Tim Thibault, a former FBI agent, is accused of both leaking sensitive investigative information and a personal nude photo via his government email, and of improperly shielding Hunter Biden from a federal probe, according to emails released by Republican senators.
Between February and May 2022, while working at the FBI's Washington Field Office, Tim Thibault sent numerous messages to Melissa Morgan-Ransome, revealing official documents, the names of fellow agents, and confidential details of an active investigation, the New York Post reported.
In April of that year, Thibault used his FBI email to send a nude photo of his alleged partner to both her and a George Washington University email address associated with himself. Ironically, online syllabi indicate that Thibault had previously lectured at the university on ethics and the distinction between unlawful and unethical conduct.
Some of the emails exchanged between Thibault and his significant other included a disclaimer stating that they contained "information about FBI employees and activities that is not available to the public."
One email, in particular, referenced a federal investigation into anti-abortion activist Lauren Handy, who was sentenced last year to five years in prison for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act before being pardoned last month by President Trump.
Thibault sent most of these emails while on the clock as an assistant special agent in charge at the Washington Field Office (WFO).
Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) exposed the "inappropriate" emails in a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, demanding an immediate investigation.
"The behavior outlined above illustrates toxic, disturbing, and unprofessional conduct that must have undoubtedly resulted in a very hostile working condition, which has no place in the FBI," wrote Grassley, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Johnson, chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
"Thibault's conduct is an example of exactly the type of behavior that the both of you were confirmed to eliminate," the senators added. They obtained the emails and additional disclosures about Thibault's actions through protected whistleblower reports.
Thibault resigned from the FBI in August 2022 after whistleblowers provided Grassley with evidence linking him and supervisory intelligence analyst Brian Auten to an alleged scheme to "undermine derogatory information connected to Hunter Biden by falsely suggesting it was disinformation."
At a Senate hearing that same month, then-FBI Director Christopher Wray described allegations of interference in the federal probe of the president's son-as well as Thibault's social media posts disparaging Republicans-as "deeply troubling."
The senators' letter also criticized Thibault's "cavalier behavior" on social media, highlighting a tweet in which he responded to President Trump and a Catholic priest critical of abortion with the remark: "Focus on the pedophiles."
Thibault had also served as the FBI's "point man" for handling evidence submitted by Tony Bobulinski, a former business associate of Hunter Biden. Bobulinski worked with both Hunter and James Biden on a joint venture with a Chinese energy conglomerate in May 2017, a deal valued at over $5 million.
Emails from Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop indicated that Joe Biden-who had just left the vice presidency at the time-was referred to as the "big guy" expected to receive a 10% stake in the U.S.-China business deal. Texts provided by Bobulinski to The Post and later to federal investigators suggested that Biden's involvement was being deliberately downplayed.
Grassley and Johnson have urged the FBI to investigate whether Thibault's actions "could be construed as creating a hostile work environment and sexual harassment," identify any "associates" involved, and release records of all communications between Thibault and "Missy Morgan," a woman whose past social media activity suggests she was once a fitness instructor in Florida.
"The FBI repeatedly lectures Congress, without any legitimate basis, that it can't share information with Congress because the matter is an ongoing investigation," the senators wrote.
"Yet here, Thibault sent all of that type of information to a private citizen while the FBI stiff-arms Congress and the American people."
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
