One senior FBI employee is calling it quits — weeks after House Republicans sought to interview him using the powers of their new congressional majority.
The Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee, spearheaded by ranking member Rep. Jim Jordan, sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray outlining plans to interview a bevvy of high-ranking agency personnel last month.
Washington Field Office Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono was among them.
As Detroit FBI Field Director, D’Antuono led the politicized investigation of a supposed “militia” plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan. Two arrestees facing charges as a result of the investigation were later acquitted, with other cases ending in mistrials and convictions.
The career agent later moved to the notoriously political Washington D.C. FBI office; taking charge of an FBI investigation of Hunter Biden that violated agency protocol, and permitting one of his agents to sign off on the unprecedented raid of Mar-a-Lago, according to American Greatness.
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But D’Antuono won’t be appearing before Congress to answer questions about his involvement in these proceedings. He’s heading out the front door before a Republican Congress can question him as a sitting FBI employee.
In a lengthy December LinkedIn post, D’Antuono announced his retirement, all the while advertising his own “integrity” to his followers.
“I have had many challenges and hurdles to overcome during my career, but I never lost sight of my roots, my integrity, and the mission we have in service to our country,” the FBI official said of his lengthy career with the agency.
(There’s one thing about integrity; if you need to honk your own horn about having it, it looks as if you need to convince everybody else that you do.)
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D’Antuono didn’t say why he was retiring in the post, although he has served at the FBI for more than 26 years.
Maybe, D’Antuono has a convincing explanation for his actions in several high-profile FBI proceedings.
But he seemingly has no intention to provide it under oath and on the congressional record.
The D.C. Assistant Director in Charge made the post one day after his sudden retirement — opting against staying long enough to answer questions from Jim Jordan and other Judiciary Republicans responsible for oversight of the FBI.
The incoming House Judiciary majority told nine senior FBI officials to get ready for testimony in the letter.
It’s unclear if Jordan — who is slated for chairmanship of the Committee — intends to subpoena D’Antuono as a private citizen.
What was once the most respected law enforcement organization in America has become viewed as a partisan operation by its critics.
Timing your retirement to avoid appearing before Congress the moment its partisan majority changes exacerbates this problem, which increasingly appears to be a distinction the FBI deserves.
