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A former FBI agent explains that she left the agency because it became "politically weaponized"

Nicole Parker worked at the FBI from 2011 to 2022. That year, she decided to leave because she "lost confidence" in the agency.

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Rosana Rábago Sainz

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Nicole Parker, a former FBI agent, testified before the House Arms Subcommittee Thursday to explain why she left the agency, saying she felt the agency had become "politically weaponized."

Parker, who worked for the federal agency from 2011 to 2022, explained that she felt she was making an "impactful difference" at first: "Every day, I woke up and embraced being an FBI special agent. Until things changed. The FBI’s trajectory transformed," she said.

She said that during the twelve years she worked for the FBI, she saw the agency she loved begin to change, and she came to feel "as if there became two FBIs," as reported by The New York Post: "The FBI became politically weaponized, starting from the top in Washington and trickling down to the field offices."

9/11 was why Parker joined the FBI

This is not the first time Nicole Parker has shown her disappointment with the FBI. Shortly before testifying before the House Weapons Subcommittee, she wrote an op-ed for FOX News. She explained how the events of 9/11 encouraged her to apply to the federal agency. She was near the World Trade Center when the terrorist attack took place.

Fortunately, both she and her colleagues were evacuated thanks to the NYPD. However, others were not so lucky, and that led her to apply to become a special agent with the FBI. She wasn't the only one; that year, Parker recalls, about 45,000 people applied to join the FBI ranks, and she was one of only about 900 who made the cut.

After 20 weeks of training, she became a special agent, and had been working for the agency until November 2022. That month, she decided to leave the FBI after "losing trust" in an agency she said was "politicized."

Although FBI employees have their first amendment rights, they are not at the liberty to allow their personal political views or preferences to determine their course of action or inaction in any investigation. "Lady Justice must remain blind — those that do not uphold these responsibilities cause a negative ripple effect through the agency in the field.

The agents themselves, the former FBI employee assured, "have no interest in politics." In fact, many feel that the agency they work for no longer represents the same thing to them as it did when they joined: "For many, becoming a special agent was their calling in life, but now, it is merely a dangerous, high-risk job with minimal contentment."

FBI responds

The federal agency has already faced accusations of punishing its employees for expressing their political opinions. Last year, a spokesman for the agency assured FOX News that it did not reprimand agents for such actions:

The FBI does not target or take adverse action against employees for exercising their First Amendment rights or for their political views; to allege otherwise is false and misleading. The FBI is required to follow established policies and procedures, to include a thorough investigation, when suspending or revoking a security clearance.
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