A former FBI special agent supervisor hired prostitutes while on assignments, the Justice Department’s watchdog body has claimed.
The Office of the Inspector General released an investigative summary Tuesday, which stated that the FBI came to the watchdog, claiming a then-special agent who supervised other agents hired and used prostitutes while traveling both domestically and overseas for work.
The agency also claimed that the agent, who was unnamed in the summary, used an “FBI-issued mobile device” to complete transactions related to the hiring of prostitutes, according to the summary.
The agent was accused of failing to self-report “close or continuous contact” with a foreign national they were dating while overseas, the watchdog said.
The watchdog’s investigation confirmed the FBI’s allegations, which included finding the agent hired and used prostitutes on “numerous occasions.” It additionally found the agent failed to self-report “close or continuous contact” with the foreign prostitutes he hired.
Despite the watchdog’s findings, “criminal prosecution was declined,” according to the summary.
The Independent has reached out to the FBI for comment.
This is not the first instance of an FBI agent paying for sex while overseas.
In March, a separate investigation by the watchdog accusing FBI agents of using prostitutes while stationed in Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand was made public following a lawsuit filed by The New York Times.
The investigation found from 2009 to 2018, those agents were paying for or accepting sex from prostitutes while socializing with other agents and the local police.
In a statement to the NYT in March, the FBI said, “Everyone who engaged in this inexcusable behavior was held accountable and no longer works for the FBI.”
The agency said at the time it had changed its selection and training processes for agents working overseas. It’s unclear when the incidents detailed in Tuesday’s investigative summary occurred.
