November 13, 2025 • 36 mins
Former FBI Special Agent & FOX News Contributor, Nicole Parker joins Lisa to pull back the curtain on the inner workings of the FBI. She reveals the divide between what she calls “FBI 1” — the dedicated agents — and “FBI 2” — the politically driven faction. Parker shares her journey from Wall Street to federal law enforcement, exposing how political bias and cultural shifts have reshaped the FBI over time. She discusses the need for accountability, transparency, and reform, and explains why strong leadership — like that of Kash Patel — is crucial for restoring public trust. The Truth with Lisa Boothe is part of the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Podcast Network - new episodes debut every Tuesday & Thursday.
Purchase Nicole's NEW Book HERE
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Truth with Lisa Booth, where we get
to the heart of the issues that mattered to you. Today,
we're talking about the FBI. Former FBI Special Agent Nicole Parker.
She walked away from the job that she loved because
the bureau she had sworn to serve had started hunting
patriots instead of predators. Her new book, The Two Fbis,
names the day it all went wrong and the raid
(00:22):
that killed her best friend while SWAT teams were terrorizing
January sixth, Grandma's Today, Zero Filter, Comy's betrayal, the Catholic Memo,
and what Cash Betel must do to change the FBI
going forward.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Stay tuned for Nicole Parker.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Nicole, it's great to have you on.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
The show, my friend. I'm so proud and excited for you.
With the launch of your new book, The Two Fbis.
Have you gotten pushback from the FBI and writing the
book or what's that been like.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Well, I can tell you that I started writing the
book under the Biden administry, and so I was a
bit nervous because the FBI does have to approve the book,
and I know that there have been other agents that
have written books under the Biden administration that were not
exactly positive regarding the FBI, and there was a lot
of pushback for them. Thankfully, under the Trump administration, who
(01:18):
can acknowledge the mistakes of the FBI, the process from
headquarters has been seamless. I have been very grateful and
blessed for that. As far as agents, FBI one and
FBI two are completely two different fbis, and that's what
the premise of the book is about. SOBI one I
would consider the good agents doing hard work upholding their
(01:42):
constitutional oath in a fair and unbiased manner, and FBI
two is the political and social weaponization of the FBI.
That's what you're seeing in the Arctic frost revelations coming out.
So I can tell you FBI one agents and staff
are celebrating this book because I'm sharing things that they
(02:04):
all agree with. We all know is happening. But while
you're at the FBI, you can't speak up. You can't
say a word. A FBI two. On the other hand,
I'll be honest, I don't have a lot of friends
that are from FBI two, so I haven't heard much
pushback from them, but I'm sure that there will be
pushback from FBI two, because I'm basically calling them out
in a very direct manner.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
You know, you had mentioned artic frost. What do we
know so far and what did your gut tell you
that happened and why it happened.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
I believe the Arctic frost is really the tip of
the iceberg. Nothing that's coming out is shocking to someone
who actually lived and witnessed the political weaponization of the FBI.
I know that's really sad to say. It's shameful, it's disgraceful,
it's despicable and disgusting, but it's not shocking, and that's
exactly what drove me out of the agency. So what
(02:54):
you're seeing is that exactly what I talk about in
my book is exactly what was happening. The FBI was
going full force, putting the full force of the federal government,
conducting investigations and looking into individuals merely because of where
they stood on the political spectrum. And we're seeing that
they were getting toll records for senators that's entirely inappropriate.
(03:18):
What's the probable cause to believe that they committed the
crime to even have the right to get those subpoenas
in the first place, And the fact that they worked
with Jack Smith and his team. It started out of
the WFO field office, and it just it's destructive and
what they did was wrong, and it's blatantly on the
American stage. Now everyone's seeing what we were seeing internally
(03:40):
for years and under the Biden administration, it was so brazen, Lisa,
like they had no shame in it. It got to
the point where they weren't even trying to hide what
they were doing. But what they did was they really
looked at something like the election, the twenty twenty election,
and tried to think of who could possibly who could
we go after and attack in the and that's what
they did. I mean, look, they went after Turning Point,
(04:02):
I mean really turning Point, Lisa. I wouldn't be shocked
if they were looking into my personal records after I
left the FBI and went onto Fox News. I mean,
that's how disturbing it really is. And that is abuse
of your law enforcement power to push your political agendas.
And I pray that under this administration there's full accountability
(04:23):
for those that were abusing their power. That is wrong
and that is the epitome of FBI two. What Americans
are seeing now is what we were seeing internally, but
again we could never discuss it publicly.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
You know, and obviously when you signed up for the FBI,
you thought you were signing up for FBI one. You know,
you were on Royal Street when nine to eleven happened
in front of you. What did you see that morning
and when did you decide to leave finance to join
the FBI.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
The morning of September eleventh, two thousand and one, I
was barely twenty three years old. I was working for
Merrill Lynch down at the World Financial Center. Every morning,
I would commute and go through the World Trade Center
to the Courtland Street station on the Red Line, and
I would literally get out of the subway, go through
the underground mall, through one World Trade Center, and I
would take the escalator up and cross over the footbridge
(05:14):
into the World Financial Center. I was there when it happened.
I had arrived at my desk about seven forty five
that morning, and I saw the entire thing on a
fold before my eyes. It was absolutely horrific, evil and terrifying.
I don't talk about it a lot, but I do
mention it in my book because that was a moment.
(05:36):
It was actually when I was leaving my building after
the second plane hit the South Power There was a
moment when I was in the elevator getting out of
my building and escaping and wondering if my building was
going to get hit next. I mean, we had no
idea what was going on, and there was a moment
that I just had this epiphany and I thought, you
know what, if I get out of this, I am
going to one day go back and serve my country,
(05:57):
and I want to serve others. I ended up staying
on Wall Street and working in finance. I stayed in
New York for a number of years, and I went
and worked for a hedge fund in Beverly Hills. But
I just knew that there was something that I there
was that calling and that oath that I had made
to myself in that elevator that morning. I needed to
make good on my promise to myself. And it was
actually someone from Wall Street and they said, you know,
(06:19):
maybe you should apply to the FBI. And so that
was around two thousand and nine, and I literally just
went to FBI dot gov and I just started filling
out the application to be a special agent. And that's
how it started. And I started the application process in November.
By July, I was given an academy date and I
was off to Quantico August first of twenty ten.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
And what's that like the process of becoming an FBI agent.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
It's intense. It's well, I can tell you that the
FBI won back in the day. It was intense, Okay,
when I joined.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
It was.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Multiple phases of testing, which I talk about in my book, because,
believe it or not, that's probably one of the number
one questions I get. What was the application process? Like
what led you to the FBI? So I speak about that.
But there were multiple phases of testing, which I detail
in the book. Phase one, you know, it's kind of
like at the time, it was a multiple choice literally
on a scantron, like what we did in high school.
(07:15):
And then after that, if you get through that phase
and you go into phase two, which is a live
panel where you're questioned by a panel of three FBI agents,
and then there's an additional writing sample investigation that you
have to do, and then after that you have to
do physical fitness testing, mental testing. There's you know, there's
just various layers to it. It's very intense. In the
(07:36):
background checks. They're intense, and they need to be intense
because they need to know who you are before signing
you up to work for the federal government and giving
you a top secret security clearance. Additionally, there's a polygraph
and I detail that because that polygraph is no joke.
So it's a very intense background check. You know, they
talk to everyone that you've basically ever met since you
(07:59):
were a baby. What it's felt like. I mean, they're
calling neighbors, friends of neighbors, friends, friends of friends, just
making sure that everything is checked and that there's no
skeletons in your closet that they should be concerned about.
