The FBI has faced growing criticism for treating law-abiding conservative Americans as threats. The agency has been accused of misusing taxpayer funding to go after parents who protested at school board meetings and Americans who protested — or even just prayed — at abortion clinics. But FBI whistleblower Steve Friend has a solution. He joins Glenn to lay out a new bill that is up for a vote in the Tennessee Senate. The bill would force the FBI to inform local sheriffs about any “national security investigation” cases that their deputies are helping out with. But the bill has faced some pushback from unexpected groups. Steve explains why he believes this is happening, which says a lot about the FBI’s grip on local governments, and also explains how you can support legislation like this across the country.
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: So the FBI comes to town, and they're investigating, you know, let's say a parent for being a terrorist, because they spoke out at the school board meeting.
And the sheriff deputies and some of the police officers are asked by the FBI, joint terrorism task force to join.
And they do. And then they find out what the case is all about.
Well, the sheriff or the police chief doesn't have any right to know. Because they don't have a need to know, according to the FBI.
So you're -- your funds for the state, are going to this task force.
And you don't even know what they're doing.
Are they wasting money by going after somebody who, you know, was praying at an abortion clinic?
Steve Friend is -- is here now.
He's the center for renewing America fellow. He's the FBI whistle-blower. He objected to being part of the January 6th raids. Steve, welcome to the program.
STEVE: Great to be with you, Glenn. Thank you for having me this morning.
GLENN: You bet. So you're just trying to put up a line of defense of the people, using the last, really, constitutional string that you have. And that is the sheriff's office, right?
STEVE: Of course this is really just 101. A very simple bill, that is on the table here in Tennessee.
It's Senate bill 2804. House bill 2912. And it essentially just says, that the sheriff has to be read in, and approved of any of the terrorism investigations, that his deputies, who are on loan, from the FBI. Joint terrorism task force.
Any of the cases that they're working on. It will create sort of a bull work.
Because the FBI then has to bring it to the chief elected law enforcement official. Who the people voted for.
The people who don't vote for FBI, they vote for their sheriff. And not for nothing.
He should be aware if there's a legitimate terrorism threat in his county. That's his charge.
GLENN: Let me read this entire bill.
And it's quite a bill. Amend Senate bill number 2804. House bill 2912.
By deleting all language, after the enacting clause and substituting section one, Tennessee code annotated, title 38. Chapter eight. Part one. Is amended by adding the following new section.
Now, here's where the rubber meets the road. See if you can follow this.
In the event, a law enforcement agency within the state, nominates personnel to be deputized as a federal task force officer, on a joint terrorism task force.
The chief law enforcement officer, from the nominee's respective law enforcement agency, must approve each national security investigation, in which the nominee participates.
Then he gets into a very complicated Section 2. This act takes effect, July 1st, 2024. I mean, that's an easy to read bill.
And very, very clear.
What kind of opposition are you coming up against?
STEVE: Well, unfortunately, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, the arm of the governor's office has opposed us on every avenue here with this.
GLENN: Of course.
BILL: And the communications we've received from them, is they don't feel that sheriffs are entitled to know about what they work with the FBI on.
So they're all in for the federalization of law enforcement, which is pretty aconstitutional from any conservative's standpoint.
GLENN: So what is their excuse for saying, it's the sheriff? The only elected enforcement in the whole group here. How come the sheriff doesn't have a right to know?
STEVE: It will impede their ability to work with the FBI. I think that the FBI is a pretty symbiotic relationship with a lot of these state-level agencies. That's the Tennessee bureau of investigations have expressed opposition as well, to us doing this.
And I think that they are in with the FBI. And the FBI gives them the goodies. And they get the credentials. They're all in for what's going on, at a higher level.
And the nature of -- as you move up the chain of command, within our government structures, you sort of feel like, the slipping in swine at the lowest level, even if it's the sheriff, is entitled to know what you are working on from on high.
Which is opposing anything that we expect of our law enforcement agencies, and that we want to keep the community safe. And we elect the sheriff to do that. We elect him to bring crime down. To confront terrorism.
If he's unable to do that. Because he doesn't have a need to know from the FBI's perspective. He's unable to fulfill that charge, and he can't do his job.
And we shouldn't be at a state level, hanging deputies or police officers, using those funds, and the taxpayers provided from the state. To go and do the bidding from the federal government.
And we don't have any oversight of it. We have disempowered local law enforcement. And if you want to make the argument, that we are all about supporting police. And we don't want to defund the police. This is empowering local police where it really matters.
GLENN: So is this mainly for -- to stop the people that are praying, you know, at the abortion clinic. Or the abuse of parents, who are called terrorists?
