David B. Buckley

David Brent Buckley (born 1957) is an American government official. He worked in the Office of Special Investigations for the U.S. General Accounting Office, the Department of the Treasury for Tax Administration, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Deloitte Consulting, and served as Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2010 to 2015. He later served as staff director of the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack from 2021 to 2023.

In January 2025, Buckley's security clearance was revoked by executive order after he signed an October 2020 letter, along with 50 other former intelligence officials, stating that reporting on Hunter Biden's laptop had "all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation."

Early career Buckley earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland University College.

He worked in the Office of Special Investigations for the U.S. General Accounting Office.

Following the report, CIA Director John Brennan apologized to Senator Dianne Feinstein, the committee's chairwoman, and Senator Saxby Chambliss, the vice chairman.

Whistleblower retaliation finding In June 2019, the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security completed a 36-page report finding that Buckley had retaliated against Andrew Bakaj, a special agent in the CIA Inspector General's office.

According to the report, Bakaj had cooperated with an investigation by the Intelligence Community Inspector General in 2014. The DHS Inspector General's investigation "substantiated" allegations that Buckley subsequently opened an investigation into Bakaj that the report characterized as "retaliatory." That investigation led to the discovery of separate information that was used to suspend Bakaj's security clearance and place him on administrative leave. The letter stated that the signatories did "not have evidence of Russian involvement."

January 6 committee In July 2021, Buckley was appointed staff director of the January 6th Committee.

The Project On Government Oversight called for Buckley's removal, stating that "hiring an individual who has retaliated against a whistleblower in the past—and placing him in such a prominent position—sends a chilling message to potential witnesses." Buckley remained in the position until the committee concluded its work in January 2023.

Security clearance revocation On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order revoking the security clearances of Buckley and the other surviving signatories of the October 2020 letter regarding Hunter Biden's laptop. The executive order accused the signatories of having "willfully weaponized the gravitas of the Intelligence Community to manipulate the political process."