That's how it was back then. And then I talk
about how it changed drastically. In order for the FBI
to fill certain diversity quotas, it seemed that they were
dropping the hiring standards. And that's not good because when
(08:23):
you're putting the safety of Americans on the line, you
need to have the most qualified individuals doing that job,
regardless of their race, gender, you know, and any of
those items that the FBI started using, it really it
really hurt the hiring process of the FBI. And frankly,
what that does is it actually hurts minorities more than anybody, because,
(08:47):
as a female agent, Lisa, I was constantly having to
prove I'm not a token female at the FBI. I'm
here because I'm qualified, and so what they think they're
doing and welcoming and including everyone, look, I believe including
everyone that's qualified. I don't really care what you look
like or where you're from. If you're qualified, you should
get the job. But they changed it so drastically, and
(09:10):
they dropped the hiring standards to the point where you
would look at someone who is a minority and you
wondered if they were there, and that upsets minorities who
are qualified more than anybody. And being a woman, I
detail a lot how I was there because I belonged there,
but I was constantly having to prove that my spot
here at the FBI is fully justified.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
You know. So you look at that twenty sixteen James
Comey's Hillary Clinton press conference, Is that the moment that
the FBI became too political?
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Or what do you think the turning point? And when
did it become FBI two?
Speaker 3 (09:48):
So you know, some will say, you know, it's always
been FBI too since Hoover. You know, but I'm talking
from my experience at the FBI. I don't agree with
that statement. I think the FBI it does amazing and
solid work. But for I joined in twenty ten, and
the defining moment when I realized and saw FBI two
was July fifth, twenty sixteen, when James Comy held that
(10:09):
press conference in front of the American people and he
said that no reasonable prosecutor would charge Hillary Clinton basically
for the mishandling of classified materials. That was stunning to us.
It was kind of like the nine to eleven moment
for the FBI. We all remember where we were, what
we were doing. I remember I was in my boss's
office with other agents and we were livid because he
(10:31):
basically laid out and read an indictment on Hillary Clinton
and then at the end basically said, but no one's
going to charge this. And it showed us Number one,
we are a political pond. Now certain rules only applied
to certain people. And there was this pattern that started
then that if you were on the democratic, liberal or
(10:52):
progressive side of the spectrum, you basically got a pass
from the FBI. And on the flip side. Right after that,
they pivot from the Hillary Clint investigation. And again, this
is all coming out in Arctic frost. And I know
people that have looked at this investigation. I know people
that were on the Hillary Clinton investigation. This is a fact.
They literally had enough to potentially charge her, and they
(11:14):
were told, don't look there, we need to pivot right
now to this Russia collusion thing. And we believe that
members of Trump's campaign, you know, are you know, working
for Russia. That genuinely, truly literally happened. There was no exaggeration.
And so that's when I saw the political weaponization on
(11:36):
a grand, grand scale. It was it was disgusting, It's wrong,
and sadly no one ever stopped it.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Got to take a quick commercial break more than Nicole
on the other side, how much sway does a president
have in this, because I know the FBI is supposed
to be independent. Be look under former President Obama and
obviously there's been a lot of revelations about his role
in Russia Gate and the Russia hoax against President Trump
(12:06):
and the weaponization of the government against him. And then
we look at the Biden administration as well, and you know,
you look at a swat team going to in an
unprecedented way going to mar A Lago, Uh, going after
you know, President Trump or you know you look at
the SWAT teams being sent out for January sixth misdemeanor arrests.
(12:27):
How much of that was influenced by you know, President
Trump and President by Art, sorry, President Obama and now
President of Biden.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Okay, so let me tell you how it should be.
It should be independent. Of course, sadly it was not.
It absolutely was not. And I can tell you that
under for instance, it's an example you've made. You just
named several, but I'll just hit on one. For instance,
January sixth, that was basically the Biden administration going after
(12:57):
their political opponents and people that they wanted to attack.
If you were Trump or a Trump supporter, you were
there at the Capitol. I mean, Lisa, we're talking about
grandma's that walked inside the Capitol with their cell phone
and took a picture and they get the full force
of the federal government on them with a swap visit. Okay,
that's disgusting. That's an abuse of power. On the flip side,
(13:22):
during the same timeframe, my best friend, Special Agent Laura Schwarzenberger,
was executing a search warrant for one of the most
violent offenders in the country, child pedophiles. There was no
swap for her. Okay, so the FBI nationwide was like,
make sure, no matter what, if it's January sixth, we're
going to put swat on them. That is wrong. That
(13:44):
was political intimidation. That was to scare people and say, look,
if you mess with us or you do this, we're
going to come after you. And that may also make
an important point. The FBI has never been in the
business of charging misdemeanors. Okay, there are very few agents,
We have very few resources. I mean, if you think
about it, only thirteen thousand agents in the entire world.
We don't have time to be focusing on this demeanors.
(14:05):
The FBI should be focusing on the most complex and
important cases affecting Americans. But what the Biden administration did
was they made January sixth look like it was a
huge domestic terrorism threat. It was operated out of WFO,
the Washington Field Office and headquarters, and they basically pushed
multiple cases to all these different field offices where there
were even attendees that went to January sixth. We're talking
(14:29):
non violent offenders and so they made it look like
it was this huge national problem, when in reality, it
was one isolated day where there were certain individuals. I
agree they should have been charged to the fullest extent
of the law. I have no tolerance for violence, but
the vast majority were not violent. They were misdemeanors. But
the Biden administration and Merrick Garland said we're going full throttle.
(14:53):
You don't even want to know. It was disgusting. On
the one year anniversary, Merrick Garland, and again this is
an internal town hall. He gets on this town hall
with all DJ employees, which includes the FBI, touting, you know,
we are doing such a phenomenal job on January sixth.
This is the largest ever investigation in DJ history. As
a witness to the nine eleven terrorist attacks, that's insulting.
(15:15):
So you're telling me that January sixth was more dangerous
and detrimental to our country than nine to eleven. I mean,
that's literally how they viewed it. It was despicable, it was disgusting.
And even in the FBI Miami Field office where I worked,
upper level management would literally be going around to the
different squads. You know, we got to keep pushing January sixth.
We got to keep going, We got to go full throttle.
It was literal, like, this was no exaggeration. This was happening.
(15:38):
And there were individuals I heard with my own ears
saying I would love to go after those Trump supporters.
Put me on it. It's disgusting. And then they were
sending agents up to the Washington Field office for what
we call these td wys. Do you know how much
money that costs the taxpayers millions? We're talking hundreds of
millions of dollars that they spent on this for nonsense.
(15:59):
It wasn't a truth rught to America. But that is
an example of what this administration in FBI two did.
And the sad part is so many agents from FBI
two willingly went along, and you're seeing it in Arctic
frost as well. Willingly went along. They embraced this opportunity,
they relished in the opportunity. And yeah, FBI one agents
(16:21):
like myself and my best friend who was killed, and
it's very powerful. It's in the book. We made a
vow to each other the day before she was killed.
She's like, I will never do a politically motivated investigation,
even if the FBI asked me to I will not
do it, and if they want to fire me, they can.
If they're going to take me down, they can take
me down for my morals because I will not do it.
And I said, I'm not going to do it either.
(16:43):
And so there were FBI one agents holding the line
and saying, no, I'm not going to do that. But
yet the FBI two, they gladly went after Trump Trump
supporters and all of it's going to come out.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
You don't and I know that, you know, the youth
of SWAT teams to go after our January sixth misdemean
arrests and that kind of abuse. The frustration with that
is underscored by you know, you mentioned your best friend
Laura Schwarzenberger and Daniel Alfin were killed while executing a
child predator warrant with no SWAT support.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
That's disgusting. And you know what, the FBI, they didn't
even address it after it happened, Lisa, it was as
if it never occurred. You know, we had this memorial service.
The FBI wouldn't even pay for their memorial services. They
wouldn't even pay for that. But you're willing to spend
millions of dollars on January sixth, But you're not going
to pay for the memorial services of two agents doing
(17:42):
the noblest work in the FBI. In my opinion, FECAC,
we call it violent crimes against children. That is God's work.
You're protecting the most vulnerable and they could even be bothered.
They didn't even tell us what happened. Lisa. I went
to my management in FBI Miami. I said, when are
we going to get an after action review? Is what
we can I want an after action review. I want
(18:02):
to understand what happened to my friend that morning, Why
did this happen? What were the mistakes? Do you know what?