STEVE: That's really what the genesis of it is. The motivating factor here is the galvanized support, across the aisle as well.
That there were Democrats in the House that were intrigued by the argument that I was making. Because the FBI has clearly, broadly, overinterpreted his national security mandate.
We're seeing things, where they're starting to articulate and connect First Amendment protected activities to some of the things that they deem to be within their purview.
So you have the recent argument about Christian nationalism.
Well, the FBI has a caveat, that says, they don't investigate, First Amendment activity. Like the right to speak. Religious worship.
However, they're using these, quote, unquote, nonpartisan organizations.
Like the public religion institute, which generates a report and says that Christianity is refracted through a lens of white supremacy, and now the FBI is cooking with gas.
Because they can say, well, we do investigate racially motivated violent extremism. So we're going to go and investigate people who say, have a preference for the less mass, when they attend at their parish.
And recruit people to inform on them, so that we can open assessments on them, as an anti-government extremist.
GLENN: And this hopefully, you know, the sheriffs are open to, you know, investigations on actual terrorism.
No matter who it's from. No matter which side it's from. But actual terrorism.
And this would protect the people. It would not allow the sheriff, however, to alert the people, or stand alongside the people, if they're being investigated for praying in church.
It just means, nobody -- nobody will be using the local or county or state money. To help on that. Right?
DAVID: Yes. And I think as a sheriff who is elected by the people. The FBI says, we want your deputies. Task force here. To work on investigating an imam at a school board, and the sheriff opposes that. He will pull his people out. And I would imagine he would be rather loud about that. And let his people know, that the FBI -- even if it violates the security clearance, because that's an inappropriate investigation. I would hope that a constitutional sheriff, would focus on that, rather than a mere clearances, as many whistle-blowers have lost theirs for transient reasons within our federal government.
GLENN: Well, as our government has lost control of -- of the police force, you know, the federal police force. The only elected law enforcement official is your sheriff.
And if, when you're going in to vote for a sheriff, you better ask him. Who do you work for?
And what does that mean?
What happens if the FBI comes in, and they are doing an investigation on -- on parents at the school board.
Where do you stand on that?
You have to have serious conversations with your sheriff, if you have a sheriff up for election.
They are critical to this.
Now, in Tennessee, you're trying to pass this.
What -- when does it go up? And how can we help?
BILL: Oh, thank you for this. So the Senate, judiciary committee, is actually taking this under consideration today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.
They will be looking at it. And then the House, it's looking for it.
That's NFL 28O4. House Bill 2912, and the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee is taking this up tomorrow.
So if folks in Tennessee or in the country, want to reach out, up to the members of those respective committees, to express support for this, that would be a huge help.
I mean, this audience. My friend Garrett O'Boyle, felt that the weight of this audience, Glenn, that we were here, talking about -- he had more sales in two days, than he did in the entire history of his store.
So I know the Glenn Beck audience is down to support this sort of initiative.
GLENN: Yeah. And they -- they also just got a very important initiative passed in -- in Tennessee.
I think here recently. This audience is really, truly amazing.
Okay. So if you are in Tennessee, you want to call the Tennessee Senate. It's in committee tomorrow.
What committee -- what committee is it?
VOICE: The Senate is today. The Senate judiciary committee is having it at 2 o'clock Eastern. And tomorrow, the House has it in front of subcommittee under the criminal justice.
GLENN: Okay. Subcommittee of criminal justice. That's tomorrow. That's the House. You can call them today.
And the Senate Judiciary Committee, is meeting at 2:00 p.m. today, so you want to call them.
And again, you're looking in the House at the bill number 2912. 2912.
And the Senate bill 2804. If you can't remember the name of the bill, what would they just call it, something simple, so people would know.
VOICE: It's basically being called an FBI bill, by the layperson there.
Everyone knows who we are talking about. Again, this is empowering the local sheriff. This is nothing to do. It's not going to limit your ability to keep the community safe. It just says that the chief law enforcement officer, who is elected by the people, should know what is going on. And that should not impede any righteous investigation. And will actually bring the FBI back into focus. What they should be focusing on. Rather than imams at school boards. Or people who like to go to mass.
GLENN: Steve, you are a very brave man. Thank you so much.
God bless you.
STEVE: Thank you, man. God bless your audience.
GLENN: Trying to get it out of the Judiciary Committee today, and the House Subcommittee on criminal activity tomorrow, in Tennessee.
Call them and say, the -- the sheriff and the FBI bill. You want to go in for a full vote, pass this in committee. That's in Tennessee. Today.
