liberties issues, according to the resolution establishing it.
The subcommittee is chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a longtime critic of the FBI and the Justice Department who has accused the agencies of targeting conservatives.