They told me. We're not prepared to hear about it yet,
so we're not going to talk about it. Excuse me.
We have two dead agents, three others that were shot,
and we're not going to talk about it. But yet
every day I get fifty emails about diversity in my inbox.
(18:22):
Please let's start focusing on the real work at the FBI.
I didn't come here to be a social justice warrior.
I want to know what happened. They shoved it under
the rug. Christopher Ray never held an after action review
for the FBI in my time there, and it just
was one thing after another. The last chapter in my book,
I literally had to do a table of contents within
the chapter because it was so many things, and they
(18:44):
just drove me out of the agency FBI two in
full force. It got to the point I didn't even
recognize the FBI. I'd walk into the office and you
felt like you were in a twilight zone. And I
make a joke in the book, it's actually not funny,
but we weren't shot. Were like, we wouldn't be shocked
if the FBI had our voter role records and knew
(19:04):
even what agents voted for President Trump. They weren't just
going after people outside of the FBI internally. We felt
like we were targeted if we were conservatives inside the
agency as well.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
What percentage of the FBI is liberal? And how much
do FBI agents were sort of their politics on their sleeve.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
So I shouldn't even know what percentage. I don't know
if that's the best question to ask, because I don't,
I mean it's a good question to ask. I don't
know that I have the best answer. I can only
break it down in my opinion from FBI one FBI two,
and again that's not necessarily based on party lines. It's
just based on do uphold the law in a fair
and unbiased manner or do you not. And I've talked
(19:50):
to a lot of agents, and we think originally, starting
when we started seeing FBI two creep in, we would
probably say it was like thirty percent FBI two seventy percent.
By the time I left, agents literally were like, we
think it's flip floped, like it's probably more like fifty
to fifty or sixty FBI two forty FBI one. And
(20:13):
even now I'm in touch with agents and they're they're
a little surprised to hear how many people are just
so upset by what's happening under the Trump administration. I
mean FBI too. They're losing their minds. What the Trump
administration is doing is they're equally upholding and enforcing the law,
and that is what they should have been doing all along.
(20:33):
And so all these individuals in the media that are
coming out and saying, oh, you know, Trump's this is
political retribution. He's just going after comy and all these
people not political retribution. They're just not accustomed to equal
enforcement of the law. Jim Comey should have been looked
at years ago, but he had the protective cover of
the DOJ buddies of his and all of these other
individuals that the statue of limitation for a lot of
(20:55):
the charges that could have potentially come has expired. But
there does need to be accountability, Lisa, because if there's
no tangible consequences, the cycle continues.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
You know, when you look at.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Some things that happen under the Biden administration, mark how
agents reading his home with rifles, this pro life Catholic father,
or you look at the Catholic memo targeting you know,
traditional Catholics, it would seem like there's some sort of
like anti Catholic or anti religious bias within the FBI.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
You know, that's a really good point because and I
talk about at the beginning of my book that actually
used to be embraced. Look, the FBI doesn't you know,
talk about and encouraged religion even back in the day. Okay,
like separation of church and state. I respect that, but
the types of morals that a lot of Christian's religious people,
you know, Jews, whatever your religious persuasion may be, or
(21:47):
your spiritual persuasion that used to be embraced by the FBI. Okay,
they want people of high moral standards, things of that sort,
and so they it seemed like they were definitely shunning
that again at the end, and again the COVID vaccine.
You name some of the important elements that would indicate
that they were not exactly pro religion. The COVID vaccine.
(22:09):
For a lot of people, they had closely held religious
beliefs and they were submitting to be exempted from the
COVID vaccine, and a lot of those people got targeted.
I personally, I never got the COVID vaccine. I have
never even drank alcohol in my entire life. You think
I'm going to put this unapproved vaccine into my system
(22:29):
when I'm perfectly healthy. By the way, I never got COVID.
I never had an issue. I never got sick once.
So I'm very blessed by that. But they used, for instance,
the COVID vaccine and people that had closely held religious
beliefs to go after them and attack it and retaliated
against them. And so you name the Mark HAWQX situation,
the Catholic memo, and so it seemed that the FBI
(22:51):
was all about diversity and embracing everyone. No, it was
only if you are embracing liberal and progressive movements under
the bidens. They had no problem embracing that. And again
I respect everyone, do what you want, but there's no
place for that in the office. Just come and do
your job. The other thing that really was a personal
(23:11):
level of disturbance for me. We've talked about my friend Laura.
She was a very devout Catholic. They came to me
after she was killed, our Office of Public Affairs from
headquarters and said, you know, we understand that y'all are
very close. Would you mind doing an interview with us
and giving some information about her. I did, and one
of the key elements in her life and focal points
of her life was that she was a devout Catholic.
(23:32):
I shared that with them, and I said it was
her Catholic faith that allowed her to overcome the darkness
that she was involved in while doing these most difficult
crimes to investigate, you know, hurting children, crimes against children,
child trafficking. I got a draft of what they intended
to publish. They took out the entire section about her
being a devout Catholic. I was livid because that's who
(23:55):
she is and essence, they were trying to cancel her
faith in her death. And I went back to the
guy from Public Affairs and I'd made a decision, and
I said, if you don't put that back in, I
don't want my name in your article. I don't want
anything that I gave you included in the article. Basically,
you put that back in, or I want no participation
in your article. And he came back, and I'll never forget.
(24:15):
He's like, I really appreciate your candor. That's an FBI
word that we use, candor, And I thought, you don't
appreciate my candor at all, And I really don't care.
But we're not going to cancel my friend and her
religious faith in her death. You're going to put it
in there. Thankfully he did put it back in there.
But that's the kind of stuff that we were dealing
with on a daily basis there. But yet, if you're
(24:36):
a progressive liberal and you have all these other things,
they were all about diversity and inclusion, that it was
only if it fit their narrative. They weren't inclusive of
people of faith. No, at the end, they definitely were
not quick break.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
If you like what you're hearing, please here and social
media or send it to your family and friends. How
many times are field offices and field agents at odds
with leadership? You look at something like the Hunter Biden laptop.
You know, I assume most people in like field offices
and and you know, non leaders in the or not,
(25:09):
you know, not people in sort of like the you know,
like comy type position. The FBI agent or director uh
would know that like it wasn't or that it was
real and it.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Wasn't Russian disinformation?
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Like how many times do agents find themselves at odds
with leadership?
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Okay again, I think it's really when is that FBI
wanted odds with FBI two leadership? That's look FBI one
at the end, it was it was quite often fb
I one and FBI two really were at odds with
each other a lot. The right up mar A Lago
is a perfect example. FBI two again, headquarters and WFO
(25:46):
that was their idea and we're seeing it all in
arctic frost. Okay, that was coming from the top. They
were forcing it and pushing it down to the field
office in Miami, because that's where President Trump reside is
in West Palm Beach, which is in the West Palm
Beach ra of the FBI Miami Division. There were a
FBI one agents on the ground level that we're told, okay,
we're going to need your help. We've got these agents
coming down from DC and FBI one agents are like, look,
(26:07):
I want no part of that. Like, I'm not going
I want no part of it. I know for a
fact that the Deputy director at the time, even I
have to give credit, even the head of the WFO
filled office told him, and it's in the book, I
don't think this is a good idea for us to
do this rate. It's not going to be a good look.
We've already taken so much backlash. This is not good.
(26:27):
The deputy director and the legal folks at the top
of the FBI were like, we're trumping you and we're
going to do it. We're and and said no, we
are doing this. So there was a lot of being
at odds. When I left, I would say there was
a lot of friction between FBI two leadership and FBI
one on the ground level. And I can't say that
(26:48):
all leadership in the FBI is FBI two. But I
would say the majority is because these are people that
are so they're more concerned about moving up the ladder
at the bureau than they are about doing the writing
for them American people. That's the part to me of
FBI two management ego, self serving, arrogance. But yeah, I
would say there was a lot of moments where they
(27:08):
were at odds.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
You know, how do you think FBI Director Cash Betel
was doing so far?
