FBI Employees Cheated on Exams, Justice Department Report Finds

As many as 200 FBI employees cheated on an exam judging their skills in criminal or national security operations, operational support and intelligence collection, a Justice Department investigation found.

The DOJ inspector general report released Monday concludes that certain test takers used cheat sheets, some consulted with each other during the exam, and others "exploited a programming flaw to reveal the answers to the exam on their computers," Talking Points Memo first reported.

The 51-question Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) generally takes about two hours to complete on a computer. The FBI found that at least 200 employees finished in about 20 minutes.

The OIG report also found that supervisors and instructors were complicit in the cheating. In some cases, instructors "stomped a foot several times, loudly" to help provide clues about topics that would be tested.

The DOJ concludes that cheaters should be disciplined and re-tested with a new exam.

FBI Director Robert Mueller issued a statement Monday on the investigation, saying the bureau has already taken action against some cheaters.

"When allegations of misconduct relating to the DIOG testing first came to our attention, we moved quickly to investigate, bringing in the Office of Inspector General (OIG). In cases where misconduct has been determined, personnel actions were taken, and that process continues," Mueller wrote. "The vast majority of FBI employees successfully completed the DIOG training and the open-book examination that followed, in accordance with the test-taking instructions. While the Office of Inspector General has identified a number of factors that contributed to problems with the test-taking, nothing excuses the conduct of those who chose not to comply when instructions were clear."

Read the full DOJ report here.