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MIGUEL
“You should probably explain what you mean, Damon,” I said.
“We’ve been keeping an eye on all of these folks ever since our conversation with you and Raven,” Cassidy said. “Damon still has friends at the CIA and you know how helpful Mark Evans has been in the past.”
“We’ve had a lot of help on this case, Miguel,” Lincoln added. “We’ve been reluctant to use other federal resources as well as LAPD resources because we’ve wanted to keep the knowledge about our surveillance with this group tight, so we asked Damon.” He gestured to the folks at the table.
I frowned, glancing at Cassidy. “Well, that’s a lot to unpack. Let’s start with the LAPD. Why don’t we want to use them?”
“We all agree that there’s a leak at the LAPD,” Mike said. “But let’s start with what we’ve learned about the FBI.”
“Why?”
Noah cleared his throat and when I looked at the laptop, he’d turned to Judy. He glanced back to the camera. “You know the agent who kicked you in the head?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Kind of hard to forget,” Raven answered, reaching over to rest a hand on my forearm.
“Judy decided to look into him.”
“I thought he was being investigated by the FBI’s Office of Professional Responsibility,” Raven said.
“He was but they’ve concluded their investigation,” Noah replied.
“And?” I asked.
“He was found to have acted with unnecessary force and he’s been put on unpaid administrative leave for a period of ninety days.”
“That’s it?” Raven practically shouted.
I covered his hand with mine, feeling the tension in him thrumming right below the surface. He relaxed at my touch.
“He had an exemplary record with the FBI prior to that incident, so they put him on leave rather than just firing him outright,” Lincoln said. “I think it’s bullshit, but sometimes that’s what happens with FBI politics, Raven.”
I looked back at the screen. “So, what did you turn up, Judy?”
“Well, I decided to do a deep dive into him after I was told what the FBI concluded and I found something that OPR either overlooked or buried,” she said excitedly.
“We’re on the fence whether OPR actually buried it or not,” Mac said, turning to us. “Normally those guys act by the book. The FBI turns to them for all internal investigations into agent conduct.” He nodded at the screen. “Tell Raven and Miguel what you found, Judy.”
“I looked into everything I could find. On paper, the guy is squeaky clean, and he obviously passed the extensive FBI background check when he was hired because agents need high level security clearances. His wife, however, didn’t have the same scrutiny into her background.”
I frowned at Lincoln. “Don’t federal employees’ families get investigated when they’re being considered for clearances? Some of you carry a TS-SCI clearance.”
“All FBI agents do, but what you’re read in on, varies on a case-by-case basis. An agent might be cleared to receive classified information about a particular terrorist if you’re on that case, but you might not be read in on the same intel for a different case.”
“Eyes only you mean,” Raven said.
Lincoln smiled at him. “That’s right. The short answer to Miguel’s question is yes, if you’re an FBI agent, you have to pass a rigorous background check. OPR used to conduct those checks but with a recent executive order, that responsibility has been transferred to the Department of Defense’s Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, also known as DCSA.”
“You guys and your acronyms,” Raven said, rolling his eyes.
Lincoln nodded. “Regardless, they look into everything in your life, not only your financials. They go back and talk to your neighbors, your friends, your acquaintances. They look at everyone who you’re connected with now or were ever related to in your past.”
“That’s what I thought,” I said. Turning to Judy, I asked, “So, what happened?”
“Roy Cabe—that’s the name of the agent—recently remarried. His first wife was investigated when Cabe was hired by the FBI but for whatever reason, the second wife never was.”