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Has Has he made enough changes within the FBI?
Speaker 3 (27:20):
I have to say that he has a thankless job.
It's a difficult job. I don't envy him because he
walked into an absolute disaster zone. I know he's working
tirelessly day and night. He part of the thing is
when you come into the agency and you haven't been
at the agency before first shift, to just learn the
dynamic of the agency, that takes time to get up
to speed. He needs to know who he can trust.
(27:42):
What I think he's doing now and has been doing,
I think a phenomenal job at is learning who is
FBI one and who is FBI two and a lot
of FBI too. It's coming to light with these investigations
with Arctic frost he's seeing the squad that he had
to dismantle out of WFO, seeing that they were the
problem squad that initiated a lot of this. He's identifying
(28:03):
where a lot of these problems are. He's got a
very difficult task on his plate because he has to
obliterate FBI two while simultaneously build up the morale of
FBI one that has been lacking for years because FBI
one completely felt bulldozed and forgotten under the last administration.
So it's a very fine balancing act. You got to
(28:24):
take down FBI two while you build up FBI one.
You hear him all the time, Let good cops be
good cops, and I have to say, I mean, I've
had to conversations with him. He's very open minded. He listens,
and I know there's a lot of criticism from people
that are like, you know, why haven't we seen this,
why haven't we seen that? But I can tell you
that behind the scenes, there's a lot of movement going on.
(28:45):
And legally, it's I talk about this in the book,
FBI two pretty much knew that they were untouchable because
legally it's hard to fire someone from the federal government.
It really is. And so that's a shame because whether
you're a corrupt person at the FBI or you're a
lazy FBI too includes all the lazy agents and staff
as well. A lot of times they know they're untouchable,
(29:06):
so they're like, look, I can do whatever I want.
I'm not going to get fired. And so now it's
a new sheriff in town is like, actually, there is
going to be accountability. And many people at the FBI
aren't accustomed to that. So FBI too, they're losing their
minds under cash Betel And I know it's going to
take time. It takes time. We need to be patient.
But I think he's moving pretty quickly with everything that
he's been given. And again, if the government, things tend
(29:30):
to move very slow. Not under the Trump administration. Trump's
go on full speed, full throttle. And if you're any
part of his administration, you better be ready to run
because that's how they roll. And I have to say,
I think he's doing a great job with what he's
been given, but it is going to take time.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Do you think that the FABI, under a cash hotel
that they have gotten back to prioritizing core missions.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
I do think that they have certainly gotten back to
a lot of things that they should have been doing
A long time ago. The FBI was doing these amazing
things and they went off the rails. So I'll give
you an example. All of the January sixth resources were
immediately cut done. That is now over the four year
investigation of January sixth. He redistributed that to doing foreign
(30:17):
terist organization. I'm sure that you just heard about the
Halloween foil plot that was stopped. Those are the types
of things we want to see our FBI doing. And
with Biden having had the open border for four years,
you have no idea how many terrorists could be lingering
in our country because they were just allowed to freely
walk in. So I appreciate and respect that he is
focusing back on foreign terrorists organization groups with a vengeance.
(30:41):
That's amazing. The violent crime focus, it does matter. Americans
want to feel safe in their individual cities, and they
are obliterating violent crime and many of these cities they're
sending task force officers or task forces in doing a
lot of good work the violent crimes against children. I'm
getting a lot of positive feedback from my friends who
worked that viol so they're getting back to, I believe,
(31:02):
what the core mission of the FBI should be. They've
taken out DEI completely. I talk about that in my
book a lot because it became a focus. So I
have to say, I do think that he is getting
back to what the FBI should be doing. And again,
we've got to be patient. It takes time. I know
a lot of people, you know, at the beginning, there's
a lot of immigration movement and people helping with immigration,
(31:24):
and they still continue to help with the you know,
immigration issue that has been mandated by the American people
by electing President Trump. But I think also he's saying, look,
we can't do every you know, we've got to put
our resources where the FBI works best, cyber intrusions, the
Chinese threat. I think he really is trying to focus
(31:45):
at least of the FBI's responsibilities. It's so wide ranging
that you can't be wasting resources on things that don't matter,
and that's what the Biden administration did, and he's getting
it back on track. I think, do you think.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
The FBI and the Department of Justice should release information
relating to Jeffrey Epstein?
Speaker 2 (32:04):
You know, why do you think they haven't.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
That's a great question. The Epstein case started actually in
FBI Miami back under Acosta when he was the US
Attorney and I think a lot of people don't know
the background story of how some deals were cut back then.
But a lot of the information that Americans want to
see is protected by core order and it's not up
to DOJ or FBI to release those records. That's actually
up to judges, and so their hands are tied on
(32:29):
certain details that can be released. But I know that
they are. Look, I know Pam Bondi, and I know
that she is trying to be as transparent as possible
to give as much as she can. So you're dealing
with very delicate. It's very delicate anytime it's a violation
of that sort. The victims have all of rights, and
you've got to protect your victims at all costs. They
(32:49):
have those legal rights, and additionally, core orders. They can't
trump a core order when a judge says no, we're
going to keep this sealed. So I have not seen
the Epstein file, but I do know agents back in
the day that we're very familiar with it in FBI Miami,
and that was a disaster from the get go, and
that dates all the way back to you know, two
thousand and seven, like we're talking a long time ago,
(33:10):
and that case is, you know, Epstein's disgraceful. He was
a disgraceful human being, as was Maxwell. But I understand
the frustration. But yet I think that they're doing what
they can, but their hands are definitely tied in certain aspects.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
You know, before we go, you know, you did resign
from the FBI.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Would you tell young people to join the FBI or
sort of what like, what is your sentiment today?
Speaker 3 (33:34):
That's a great question. I actually get asked that by
a lot of people. People always say, oh, could you
mind talking to my son or my daughter, you know,
they're considering applying to the FBI. I'll be blunt. And
the Biden administration, I said, don't apply, And it really does.
Now I'm learning that the administration does set the tone
for the priorities of the FBI, even though it should
be completely independent. Because I saw what the Biden administration
(33:57):
Obama administration did do it and completely and frankly the
Trump administration. Trump, it wasn't Trump. It was that Trump
put people into positions that he trusted and like Christopher Ray.
He was a horrible director. But President Trump trusted Chris
Christie's recommendation. I mean, why would he not write. Trump
knows who we can trust now. And that's the good
(34:18):
thing about the second administration is he knows exactly who
we can trust. He got screwed over in his first administration,
but he's doing a phenomenal job. I think he's put
the right people in there, and I think it is
important that good people apply to the FBI. I do
strongly recommend it, and that's why this book. If you're
looking to apply, read about FBI one, and if you're
going to apply, make a vow to yourself that you're
(34:39):
going to be FBI one. That's what we need. We
don't need two fbis. We need FBI one to be
FBI one to be the only fi. FBI two needs
to be completely wiped away. So yes, I would recommend
it to those that want to do good work for
the American people. Work hard. You're going to work hard.
If you're a good agent, you're gonna be working long hours.
Expect that, and be honest, have integrity, do the right
(35:02):
thing for the right reasons, the proper motivations, so for me,
that's what made it difficult to walk away. Lisa. It
wasn't easy to get in, and I worked so hard.
You read about the I call it the Quantico Crucible.
It was difficult for me to get through that firearms
training at Quantico. I made it through finally. It was
you know, I passed every single time for over fifty
(35:23):
qualifications after that. But it was difficult to walk away
because I loved what I was doing when things were good,
it was it wasn't a job. It was like a
passion and it was a mission. And I really felt
like what I did mattered. So I would highly recommend it.
