Multiple whistleblowers have come forward to accuse the Assistant Director the the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) of engaging in sexual improprieties with female underlings and with misusing taxpayer dollars.
Empower Oversight, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that investigates government and corporate wrongdoing, is seeking records through the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) related to the whistleblowers’ allegations of sexual harassment, threats and intimidation against FBI employees who speak out.
“AD Michael Christman has allegedly run CJIS as a personal fiefdom to reward those loyal to him. Not only is this an improper use of taxpayer dollars, it also risks undermining CJIS’s many programs and the missions they serve,” Empower Oversight President Tristan Leavitt wrote in the FOIA letter.
FBI Director Christopher Wray named Christman as assistant director of the CJIS in March of 2021. Christman joined the Bureau as a special agent in February 1992.
The CJIS provides critical tools and services to local and state law enforcement, as well as the Bureau’s national security and intelligence community partners. The CJIS complex, located in Clarksburg, West Virginia, houses multiple data programs—including the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR), and Fingerprint Identification—for every police department and law enforcement agency in the United States.
“Despite CJIS’s crucial mission, Empower Oversight has obtained information from whistleblowers that suggests CJIS is suffering from a lack of oversight,” Leavitt wrote.
According to former employees, Christman has promoted multiple women with whom he appears to have engaged in inappropriate relationships. For instance, former employees have reported to Empower Oversight that AD Christman and a female CJIS employee were observed in a state of undress on a Saturday night in the CJIS gymnasium. That female employee has been promoted quickly.
Among other improprieties, Christman also reportedly claimed to have nightly phone calls with a female employee who did not report directly to him but was then provided awards and monetary compensation.
According to the whistleblowers, Christman has responded to complaints with threats and retaliation. For instance, he allegedly threatened to move CJIS from West Virginia, which would have forced hundreds of native West Virginians to relocate. He also reportedly retaliated against employees by moving them into temporary positions for “cross-training.”
Empower Oversight client Monica Shillingburg reportedly made protected disclosures about the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System while Christman served as a Deputy Assistant Director of CJIS.
Leavitt writes in the letter, “On returning to CJIS as AD, Christman took retaliatory action against Ms. Shillingburg, transferring her from a Unit Chief position to a non-supervisory position in another section. Empower Oversight has filed a whistleblower reprisal complaint on her behalf with the Department of Justice Inspector General.”
Some FBI whistleblowers commented on the brewing scandal on X.
“Although you may not know it, or refuse to believe it, sexual misconduct is EXTREMELY common in the FBI, wrote suspended FBI agent Garrett O’Boyle.
“Like so many things, they try to subvert you from ever finding out about it.”
Former FBI agent agent Kyle Seraphin agreed.
“Sexual misconduct for the FBI SES [Senior Executive Service] is more a RULE than exception,” Seraphin wrote on X. “Sex in gov planes, girlfriend ‘special assistants’ who travel with, sex with subordinates… all standard fare. If you see an OIG report, it is hard to determine WHICH division/FO was involved because it is SO common.”
Christman also allegedly targeted an FBI analyst for refusing to get the COVID injection.
“FBI AD Christman played a pivotal role in getting me suspended for refusing the Covid vaccine,” wrote former agent Chris Toompas on X. “This came after I received an award for working on site for 1.5 years in the height of the pandemic. He also held meetings where he shared his ‘disdain’ for me with my management,” the U.S. Marine Corps Veteran added.
“There needs to be an investigation into Christman, any individuals he’s promoted who weren’t the most qualified for their positions, and what impact all of this has had on the operations of CJIS,” Leavitt said Monday.