Durbin asks watchdog to probe new FBI hiring standards on bestiality, prostitution

Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has asked Justice Department Inspector General Don Berthiaume to investigate why the FBI loosened its employment screening. In a Friday letter, Durbin argued the revisions endanger the bureau's work and integrity, and said FBI Director Kash Patel's answers to Congress did little to explain what the changes are for or what they will do, according to CBS News.

CBS News reports that the relaxation took place quietly in June. Before then, applicants who had engaged in bestiality or prostitution, or who had stolen from an employer, were automatically barred. Under the revised rules, bestiality or animal cruelty before age 18 can be weighed rather than disqualifying. Prostitution only rules out candidates who paid for sex three or more times, or whose conduct fell within the past 10 years. Employer theft can be considered once more than three years have passed.

Patel told senators last month that the aim was to protect sexual assault victims forced into sex acts with animals. His exchange with Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana later spread widely online.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CBS News’s reporting. Read the full story at CBS News →