It's a very fulfilling job. It's difficult, but it is
worth it.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
The Cole Parker, former FBI special agent and new author
of the two fbis The Bravery and Betrayal I saw
my time at the bureau. Nicle Parker, thanks for coming on,
my friend.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
I appreciate the honesty.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Thank you, Lisa, God blessed that.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Was Nicole Parker.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
Appreciate her for coming on the show. Appreciate you guys
at home for listening every Tuesday and Thursday, but you
can listen throughout the week. Oh some want to thank
John Cassio and my producer for putting the show together.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
Until next time,
Welcome to the Truth with Lisa Booth, where we get
to the heart of the issues that mattered to you. Today,
we're talking about the FBI. Former FBI Special Agent Nicole Parker.
She walked away from the job that she loved because
the bureau she had sworn to serve had started hunting
patriots instead of predators. Her new book, The Two Fbis,
names the day it all went wrong and the raid
(00:22):
that killed her best friend while SWAT teams were terrorizing
January sixth, Grandma's Today, Zero Filter, Comy's betrayal, the Catholic Memo,
and what Cash Betel must do to change the FBI
going forward.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Stay tuned for Nicole Parker.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Nicole, it's great to have you on.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
The show, my friend. I'm so proud and excited for you.
With the launch of your new book, The Two Fbis.
Have you gotten pushback from the FBI and writing the
book or what's that been like.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Well, I can tell you that I started writing the
book under the Biden administry, and so I was a
bit nervous because the FBI does have to approve the book,
and I know that there have been other agents that
have written books under the Biden administration that were not
exactly positive regarding the FBI, and there was a lot
of pushback for them. Thankfully, under the Trump administration, who
(01:18):
can acknowledge the mistakes of the FBI, the process from
headquarters has been seamless. I have been very grateful and
blessed for that. As far as agents, FBI one and
FBI two are completely two different fbis, and that's what
the premise of the book is about. SOBI one I
would consider the good agents doing hard work upholding their
(01:42):
constitutional oath in a fair and unbiased manner, and FBI
two is the political and social weaponization of the FBI.
That's what you're seeing in the Arctic frost revelations coming out.
So I can tell you FBI one agents and staff
are celebrating this book because I'm sharing things that they
(02:04):
all agree with. We all know is happening. But while
you're at the FBI, you can't speak up. You can't
say a word. A FBI two. On the other hand,
I'll be honest, I don't have a lot of friends
that are from FBI two, so I haven't heard much
pushback from them, but I'm sure that there will be
pushback from FBI two, because I'm basically calling them out
in a very direct manner.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
You know, you had mentioned artic frost. What do we
know so far and what did your gut tell you
that happened and why it happened.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
I believe the Arctic frost is really the tip of
the iceberg. Nothing that's coming out is shocking to someone
who actually lived and witnessed the political weaponization of the FBI.
I know that's really sad to say. It's shameful, it's disgraceful,
it's despicable and disgusting, but it's not shocking, and that's
exactly what drove me out of the agency. So what
(02:54):
you're seeing is that exactly what I talk about in
my book is exactly what was happening. The FBI was
going full force, putting the full force of the federal government,
conducting investigations and looking into individuals merely because of where
they stood on the political spectrum. And we're seeing that
they were getting toll records for senators that's entirely inappropriate.
(03:18):
What's the probable cause to believe that they committed the
crime to even have the right to get those subpoenas
in the first place, And the fact that they worked
with Jack Smith and his team. It started out of
the WFO field office, and it just it's destructive and
what they did was wrong, and it's blatantly on the
American stage. Now everyone's seeing what we were seeing internally
(03:40):
for years and under the Biden administration, it was so brazen, Lisa,
like they had no shame in it. It got to
the point where they weren't even trying to hide what
they were doing. But what they did was they really
looked at something like the election, the twenty twenty election,
and tried to think of who could possibly who could
we go after and attack in the and that's what
they did. I mean, look, they went after Turning Point,
(04:02):
I mean really turning Point, Lisa. I wouldn't be shocked
if they were looking into my personal records after I
left the FBI and went onto Fox News. I mean,
that's how disturbing it really is. And that is abuse
of your law enforcement power to push your political agendas.
And I pray that under this administration there's full accountability
(04:23):
for those that were abusing their power. That is wrong
and that is the epitome of FBI two. What Americans
are seeing now is what we were seeing internally, but
again we could never discuss it publicly.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
You know, and obviously when you signed up for the FBI,
you thought you were signing up for FBI one. You know,
you were on Royal Street when nine to eleven happened
in front of you. What did you see that morning
and when did you decide to leave finance to join
the FBI.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
The morning of September eleventh, two thousand and one, I
was barely twenty three years old. I was working for
Merrill Lynch down at the World Financial Center. Every morning,
I would commute and go through the World Trade Center
to the Courtland Street station on the Red Line, and
I would literally get out of the subway, go through
the underground mall, through one World Trade Center, and I
would take the escalator up and cross over the footbridge
(05:14):
into the World Financial Center. I was there when it happened.
I had arrived at my desk about seven forty five
that morning, and I saw the entire thing on a
fold before my eyes. It was absolutely horrific, evil and terrifying.
I don't talk about it a lot, but I do
mention it in my book because that was a moment.
(05:36):
It was actually when I was leaving my building after
the second plane hit the South Power There was a
moment when I was in the elevator getting out of
my building and escaping and wondering if my building was
going to get hit next. I mean, we had no
idea what was going on, and there was a moment
that I just had this epiphany and I thought, you
know what, if I get out of this, I am
going to one day go back and serve my country,
(05:57):
and I want to serve others. I ended up staying
on Wall Street and working in finance. I stayed in
New York for a number of years, and I went
and worked for a hedge fund in Beverly Hills. But
I just knew that there was something that I there
was that calling and that oath that I had made
to myself in that elevator that morning. I needed to
make good on my promise to myself. And it was
actually someone from Wall Street and they said, you know,
(06:19):
maybe you should apply to the FBI. And so that
was around two thousand and nine, and I literally just
went to FBI dot gov and I just started filling
out the application to be a special agent. And that's
how it started. And I started the application process in November.
By July, I was given an academy date and I
was off to Quantico August first of twenty ten.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
And what's that like the process of becoming an FBI agent.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
It's intense. It's well, I can tell you that the
FBI won back in the day. It was intense, Okay,
when I joined.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
It was.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Multiple phases of testing, which I talk about in my book, because,
believe it or not, that's probably one of the number
one questions I get. What was the application process? Like
what led you to the FBI? So I speak about that.
But there were multiple phases of testing, which I detail
in the book. Phase one, you know, it's kind of
like at the time, it was a multiple choice literally
on a scantron, like what we did in high school.
(07:15):
And then after that, if you get through that phase
and you go into phase two, which is a live
panel where you're questioned by a panel of three FBI agents,
and then there's an additional writing sample investigation that you
have to do, and then after that you have to
do physical fitness testing, mental testing. There's you know, there's
just various layers to it. It's very intense. In the
(07:36):
background checks. They're intense, and they need to be intense
because they need to know who you are before signing
you up to work for the federal government and giving
you a top secret security clearance. Additionally, there's a polygraph
and I detail that because that polygraph is no joke.
So it's a very intense background check. You know, they
talk to everyone that you've basically ever met since you
(07:59):
were a baby. What it's felt like. I mean, they're
calling neighbors, friends of neighbors, friends, friends of friends, just
making sure that everything is checked and that there's no
skeletons in your closet that they should be concerned about.
That's how it was back then. And then I talk
about how it changed drastically. In order for the FBI
to fill certain diversity quotas, it seemed that they were
dropping the hiring standards. And that's not good because when
(08:23):
you're putting the safety of Americans on the line, you
need to have the most qualified individuals doing that job,
regardless of their race, gender, you know, and any of
those items that the FBI started using, it really it
really hurt the hiring process of the FBI. And frankly,
what that does is it actually hurts minorities more than anybody, because,
(08:47):
as a female agent, Lisa, I was constantly having to
prove I'm not a token female at the FBI. I'm
here because I'm qualified, and so what they think they're
doing and welcoming and including everyone, look, I believe including
everyone that's qualified. I don't really care what you look
like or where you're from. If you're qualified, you should
get the job. But they changed it so drastically, and
(09:10):
they dropped the hiring standards to the point where you
would look at someone who is a minority and you
wondered if they were there, and that upsets minorities who
are qualified more than anybody. And being a woman, I
detail a lot how I was there because I belonged there,
but I was constantly having to prove that my spot
here at the FBI is fully justified.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
You know. So you look at that twenty sixteen James
Comey's Hillary Clinton press conference, Is that the moment that
the FBI became too political?
