USA30 August, 20263 min read
FBI Lowers Background-Check Standards, Allowing Some Applicants With Prostitution, Theft, Bestiality Histories
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
In June, FBI lowered background-check standards, removing automatic disqualification for sex-work hiring, theft, or bestiality. The change followed recruitment shortfalls after firings and resignations in Trump's second term.
7 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on White House Officials Question How Long Katie Zacharia Will Stay Press Secretary After First Briefing →
June memo changes hiring
The FBI quietly lowered some background-check standards in June, making certain admissions—hiring sex workers, stealing from an employer, or engaging in bestiality—no longer automatic deal breakers for applicants to the bureau. CBS News reported that the changes were communicated to FBI personnel involved in background checks through a June 16 internal memo known as an "electronic communication," and that under specific circumstances the FBI is willing to give candidates a pass on prostitution if they have not hired sex workers three or more times and if the hiring did not take place within the last 10 years. CBS News also reported that a person in a position of "trust" who solicited sex would still be automatically disqualified, with examples of positions of trust including those who work in the fields of public safety, education, health, social work, finance or law.
The CBS News report said the FBI is also willing to consider applicants who stole from an employer if the incident occurred more than three years ago, and applicants who engaged in past acts of bestiality or animal cruelty if the incidents took place before the age of 18. In a statement to CBS News, an FBI spokesperson said, "Any polygraph changes reflect a clear difference between a disqualified applicant who has engaged in criminal behavior" and one who may be subject to further evaluation based on rare exigent circumstances.
FBI response and critics
The FBI spokesperson told CBS News that some changes to eligibility requirements have taken place but are limited to a narrow set of circumstances, including cases where a person was sexually abused with animals as a child. CBS News reported that former FBI agent James Davidson, who now leads the nonprofit FBI Integrity Project, opposed changing the standard for bestiality, saying, "Bestiality is clearly a potential indication of a more serious emotional issue" and that the criteria should not be eliminated. People reported that CBS News said the FBI lowered hiring standards in several areas, including applicants who admit to having hired sex workers, stolen from an employer or engaged in acts of bestiality, and that the changes were sent via an internal electronic memo to hiring personnel on June 16.
People also quoted an FBI spokesperson saying the bureau does not hire people who have a history of criminal sexual acts and that it "has and always will maintain some of the highest suitability standards for its applicants and employees in the U.S. government." People further reported that James Davidson said, "If they are lowering standards, it means the pool of candidates has sufficiently shrunk," linking the change to a shrinking applicant pool.
Recruiting stakes and DOJ memo
The CBS News report said the FBI’s move comes as the bureau has lost scores of employees through firings, retirements and resignations since the start of the Trump administration, and it described current and former FBI employees expressing concern that the changes could lead the bureau to hire people with questionable backgrounds. CBS News said those concerns include the integrity of agents tasked with investigating crimes such as human trafficking, because those agents often have to testify in court. CBS News also reported that the FBI’s new policy runs counter to an April 2015 memo issued to all Justice Department staff that prohibited the solicitation of prostitution, and a DOJ spokesperson confirmed the memo remains in effect.
“The FBI did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.”
The DOJ spokesperson’s quoted language in the CBS News report stated, "This rule applies at all times during an individual's employment, including while off duty or on personal leave," and said it applies regardless of whether the activity is legal or tolerated in a particular jurisdiction. In the same CBS News report, the FBI spokesperson defended the change by pointing to situations where an applicant may be subject to further evaluation rather than automatic disqualification, while People reported the FBI did not immediately respond to People’s request for comment.