FBI Agent Accused of Influencing Testimony

The former chief of the FBI’s Milwaukee office is under investigation for allegedly trying to influence the testimony of an agent being called as a witness in a lawsuit, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The actions of Teresa Carlson are being examined by the FBI's Office of Inspector General after she allegedly told an agent she supervised it would be in his best interest "to come down on the side of the government," according to court records obtained by the Sentinel.

The agent, FBI firearms instructor Mark Crider, was to testify in a suit filed by Army veteran Justin Slaby, an FBI support staff employee, whose hand was blown off in a training accident.

Crider was prepared to testify that Slaby was qualified to be an FBI agent because he could shoot with his dominant hand — an opinion that flew in the face of FBI trainers at Quantico, Virginia.

Before his testimony, Crider was summoned to Carlson’s office.

"She then went into a protracted dialogue about why Slaby should never be an agent since he was handicapped," Crider noted in a statement he typed immediately after the meeting, the Sentinel reports.

Carlson, who was reassigned to the FBI headquarters in Virginia, refused to testify last month when called before a federal court.

Slaby, who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, is on the support staff of the FBI's elite hostage rescue team and still hopes to be hired as a special agent.

His lawyer Kathy Butler told the Sentinel, "It's a very important civil rights case. The thing we should hold dear is when people go off and sacrifice for their country, they deserve a fair shake when they come back."