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Or what do you think the turning point? And when
did it become FBI two?
Speaker 3 (09:48):
So you know, some will say, you know, it's always
been FBI too since Hoover. You know, but I'm talking
from my experience at the FBI. I don't agree with
that statement. I think the FBI it does amazing and
solid work. But for I joined in twenty ten, and
the defining moment when I realized and saw FBI two
was July fifth, twenty sixteen, when James Comy held that
(10:09):
press conference in front of the American people and he
said that no reasonable prosecutor would charge Hillary Clinton basically
for the mishandling of classified materials. That was stunning to us.
It was kind of like the nine to eleven moment
for the FBI. We all remember where we were, what
we were doing. I remember I was in my boss's
office with other agents and we were livid because he
(10:31):
basically laid out and read an indictment on Hillary Clinton
and then at the end basically said, but no one's
going to charge this. And it showed us Number one,
we are a political pond. Now certain rules only applied
to certain people. And there was this pattern that started
then that if you were on the democratic, liberal or
(10:52):
progressive side of the spectrum, you basically got a pass
from the FBI. And on the flip side. Right after that,
they pivot from the Hillary Clint investigation. And again, this
is all coming out in Arctic frost. And I know
people that have looked at this investigation. I know people
that were on the Hillary Clinton investigation. This is a fact.
They literally had enough to potentially charge her, and they
(11:14):
were told, don't look there, we need to pivot right
now to this Russia collusion thing. And we believe that
members of Trump's campaign, you know, are you know, working
for Russia. That genuinely, truly literally happened. There was no exaggeration.
And so that's when I saw the political weaponization on
(11:36):
a grand, grand scale. It was it was disgusting, It's wrong,
and sadly no one ever stopped it.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Got to take a quick commercial break more than Nicole
on the other side, how much sway does a president
have in this, because I know the FBI is supposed
to be independent. Be look under former President Obama and
obviously there's been a lot of revelations about his role
in Russia Gate and the Russia hoax against President Trump
(12:06):
and the weaponization of the government against him. And then
we look at the Biden administration as well, and you know,
you look at a swat team going to in an
unprecedented way going to mar A Lago, Uh, going after
you know, President Trump or you know you look at
the SWAT teams being sent out for January sixth misdemeanor arrests.
(12:27):
How much of that was influenced by you know, President
Trump and President by Art, sorry, President Obama and now
President of Biden.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Okay, so let me tell you how it should be.
It should be independent. Of course, sadly it was not.
It absolutely was not. And I can tell you that
under for instance, it's an example you've made. You just
named several, but I'll just hit on one. For instance,
January sixth, that was basically the Biden administration going after
(12:57):
their political opponents and people that they wanted to attack.
If you were Trump or a Trump supporter, you were
there at the Capitol. I mean, Lisa, we're talking about
grandma's that walked inside the Capitol with their cell phone
and took a picture and they get the full force
of the federal government on them with a swap visit. Okay,
that's disgusting. That's an abuse of power. On the flip side,
(13:22):
during the same timeframe, my best friend, Special Agent Laura Schwarzenberger,
was executing a search warrant for one of the most
violent offenders in the country, child pedophiles. There was no
swap for her. Okay, so the FBI nationwide was like,
make sure, no matter what, if it's January sixth, we're
going to put swat on them. That is wrong. That
(13:44):
was political intimidation. That was to scare people and say, look,
if you mess with us or you do this, we're
going to come after you. And that may also make
an important point. The FBI has never been in the
business of charging misdemeanors. Okay, there are very few agents,
We have very few resources. I mean, if you think
about it, only thirteen thousand agents in the entire world.
We don't have time to be focusing on this demeanors.
(14:05):
The FBI should be focusing on the most complex and
important cases affecting Americans. But what the Biden administration did
was they made January sixth look like it was a
huge domestic terrorism threat. It was operated out of WFO,
the Washington Field Office and headquarters, and they basically pushed
multiple cases to all these different field offices where there
were even attendees that went to January sixth. We're talking
(14:29):
non violent offenders and so they made it look like
it was this huge national problem, when in reality, it
was one isolated day where there were certain individuals. I
agree they should have been charged to the fullest extent
of the law. I have no tolerance for violence, but
the vast majority were not violent. They were misdemeanors. But
the Biden administration and Merrick Garland said we're going full throttle.
(14:53):
You don't even want to know. It was disgusting. On
the one year anniversary, Merrick Garland, and again this is
an internal town hall. He gets on this town hall
with all DJ employees, which includes the FBI, touting, you know,
we are doing such a phenomenal job on January sixth.
This is the largest ever investigation in DJ history. As
a witness to the nine eleven terrorist attacks, that's insulting.
(15:15):
So you're telling me that January sixth was more dangerous
and detrimental to our country than nine to eleven. I mean,
that's literally how they viewed it. It was despicable, it was disgusting.
And even in the FBI Miami Field office where I worked,
upper level management would literally be going around to the
different squads. You know, we got to keep pushing January sixth.
We got to keep going, We got to go full throttle.
It was literal, like, this was no exaggeration. This was happening.
(15:38):
And there were individuals I heard with my own ears
saying I would love to go after those Trump supporters.
Put me on it. It's disgusting. And then they were
sending agents up to the Washington Field office for what
we call these td wys. Do you know how much
money that costs the taxpayers millions? We're talking hundreds of
millions of dollars that they spent on this for nonsense.
(15:59):
It wasn't a truth rught to America. But that is
an example of what this administration in FBI two did.
And the sad part is so many agents from FBI
two willingly went along, and you're seeing it in Arctic
frost as well. Willingly went along. They embraced this opportunity,
they relished in the opportunity. And yeah, FBI one agents
(16:21):
like myself and my best friend who was killed, and
it's very powerful. It's in the book. We made a
vow to each other the day before she was killed.
She's like, I will never do a politically motivated investigation,
even if the FBI asked me to I will not
do it, and if they want to fire me, they can.
If they're going to take me down, they can take
me down for my morals because I will not do it.
And I said, I'm not going to do it either.
(16:43):
And so there were FBI one agents holding the line
and saying, no, I'm not going to do that. But
yet the FBI two, they gladly went after Trump Trump
supporters and all of it's going to come out.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
You don't and I know that, you know, the youth
of SWAT teams to go after our January sixth misdemean
arrests and that kind of abuse. The frustration with that
is underscored by you know, you mentioned your best friend
Laura Schwarzenberger and Daniel Alfin were killed while executing a
child predator warrant with no SWAT support.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
That's disgusting. And you know what, the FBI, they didn't
even address it after it happened, Lisa, it was as
if it never occurred. You know, we had this memorial service.
The FBI wouldn't even pay for their memorial services. They
wouldn't even pay for that. But you're willing to spend
millions of dollars on January sixth, But you're not going
to pay for the memorial services of two agents doing
(17:42):
the noblest work in the FBI. In my opinion, FECAC,
we call it violent crimes against children. That is God's work.
You're protecting the most vulnerable and they could even be bothered.
They didn't even tell us what happened. Lisa. I went
to my management in FBI Miami. I said, when are
we going to get an after action review? Is what
we can I want an after action review. I want
(18:02):
to understand what happened to my friend that morning, Why
did this happen? What were the mistakes? Do you know what?
They told me. We're not prepared to hear about it yet,
so we're not going to talk about it. Excuse me.
We have two dead agents, three others that were shot,
and we're not going to talk about it. But yet
every day I get fifty emails about diversity in my inbox.
(18:22):
Please let's start focusing on the real work at the FBI.
