Hawkeye Reporter

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to end what he describes as ongoing retaliation against whistleblower Afolabi Siwajuola. Siwajuola, a U.S. Army veteran and ATF employee, reported that after exposing alleged illegal misclassification practices and improper hiring at the agency during the Biden administration, he faced severe workplace retaliation.

In a letter addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi and ATF Acting Director Daniel Driscoll, Grassley stated: “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. 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.”

Siwajuola’s disclosures included claims that the ATF misclassified administrative positions as law enforcement roles, lowered standards for hiring special agents and industry operations investigators to accommodate a hiring surge, and pressured employees to approve unqualified applicants—particularly those with personal connections to current or former ATF staff.

Despite these challenges, Siwajuola received recognition from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which presented him with its 2023 Public Servant Award for exposing longstanding misclassification practices within the ATF. The OSC also recommended in August 2025 that Siwajuola receive a monetary award for his disclosures.

Grassley called on DOJ and ATF officials to halt any further retaliation against Siwajuola, investigate his allegations fully and fairly, hold responsible parties accountable, and follow OSC’s recommendation regarding compensation for saving taxpayer funds.

According to Siwajuola’s account shared with Grassley’s office, former senior ATF officials—including ex-Director Steven Dettelbach and ex-Deputy Director Marvin Richardson—were involved in efforts to damage his career following his legally protected disclosures. The alleged retaliation included exclusion from workplace activities, intimidation tactics, negative performance reviews, disparaging remarks, retaliatory investigations and demotions.

Siwajuola also said he was required to report directly to Ralph Bittelari—the Chief of Human Resources Operations Division—whom he had previously identified as participating in the misclassification scheme.

In June 2022, after threats were reportedly made against him due to his whistleblowing activities, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched an inquiry. During interviews with FBI agents, an ATF witness claimed an agent remarked that Siwajuola had “a mark on his back.” The witness also expressed concern about potential job loss if they spoke openly about internal matters with Grassley’s staff. Although these threats were referred by FBI agents to the ATF Internal Affairs Division (IAD), Siwajuola alleges there was no follow-up from IAD investigators.

Additionally, according to information provided by Siwajuola to Grassley’s staff, Lakisha Gregory—the current Deputy Assistant Director for Human Resources—has continued retaliatory actions against him. This includes initiating an investigation into allegations of hostile work environment and misconduct after Siwajuola declined to promote an individual allegedly connected personally to Gregory into a higher-level human resources position despite their lack of qualifications.

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