❓WHAT HAPPENED: A former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agent has alleged that the agency uses its internal review processes to retaliate against whistleblowers.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Valentine Fertitta, a former FBI special agent, and his wife Emily Fertitta, a former FBI employee, along with their attorney Matthew Crotty.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The events began in 2021 following Fertitta’s return from an overseas deployment and have continued through his ongoing clearance dispute.

💬KEY QUOTE: “This is an agency that makes loyalty part and parcel to its core—and if you go against it by trying any of these internal processes—[they] are going to get back at you.” – Matthew Crotty

🎯IMPACT: The Fertitta family’s case highlights broader concerns about whistleblower protections within the FBI, with implications for national security and federal employment law.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), under the former Biden government, has been accused of retaliating against whistleblowers by using its internal review processes to discourage complaints, according to former special agent Valentine Fertitta. Fertitta’s case began in 2021 after he returned from an overseas deployment with serious injuries, which limited his workplace productivity. A manager’s dissatisfaction with his reduced output led to Fertitta being blocked from a promotion, which he believed violated federal employment law.

Fertitta filed a whistleblower complaint after alleging that the FBI violated protections for injured employees and veterans. Shortly after, he received his first-ever negative performance review and faced additional challenges, including being asked to provide past, present, and future medical records, according to his wife, Emily Fertitta. The case escalated when Fertitta appealed to the Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management (OARM), the FBI’s internal body for whistleblower retaliation claims. Within weeks, the FBI began evaluating his security clearance.

“The key thing is the timing,” said the Fertitta family’s attorney, Matthew Crotty. He continued: “Within two weeks of Val starting this OARM process, the FBI starts to investigate Val’s suitability to hold a top-secret security clearance.” Crotty explained that revoking a clearance is a way the FBI can effectively terminate an employee without formally firing them. During this process, Fertitta’s pay was suspended, and his wife, Emily, was pressured to testify against him without access to legal counsel. Emily Fertitta eventually resigned from the FBI.

The Fertitta family’s case is ongoing, with a pending civil lawsuit against the FBI. Crotty noted that the Supreme Court has granted the FBI broad authority over employee security clearances, leaving agents with little external recourse. “It doesn’t matter who’s in the White House. It’s a structural FBI thing. It’s been going on since Hoover,” Crotty stated. He added that Congress could address the issue by allowing FBI reservists to take retaliation claims to federal court.

According to records, the OARM has received 107 whistleblower complaints in the past decade, with only nine cases identified as retaliation. Emily Fertitta emphasized the broader implications of their struggle, saying, “This is much bigger than Val and Emily. It applies to so many other people who just don’t have the ability to speak up.”

Image by Tony Webster.

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