I didn't come here to be a social justice warrior.
I want to know what happened. They shoved it under
the rug. Christopher Ray never held an after action review
for the FBI in my time there, and it just
was one thing after another. The last chapter in my book,
I literally had to do a table of contents within
the chapter because it was so many things, and they
(18:44):
just drove me out of the agency FBI two in
full force. It got to the point I didn't even
recognize the FBI. I'd walk into the office and you
felt like you were in a twilight zone. And I
make a joke in the book, it's actually not funny,
but we weren't shot. Were like, we wouldn't be shocked
if the FBI had our voter role records and knew
(19:04):
even what agents voted for President Trump. They weren't just
going after people outside of the FBI internally. We felt
like we were targeted if we were conservatives inside the
agency as well.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
What percentage of the FBI is liberal? And how much
do FBI agents were sort of their politics on their sleeve.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
So I shouldn't even know what percentage. I don't know
if that's the best question to ask, because I don't,
I mean it's a good question to ask. I don't
know that I have the best answer. I can only
break it down in my opinion from FBI one FBI two,
and again that's not necessarily based on party lines. It's
just based on do uphold the law in a fair
and unbiased manner or do you not. And I've talked
(19:50):
to a lot of agents, and we think originally, starting
when we started seeing FBI two creep in, we would
probably say it was like thirty percent FBI two seventy percent.
By the time I left, agents literally were like, we
think it's flip floped, like it's probably more like fifty
to fifty or sixty FBI two forty FBI one. And
(20:13):
even now I'm in touch with agents and they're they're
a little surprised to hear how many people are just
so upset by what's happening under the Trump administration. I
mean FBI too. They're losing their minds. What the Trump
administration is doing is they're equally upholding and enforcing the law,
and that is what they should have been doing all along.
(20:33):
And so all these individuals in the media that are
coming out and saying, oh, you know, Trump's this is
political retribution. He's just going after comy and all these
people not political retribution. They're just not accustomed to equal
enforcement of the law. Jim Comey should have been looked
at years ago, but he had the protective cover of
the DOJ buddies of his and all of these other
individuals that the statue of limitation for a lot of
(20:55):
the charges that could have potentially come has expired. But
there does need to be accountability, Lisa, because if there's
no tangible consequences, the cycle continues.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
You know, when you look at.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Some things that happen under the Biden administration, mark how
agents reading his home with rifles, this pro life Catholic father,
or you look at the Catholic memo targeting you know,
traditional Catholics, it would seem like there's some sort of
like anti Catholic or anti religious bias within the FBI.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
You know, that's a really good point because and I
talk about at the beginning of my book that actually
used to be embraced. Look, the FBI doesn't you know,
talk about and encouraged religion even back in the day. Okay,
like separation of church and state. I respect that, but
the types of morals that a lot of Christian's religious people,
you know, Jews, whatever your religious persuasion may be, or
(21:47):
your spiritual persuasion that used to be embraced by the FBI. Okay,
they want people of high moral standards, things of that sort,
and so they it seemed like they were definitely shunning
that again at the end, and again the COVID vaccine.
You name some of the important elements that would indicate
that they were not exactly pro religion. The COVID vaccine.
(22:09):
For a lot of people, they had closely held religious
beliefs and they were submitting to be exempted from the
COVID vaccine, and a lot of those people got targeted.
I personally, I never got the COVID vaccine. I have
never even drank alcohol in my entire life. You think
I'm going to put this unapproved vaccine into my system
(22:29):
when I'm perfectly healthy. By the way, I never got COVID.
I never had an issue. I never got sick once.
So I'm very blessed by that. But they used, for instance,
the COVID vaccine and people that had closely held religious
beliefs to go after them and attack it and retaliated
against them. And so you name the Mark HAWQX situation,
the Catholic memo, and so it seemed that the FBI
(22:51):
was all about diversity and embracing everyone. No, it was
only if you are embracing liberal and progressive movements under
the bidens. They had no problem embracing that. And again
I respect everyone, do what you want, but there's no
place for that in the office. Just come and do
your job. The other thing that really was a personal
(23:11):
level of disturbance for me. We've talked about my friend Laura.
She was a very devout Catholic. They came to me
after she was killed, our Office of Public Affairs from
headquarters and said, you know, we understand that y'all are
very close. Would you mind doing an interview with us
and giving some information about her. I did, and one
of the key elements in her life and focal points
of her life was that she was a devout Catholic.
(23:32):
I shared that with them, and I said it was
her Catholic faith that allowed her to overcome the darkness
that she was involved in while doing these most difficult
crimes to investigate, you know, hurting children, crimes against children,
child trafficking. I got a draft of what they intended
to publish. They took out the entire section about her
being a devout Catholic. I was livid because that's who
(23:55):
she is and essence, they were trying to cancel her
faith in her death. And I went back to the
guy from Public Affairs and I'd made a decision, and
I said, if you don't put that back in, I
don't want my name in your article. I don't want
anything that I gave you included in the article. Basically,
you put that back in, or I want no participation
in your article. And he came back, and I'll never forget.
(24:15):
He's like, I really appreciate your candor. That's an FBI
word that we use, candor, And I thought, you don't
appreciate my candor at all, And I really don't care.
But we're not going to cancel my friend and her
religious faith in her death. You're going to put it
in there. Thankfully he did put it back in there.
But that's the kind of stuff that we were dealing
with on a daily basis there. But yet, if you're
(24:36):
a progressive liberal and you have all these other things,
they were all about diversity and inclusion, that it was
only if it fit their narrative. They weren't inclusive of
people of faith. No, at the end, they definitely were
not quick break.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
If you like what you're hearing, please here and social
media or send it to your family and friends. How
many times are field offices and field agents at odds
with leadership? You look at something like the Hunter Biden laptop.
You know, I assume most people in like field offices
and and you know, non leaders in the or not,
(25:09):
you know, not people in sort of like the you know,
like comy type position. The FBI agent or director uh
would know that like it wasn't or that it was
real and it.
Speaker 2 (25:19):
Wasn't Russian disinformation?
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Like how many times do agents find themselves at odds
with leadership?
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Okay again, I think it's really when is that FBI
wanted odds with FBI two leadership? That's look FBI one
at the end, it was it was quite often fb
I one and FBI two really were at odds with
each other a lot. The right up mar A Lago
is a perfect example. FBI two again, headquarters and WFO
(25:46):
that was their idea and we're seeing it all in
arctic frost. Okay, that was coming from the top. They
were forcing it and pushing it down to the field
office in Miami, because that's where President Trump reside is
in West Palm Beach, which is in the West Palm
Beach ra of the FBI Miami Division. There were a
FBI one agents on the ground level that we're told, okay,
we're going to need your help. We've got these agents
coming down from DC and FBI one agents are like, look,
(26:07):
I want no part of that. Like, I'm not going
I want no part of it. I know for a
fact that the Deputy director at the time, even I
have to give credit, even the head of the WFO
filled office told him, and it's in the book, I
don't think this is a good idea for us to
do this rate. It's not going to be a good look.
We've already taken so much backlash. This is not good.
(26:27):
The deputy director and the legal folks at the top
of the FBI were like, we're trumping you and we're
going to do it. We're and and said no, we
are doing this. So there was a lot of being
at odds. When I left, I would say there was
a lot of friction between FBI two leadership and FBI
one on the ground level. And I can't say that
(26:48):
all leadership in the FBI is FBI two. But I
would say the majority is because these are people that
are so they're more concerned about moving up the ladder
at the bureau than they are about doing the writing
for them American people. That's the part to me of
FBI two management ego, self serving, arrogance. But yeah, I
would say there was a lot of moments where they
(27:08):
were at odds.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
You know, how do you think FBI Director Cash Betel
was doing so far?
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Has Has he made enough changes within the FBI?
Speaker 3 (27:20):
I have to say that he has a thankless job.
