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Federal authorities have reportedly raided the home of an FBI agent who claimed that Rudy Giuliani might have been "compromised" by Russian intelligence agents while working for former President Donald Trump.
A search warrant indicates that the Southern California home of FBI Special Agent Johnathan Buma was raided on Monday over suspicions that Buma may have violated federal laws regarding classified materials, according to a report published Tuesday by Mother Jones. Buma's attorney Scott Horton told the outlet that his client was presented with the search warrant at the FBI's field office in Orange County.
Horton reportedly said that agents confiscated computers and other items at Buma's home but found no classified materials, discovering only his unclassified whistleblower complaint. The attorney claimed that the raid was "designed to be in retaliation for the whistleblower complaints" and amounted to "very heavy harassment" by the bureau.
In a letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee in July, Buma claimed that Giuliani may have been used by Russian intelligence as part of an attempt to aid Trump by discrediting President Joe Biden.
Contrary to popular conservative narratives about the FBI being biased against Trump, Buma claimed that his investigation into Giuliani was scuttled by the FBI, while figures within the bureau were pushing to investigate the current president and his son Hunter Biden.
Newsweek reached out for comment to the FBI via email on Tuesday.
Buma claimed in his letter to the Senate committee that he had been targeted with retaliation by unknown people within the FBI, in the form of being assigned to "surveillance missions" unrelated to his area of expertise, after uncovering the alleged relationship between Giuliani and Russian intelligence.
"I do not fully understand why I have been singled out for this treatment nor who exactly is driving it," Buma wrote. "But my strong suspicion is that one or more of my sources provided truthful, accurate information that is harmful to a person or persons that higher ups in the Bureau are trying to shield."
Buma also claimed that he was offered a payment of $14,000 to drop his whistleblower claims in February, after having filed an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint over his reassignment months earlier.
Additionally, Buma, who says he uncovered information regarding Hunter Biden and Ukrainian energy company Burisma alongside the Giuliani claim, reportedly offered to testify as a whistleblower at the Republican-led House hearings on the supposed "weaponization" of the federal government.
Buma's overture to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan was ignored in April, possibly due to his claim about the FBI push to investigate the Bidens countering the Republican claim that the bureau had a laser focus on targeting Trump, according to The New Yorker.
Update: 11/14/23, 3:10 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information.
About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more