Maureen Steele
Role at the time: Writer and co-founder of the American Made Foundation, in a signed opinion column for California Globe
Statement summary
In a California Globe opinion column, writer Maureen Steele accepted the premise that trafficking victims coerced into bestiality should not be automatically barred from FBI employment, but argued the bureau achieved this by removing automatic disqualifiers wholesale instead of writing narrower language distinguishing coercion from willing participation. She wrote that a responsible policy could protect victims while firmly rejecting voluntary perpetrators, and called on the FBI to publish the complete policy with its definitions and safeguards.
“Victims deserve mercy. Federal power demands character.”
An opinion column arguing that the FBI was right to protect coerced trafficking victims but wrong to do so by removing automatic disqualifiers wholesale rather than writing narrower language. It recounts Senator John Kennedy's questioning of Patel, notes that Patel conceded disbelief had been his own first reaction, and calls on the bureau to publish the complete policy with its definitions and safeguards.
Why we used this label
Steele accepts that trafficking victims coerced into the conduct should be protected, and argues the FBI wrote its change too broadly to separate them from voluntary participants. She calls on the bureau to publish the full policy, its definitions and its safeguards. Her column accepts protection for coerced victims while criticizing how the change was written.