Exclusive | ATF whistleblower faced ‘threats of harm’ after exposing alleged misconduct at the agency under Biden: ‘Sustained retaliation’

A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) whistleblower and Army veteran claims working conditions at the government agency under former President Joe Biden were comparable to his time serving in Iraq, after he blew the lid off allegations of rampant misconduct within the bureau. 

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) detailed the alleged “sustained retaliation” campaign against whistleblower Afolabi Siwajuola in a letter to ATF Acting Director Daniel Driscoll and Attorney General Pam Bondi on Monday, demanding that “all those who participated in or directed the retaliation” against the current agency employee be held accountable.

In 2021, Siwajuola’s protected whistleblower disclosures to Grassley’s office revealed claims that Biden-era ATF officials engaged in an illegal scheme to misclassify human resources and other administrative positions as law enforcement ones – effectively making pencil pushers eligible for greater pay and benefits. 

Siwajuola’s allegations of misconduct were substantiated by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and ATF’s internal affairs division, with OPM estimating that the scheme cost taxpayers at least $20 million over a five-year period. 

But rather than being celebrated within the agency, Siwajuola was shunned, admonished and even threatened with physical harm by ATF officials, according to Grassley’s letter. 

In June 2022, the FBI investigated allegations that an ATF special agent “made threats against Mr. Siwajuola and another ATF whistleblower” for disclosing the misclassification scheme. 

“The ATF witness was told by an ATF special agent that Mr. Siwajuola had ‘a mark on his back,’” according to the letter, which notes the witness believed the agent “was speaking on behalf of other people desiring to conduct harm to Siwajuola.” 

The FBI referred the matter to ATF’s internal affairs division, which never reached out to Siwajuola to investigate the alleged threats, the whistleblower informed Grassley’s office. 

Siwajuola told the senator he was retroactively promoted “in name only” after reaching a settlement with ATF leadership to resolve retaliation allegations – and assigned to report to one of the ATF officials whom he alleged was directly involved in the misclassification scheme.

The whistleblower claims Biden ATF Director Steven Dettelbach “personally gave orders to find a legal justification to fire” him in mid-2022 over his disclosures.  

A “baseless and biased retaliatory” internal affairs investigation was then opened against Siwajuola in 2023, according to the whistleblower, who denied he engaged in any misconduct.  

Siwajuola was demoted that year and his new boss “required him to perform menial duties,” he claims. 

Negative performance reviews followed, as well as “isolation by his colleagues and management” – all part of the “persistent retaliation against” Siwajuola, Grassley wrote. 

“The retaliation continues to this day, and the retaliation increased in severity since the settlement agreement,” the senator informed ATF’s current acting director and the attorney general. 

Another internal affairs probe was recently opened against Siwajuola “for creating a hostile work environment, poor judgment, ‘general misconduct,’ ‘behavior unbecoming of a federal employee,’ and other allegations that he denies.”

Siwajuola told Grassley he was asked “inappropriate questions about his National Origin and to uncover his political beliefs,” during an Aug. 27 interview related to the probe. 

“Mr. Siwajuola informed my staff that the investigator asked him where he was from, in which Mr. Siwajuola responded ‘North Carolina’ but the investigator continued asking Mr. Siwajuola where he was really from as if he wasn’t truly from the U.S. due to his name,” Grassley wrote. “Mr. Siwajuola also alleged the ATF IAD investigator asked whether he supports abolishing the ATF or believes that the ATF should be dismantled.” 

The retaliation has “taken a significant toll” on the whistleblower and his family, and is comparable to conditions he faced in warzones while serving in the US Army, Siwajuola told Grassley.    

“Mr. Siwajuola told my office that as a U.S. Army veteran, his experience working at the ATF after becoming a whistleblower during the Biden administration is on the same level, and some days worse than his experience serving in Baghdad, Iraq,” the senator wrote. 

“Mr. Siwajuola told my staff that when serving in Iraq he could trust that his Army squadmates and leadership would have his back, but Biden ATF leadership had instead ‘put a target’ on his,” the Iowa Republican added. 

Siwajuola, who was awarded the Office of Special Counsel’s 2023 Public Servant Award for his bravery in disclosing ATF misconduct, refuses to quit his job because he “believes in moving the ATF’s mission forward, ensuring the agency follows the law, and in good conscience he can’t abandon his team.”

Grassley’s letter also includes previously unreported allegations that under a Biden-era hiring surge, the ATF lowered qualifying standards for special agents and investigators – and pressured ATF employees to approve certain applicants who failed to meet minimum requirements. 

“Biden ATF management put pressure on Mr. Siwajuola and others to approve certain applicants, especially applicants with relationships with past or current ATF employees,” Grassley claimed, citing the whistleblower’s disclosures. 

Grassley requested that Driscoll, ATF’s acting director, “immediately put a stop to all retaliation against Mr. Siwajuola, place him in the position he would’ve been absent the retaliation, and fully and fairly investigate all of his whistleblower retaliation allegations and misconduct claims, including the alleged threats of harm made against him by ATF special agents.”

“If the allegations are proven to be true, you must hold all those who participated in or directed the retaliation against Mr. Siwajuola and other ATF whistleblowers accountable,” the senator demanded. 

The ATF did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.