Former FBI official to testify before Congress over claims of inflating extremism numbers

A former FBI official will appear before Congress to address whistleblower claims that she artificially inflated domestic extremism case numbers and pressured agents to reclassify cases as such.

Former Assistant Director of the FBI Counterterrorism Division and Executive Assistant Director of the National Security Branch Jill Sanborn will sit for an interview with the House Judiciary Committee on Dec. 2, according to the Washington Times.

Republicans on the committee first requested her testimony in early August.

Sanborn faces allegations that she pushed agents to improperly reclassify cases as Domestic Violent Extremism (DVEs) in order to inflate the total number of cases in that category and bolster a Biden administration claim that domestic extremism represented the "greatest threat" facing the country.

In a letter to Sanborn from House GOP Reps. Jim Jordan, Ohio, and Mike Johnson, La., seeking her testimony, the Judiciary Committee members highlighted whistleblower statements pointing to her.

"Whistleblower disclosures made by multiple FBI employees from different field offices suggest that FBI agents are bolstering the number of cases of DVEs to satisfy their supervisors," they wrote. "For example, one whistleblower explained that because agents are not finding enough DVE cases, they are encouraged and incentivized to reclassify cases as DVE cases even though there is minimal, circumstantial evidence to support the reclassification."

"Another whistleblower stated that a field office Counterterrorism Assistant Special Agent in Charge and the FBI's then Assistant Director of the Counterterrorism Division pressured agents to move cases into the DVE category to hit self-created performance metrics," they continued, referring to Sanborn.