Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released internal FBI emails Thursday showing at least one former agent celebrated the Biden administration Justice Department’s June 2022 decision to slap contempt of Congress charges against White House adviser Peter Navarro.
“Wow. Great,” wrote former FBI Washington Field Office Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault, in an email to colleagues upon learning in May 2022 that Navarro would be prosecuted for failing to comply with a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
Thibault was among several agents in the FBI’s Washington Field Office who played a lead role in investigating President Trump and his allies, as well as former first son Hunter Biden.
Thibault’s celebratory note is one of several emails Grassley included in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, demanding more communications between Thibault and his colleagues be released.
“I am making these emails public in the interest of transparency,” wrote Grassley. “The American people have a right to know as much as possible regarding the internal Biden Justice Department and FBI process to determine where to allocate taxpayer resources to investigate and prosecute former Trump officials.”
“Moreover, the FBI officials involved in the Navarro case were also involved in the politically-infected cases against President Trump, to include Arctic Frost and Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation.”
In a separate email, from May 19, 2022, former FBI Special Agent Walter Giardina notes that the DC US Attorneys Office “after consultation with main Justice” opted not to pursue charges against former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trump aide Dan Scavino but that “they would like to charge Navarro in the next two weeks.”
Giardina then lays out the plan for what the FBI must do to secure an indictment.
“Here is what we need to accomplish: locate him (Sam – can you assist with this?), get subpoena return from Verizon for his phone (subpoena served about 10 days ago), issue preservation letter to Apple prepare a search warrant for his phone and iCloud account, conduct a knock and talk interview,” Giardina instructs several Washington Field Office agents.
Thibault updates the team on May 26, 2022, about the FBI’s attempt to interview Navarro.
“FYSA. This morning, CR-15 agents attempted to interview former WH official Peter Navarro in connection to the pending Contempt of Congress case. Navarro declined to be interviewed and accused the agents and the AG of harassment. Navarro filmed the encounter,” wrote Thibault.
On June 1, 2022, a day before Navarro’s indictment, an FBI Washington Field Office public affairs officer emails Thibault and other agents the “press plan” for when the White House official is arrested, which the public affairs officer notes is “similar to Bannon’s,” referring to former Trump aide Steve Bannon, who was also charged with contempt of Congress.
Navarro ultimately became the first White House official in history to be jailed on a contempt of Congress conviction. He served four months in prison in 2024 and currently serves as White House adviser to Trump.
Thibault resigned from the FBI in August 2022 after whistleblowers presented Grassley with evidence of Thibault’s alleged involvement in “a scheme” to “undermine derogatory information connected to Hunter Biden by falsely suggesting it was disinformation.”
He had served as the bureau’s “point man” for handling evidence submitted by Tony Bobulinski, a business associate of Hunter Biden, who alleged Joe Biden was the “big guy” and due a 10% stake in one of Hunter’s US-China ventures — but Thibault allegedly buried the information he obtained from Bobulinski.
Thibault’s resignation also came amid an investigation by the Office of Special Counsel into his anti-Trump social media posts.
In February, Grassley and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) obtained emails from Thibault allegedly showing that he improperly shared investigative information and a nude photo of his girlfriend with people outside the bureau via his government email while allegedly shielding Hunter.
Grassley asked Bondi and Patel for additional communications, including text messages, from Thibault, Giardina and other agents by May 13, 2025.
