President of the FBI Agents Association Tom O’ Connor, has told WTOP-FM that allegations of improper behavior in relation to the Russian election meddling and Clinton investigations are having an impact on FBI agents.
O’Connor said that officers at the Washington Field Office are becoming so disillusioned by the allegations that the big screens that normally display news in the squad areas have been turned off. He want on to say that although he doesn’t speak for the FBI as a whole, the FBIAA would like to make sure the American public knows that “FBI agents are people of strong integrity.”
O’Connor said that the negative press is hurting FBI morale but stressed agents are choosing to ignore the backlash, and are out there doing their jobs and doing them well. He also expressed concerns about how the disparagement will affect the work that FBI agents carry out abroad. “We have people posted overseas, and teams that deploy overseas regularly to work with our counterparts,” O’Connor said. “Clearly, it will make a difference.”