‘The only \u2018sensitive\u2019 information found at my home in the search was documentation directly related to my own suppressed whistleblower complaint … as well as a draft of a personal memoir I was writing…’<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
By Ken Silva<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Ken Silva<\/a>, Headline USA<\/a>) An FBI agent who was once the handler for tech billionaire Peter Thiel<\/a>, and who later criticized the bureau for allegedly suppressing investigations into ties between Rudy Giuliani and Russian intelligence assets, was arrested this week on charges of illegally disclosing classified information, according to court records filed Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Johnathan Buma, who has worked for the FBI<\/a> for 15 years, allegedly printed copies of confidential FBI documents and messages and later shared the material with associates as part of a draft of a book he was writing on his time in the bureau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was arrested Monday at a departure gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as he was waiting to board an international flight, court records said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An attorney representing Buma did not immediately return an emailed request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year, Headline USA obtained a whistleblower<\/a> disclosure Buma made to the DOJ Inspector General, but didn\u2019t report on it at the time because this reporter was pursuing other projects, including an ongoing investigation into the Trump assassination attempts. Given that Buma\u2019s disclosure directly addresses the allegations against him, Headline USA is publishing the disclosure here<\/a> for the first time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I obtained a disclosure from Buma last year. I didn’t report on it at the time because I found it too convoluted, and I later forgot all about it once I became balls deep in the Trump shooting. \u2014 Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) March 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n In the disclosure, Buma mentions that the FBI seized a draft of his personal memoir when agents raided his home in November 2023. He acknowledged that the draft contained \u201csensitive\u201d info, but said he believed he was operating within the bounds of the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDuring the raid of my home, the agents claimed they were looking for classified materials but only \u2018seized\u2019 information I had provided to Congress pursuant to the protections guaranteed under the whistleblower statute. No incriminating evidence was found from the search, but they took every electronic device from my home,\u201d he said in his February 2024 disclosure to the DOJ-OIG, which this reporter obtained months later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIronically, the only \u2018sensitive\u2019 information found at my home in the search was documentation directly related to my own suppressed whistleblower complaint, which I had previously provided to the Congressional Oversight Committee investigators, which was labeled in the receipt of items seized as \u2018classified information,\u2019 as well as a draft of a personal memoir I was writing. I fully believe my actions were in alignment with the spirit of the whistleblower statute,\u201d Buma\u2019s statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buma has raised issues with how the FBI was handling certain investigations through statements to news media, various government agencies and Congress, according to the filing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before his ouster from the FBI, he was the handling agent for Thiel, a billionaire GOP donor and military contractor. Thiel, who co-founded PayPal and Palantir Technologies, was an early Trump supporter for his 2016 campaign, and later bankrolled Vice President JD Vance\u2019s run for U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Peter](\"https:\/\/headlineusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/AP22038823021393-scaled-e1644340570851-696x350.jpg\" "\\"Peter")
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But given these new developments, I think it’s in the public interest to publish it\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/liOZldmHmy<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/p8GbIRyDWg<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n