On Thursday, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released an internal email from the FBI. This email reveals that at least one former FBI agent praised the Justice Department’s decision in June 2022 to allow Congressional accusations against Peter Navarro, a White House adviser.
In an email shared during his investigation in May 2022, a former special agent from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, who worked under Timothy Thibault, expressed excitement over Navarro being charged for not complying with a subpoena from the House Select Committee looking into the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots.
Thibault was notably involved in investigating former President Trump, his inner circle, and Hunter Biden.
The email from Thibault is part of several communications that Grassley has urged Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to release, seeking more transparency about the FBI’s processes toward former Trump officials.
Grassley stated, “I’m making these emails public for transparency. It’s essential for Americans to understand how the Biden Justice Department and the FBI operate, especially regarding taxpayer-funded investigations.”
Moreover, the FBI officials connected to the Navarro case had also dealt with roles in encounters involving President Trump. For instance, a different email from former FBI agent Walter Jardina noted that the D.C. U.S. Attorneys’ Office decided against pursuing charges against Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino, former aides to Trump, after discussions with Main Justice, while expressing a desire to prioritize Navarro’s case.
Jardina outlined necessary steps for securing charges against Navarro, including locating him and acquiring a subpoena return from Verizon.
Thibault was set to update his team about the FBI’s efforts to interview Navarro soon after.
On June 1, 2022, just a day before Navarro was indicted, an FBI official sent Thibault a “press plan” anticipating White House-related arrests. Navarro eventually found himself as the first White House official ever jailed for a congressional conviction, serving four months in 2024 and currently acting as Trump’s advisor.
Thibault’s resignation came in August 2022, following whistleblower allegations that he was involved in a scheme related to misinformation about Hunter Biden.
He had been a critical player in processing evidence submitted by Tony Bobulinski, who claimed Joe Biden was involved in one of Hunter’s business ventures with China, but it was alleged that Thibault misrepresented the information he received from Bobulinski.
His departure was also during a separate inquiry into his anti-Trump social media activity.
In February, Senators Grassley and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) uncovered an email showing Thibault sharing private photos of individuals outside the FBI while shielding Hunter Biden. Grassley has called for further communications between Thibault, Jardina, and other agents by May 13, 2025.
