The FBI is considering lowering its hiring standards, overestimating applicants and hiring employees with little literacy, a group of current and former FBI agents and analysts claim.

In a report submitted to the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees, FBI officials describe how diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is prioritized in the hiring process, and how they prioritize physical fitness, drug use, It explains how financial and mental standards are being lowered. Health, experience and integrity, the report said. (Related: Empower Oversight Accuses FBI of Unlawful Retaliation Against Suspended Whistleblower Marcus Allen)

Read the report:

“To better accommodate a larger pool of applicants, FBI special agent hiring standards have been relaxed in categories such as physical fitness, illegal drug use, financial fraud, mental health, full-time work experience, and integrity. “Requirements have been significantly reduced,” the report claims.First, the New York Post report It was on the FBI's recruitment papers.

Current and former FBI agents and analysts received the anecdotes described in the report from 20 sources and subordinate sources who are currently employed or retired from the FBI. (Related: FBI investigation into suspected child predator 'suspended' in pursuit of Jan. 6 mob, court documents show)

Many of the sources and sub-sources have first-hand knowledge of the information and are all highly reliable, the report said. Sources and subsources are protected by code names to protect them from FBI retaliation.

According to multiple reliable sources cited in the report, the relaxed hiring standards allowed applicants to move through the FBI's hiring process despite struggling with the relaxed physical fitness standards.

For example, one source said, “We used the FBI's body mass index to disqualify another applicant because he weighed more than 50 pounds and could not pass the PFT.” However, FBI headquarters directed the source to continue considering the candidates, the report alleges.

The overweight candidate is a black woman who reportedly told sources that she “hates working out and has never been active,” despite the physical requirements to join the FBI.

A 20-year FBI veteran with experience supervising new agent trainees (NATs) said, “NATs often fail to utilize proper capitalization, punctuation, and sentence structure,” the report states. . Conversations with sources took place over the years, confirming the person's reliability.

All new FBI agents and intelligence analysts will be subject to over 800 investigations. training time Learn academics, firearms, operations, and incident training at the FBI Academy.

The report says DEI hires are being chosen over higher-quality candidates, and FBI employees in charge of the hiring process are chosen for their DEI qualifications.

“FBI Special Agent DEI hires are selected over other more qualified FBI Special Agent candidates based on criteria unrelated to DEI priorities,” the report claims. are doing. “The FBI special agent evaluators responsible for evaluating FBI special agent candidates are themselves selected based on their propensity to prioritize diversity and inclusion over applicant qualifications.”

Hiring numbers are down, FBI officials have found, and first-hand reports contradict FBI Director Christopher Wray's claims that the bureau's hiring is on track.

“Despite these findings coming from highly reliable sources and sub-sources with direct access and first-hand knowledge, FBI Director Christopher Wray is clearly aware that, within the FBI, FBI special “He reportedly continued to claim that his recruitment of investigators was 'progressing very well,'” the report said. Note.

To strengthen the FBI's hiring practices, a group of current and former FBI agents and analysts will conduct a 90-day audit of the Judiciary and Oversight Committees and work with agencies to make recommendations to resolve issues. It recommends that FBI recruitment data be collected. For the past 20 years.

It also recommends that lawmakers investigate the FBI and hold public hearings with testimony from the FBI director and other senior officials. Finally, they are proposing legislation that would strengthen the FBI's oath to ensure that agents do not prioritize political activities over the protection of Americans.

In a statement to the Daily Caller, the FBI disputed the report's findings and defended its hiring practices.

“The FBI continues to uphold the highest standards in selection and hiring. The idea that standards have been lowered is inaccurate and an insult to the talented and patriotic men and women who dedicate their lives to the service of others. Random, anonymous allegations lacking supporting data or other evidence do not change the facts. The FBI continues to recruit the best candidates from all walks of life, but ultimately “Only a small percentage of applicants make it through the process to become a special agent,” the FBI said.

“This shows the selectivity and rigor of our process, and any suggestion that we are lowering standards to increase diversity is offensive and untrue. The average age of new agents is approximately 31 years old. This means that they bring a wealth of experience and well-developed skills to the Bureau. The number of agents with military and law enforcement experience is approximately 20 in each new class. While stable at ~30%, the number of new agents with advanced degrees has increased to nearly 40% of each new agent class. Our agents have a high degree of personal and professional conduct and rigorous physical fitness requirements. We continue to meet the highest standards.”

Starting in 2013, the FBI created an Office of Diversity and Inclusion separate from the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity. Website promotion. Two years later, the FBI created a Diversity and Inclusion Policy Directive that outlined a section on diversity and inclusion and various internal bureaucracies and roles designed to promote diversity.

Within the FBI, employees are allowed to form employee groups based on specific demographics, such as black Americans or Jewish Americans. Similarly, the FBI suggests: recruitment event It aims to recruit racial minorities and women across the country.

The FBI's Beacon Project is another effort to build relationships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and welcome students to the Bureau.

As of May 2023, 27% of FBI employees are racial minorities and 45% are women, a significant increase over the past five years, according to the FBI. employment statistics.

The conservative legal group America First Legal (AFL) investigating FBI Chief Diversity Officer Scott McMillion Allegations of racial and sex discrimination in hiring based on hiring statistics. Title VII The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, sex, and other factors.

McMillion will become the FBI's chief diversity officer in 2021, where she will lead the FBI's division of diversity and inclusion. He chairs the Black Affairs Diversity Committee, which focuses on recruiting and serving minority employees.