It's a difficult job. I don't envy him because he
walked into an absolute disaster zone. I know he's working
tirelessly day and night. He part of the thing is
when you come into the agency and you haven't been
at the agency before first shift, to just learn the
dynamic of the agency, that takes time to get up
to speed. He needs to know who he can trust.
(27:42):
What I think he's doing now and has been doing,
I think a phenomenal job at is learning who is
FBI one and who is FBI two and a lot
of FBI too. It's coming to light with these investigations
with Arctic frost he's seeing the squad that he had
to dismantle out of WFO, seeing that they were the
problem squad that initiated a lot of this. He's identifying
(28:03):
where a lot of these problems are. He's got a
very difficult task on his plate because he has to
obliterate FBI two while simultaneously build up the morale of
FBI one that has been lacking for years because FBI
one completely felt bulldozed and forgotten under the last administration.
So it's a very fine balancing act. You got to
(28:24):
take down FBI two while you build up FBI one.
You hear him all the time, Let good cops be
good cops, and I have to say, I mean, I've
had to conversations with him. He's very open minded. He listens,
and I know there's a lot of criticism from people
that are like, you know, why haven't we seen this,
why haven't we seen that? But I can tell you
that behind the scenes, there's a lot of movement going on.
(28:45):
And legally, it's I talk about this in the book,
FBI two pretty much knew that they were untouchable because
legally it's hard to fire someone from the federal government.
It really is. And so that's a shame because whether
you're a corrupt person at the FBI or you're a
lazy FBI too includes all the lazy agents and staff
as well. A lot of times they know they're untouchable,
(29:06):
so they're like, look, I can do whatever I want.
I'm not going to get fired. And so now it's
a new sheriff in town is like, actually, there is
going to be accountability. And many people at the FBI
aren't accustomed to that. So FBI too, they're losing their
minds under cash Betel And I know it's going to
take time. It takes time. We need to be patient.
But I think he's moving pretty quickly with everything that
he's been given. And again, if the government, things tend
(29:30):
to move very slow. Not under the Trump administration. Trump's
go on full speed, full throttle. And if you're any
part of his administration, you better be ready to run
because that's how they roll. And I have to say,
I think he's doing a great job with what he's
been given, but it is going to take time.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Do you think that the FABI, under a cash hotel
that they have gotten back to prioritizing core missions.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
I do think that they have certainly gotten back to
a lot of things that they should have been doing
A long time ago. The FBI was doing these amazing
things and they went off the rails. So I'll give
you an example. All of the January sixth resources were
immediately cut done. That is now over the four year
investigation of January sixth. He redistributed that to doing foreign
(30:17):
terist organization. I'm sure that you just heard about the
Halloween foil plot that was stopped. Those are the types
of things we want to see our FBI doing. And
with Biden having had the open border for four years,
you have no idea how many terrorists could be lingering
in our country because they were just allowed to freely
walk in. So I appreciate and respect that he is
focusing back on foreign terrorists organization groups with a vengeance.
(30:41):
That's amazing. The violent crime focus, it does matter. Americans
want to feel safe in their individual cities, and they
are obliterating violent crime and many of these cities they're
sending task force officers or task forces in doing a
lot of good work the violent crimes against children. I'm
getting a lot of positive feedback from my friends who
worked that viol so they're getting back to, I believe,
(31:02):
what the core mission of the FBI should be. They've
taken out DEI completely. I talk about that in my
book a lot because it became a focus. So I
have to say, I do think that he is getting
back to what the FBI should be doing. And again,
we've got to be patient. It takes time. I know
a lot of people, you know, at the beginning, there's
a lot of immigration movement and people helping with immigration,
(31:24):
and they still continue to help with the you know,
immigration issue that has been mandated by the American people
by electing President Trump. But I think also he's saying, look,
we can't do every you know, we've got to put
our resources where the FBI works best, cyber intrusions, the
Chinese threat. I think he really is trying to focus
(31:45):
at least of the FBI's responsibilities. It's so wide ranging
that you can't be wasting resources on things that don't matter,
and that's what the Biden administration did, and he's getting
it back on track. I think, do you think.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
The FBI and the Department of Justice should release information
relating to Jeffrey Epstein?
Speaker 2 (32:04):
You know, why do you think they haven't.
Speaker 3 (32:07):
That's a great question. The Epstein case started actually in
FBI Miami back under Acosta when he was the US
Attorney and I think a lot of people don't know
the background story of how some deals were cut back then.
But a lot of the information that Americans want to
see is protected by core order and it's not up
to DOJ or FBI to release those records. That's actually
up to judges, and so their hands are tied on
(32:29):
certain details that can be released. But I know that
they are. Look, I know Pam Bondi, and I know
that she is trying to be as transparent as possible
to give as much as she can. So you're dealing
with very delicate. It's very delicate anytime it's a violation
of that sort. The victims have all of rights, and
you've got to protect your victims at all costs. They
(32:49):
have those legal rights, and additionally, core orders. They can't
trump a core order when a judge says no, we're
going to keep this sealed. So I have not seen
the Epstein file, but I do know agents back in
the day that we're very familiar with it in FBI Miami,
and that was a disaster from the get go, and
that dates all the way back to you know, two
thousand and seven, like we're talking a long time ago,
(33:10):
and that case is, you know, Epstein's disgraceful. He was
a disgraceful human being, as was Maxwell. But I understand
the frustration. But yet I think that they're doing what
they can, but their hands are definitely tied in certain aspects.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
You know, before we go, you know, you did resign
from the FBI.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Would you tell young people to join the FBI or
sort of what like, what is your sentiment today?
Speaker 3 (33:34):
That's a great question. I actually get asked that by
a lot of people. People always say, oh, could you
mind talking to my son or my daughter, you know,
they're considering applying to the FBI. I'll be blunt. And
the Biden administration, I said, don't apply, And it really does.
Now I'm learning that the administration does set the tone
for the priorities of the FBI, even though it should
be completely independent. Because I saw what the Biden administration
(33:57):
Obama administration did do it and completely and frankly the
Trump administration. Trump, it wasn't Trump. It was that Trump
put people into positions that he trusted and like Christopher Ray.
He was a horrible director. But President Trump trusted Chris
Christie's recommendation. I mean, why would he not write. Trump
knows who we can trust now. And that's the good
(34:18):
thing about the second administration is he knows exactly who
we can trust. He got screwed over in his first administration,
but he's doing a phenomenal job. I think he's put
the right people in there, and I think it is
important that good people apply to the FBI. I do
strongly recommend it, and that's why this book. If you're
looking to apply, read about FBI one, and if you're
going to apply, make a vow to yourself that you're
(34:39):
going to be FBI one. That's what we need. We
don't need two fbis. We need FBI one to be
FBI one to be the only fi. FBI two needs
to be completely wiped away. So yes, I would recommend
it to those that want to do good work for
the American people. Work hard. You're going to work hard.
If you're a good agent, you're gonna be working long hours.
Expect that, and be honest, have integrity, do the right
(35:02):
thing for the right reasons, the proper motivations, so for me,
that's what made it difficult to walk away. Lisa. It
wasn't easy to get in, and I worked so hard.
You read about the I call it the Quantico Crucible.
It was difficult for me to get through that firearms
training at Quantico. I made it through finally. It was
you know, I passed every single time for over fifty
(35:23):
qualifications after that. But it was difficult to walk away
because I loved what I was doing when things were good,
it was it wasn't a job. It was like a
passion and it was a mission. And I really felt
like what I did mattered. So I would highly recommend it.
It's a very fulfilling job. It's difficult, but it is
worth it.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
The Cole Parker, former FBI special agent and new author
of the two fbis The Bravery and Betrayal I saw
my time at the bureau. Nicle Parker, thanks for coming on,
my friend.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
I appreciate the honesty.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
Thank you, Lisa, God blessed that.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Was Nicole Parker.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
Appreciate her for coming on the show. Appreciate you guys
at home for listening every Tuesday and Thursday, but you
can listen throughout the week. Oh some want to thank
John Cassio and my producer for putting the show together.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
Until next time,
Host
Lisa Boothe
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