At FBI, history of hiring prostitutes may not be employment barrier

The FBI previously refused to hire job applicants if they admitted to hiring sex workers or stealing from an employer — or engaging in acts of bestiality.

Today, those acts, which are mostly illegal across the country, are no longer automatic deal breakers for applicants to the nation's top law enforcement agency.

In June, the FBI quietly lowered some of the standards it uses when it conducts background checks on would-be federal agents and other personnel. According to multiple sources briefed on the matter, the FBI did so to facilitate hiring in some cases, even if candidates acknowledged they engaged in sexually deviant activities or stole from an employer.

The move comes as the FBI has lost scores of employees through firings, retirements and resignations since the start of the Trump administration.

Under specific circumstances, the FBI is willing to give candidates a pass on prostitution, as long as they have not hired sex workers three or more times, the sources told CBS News. And the hiring of the sex workers must not have taken place within the last 10 years, several of the sources added.

On this part of the guidance, the FBI spokesperson pointed out that a person may have hired a sex worker in a location where prostitution is legal.

A person who was in a position of "trust" who solicited sex would still be automatically disqualified from FBI employment, one of the sources with direct knowledge of the changes told CBS News.

Examples of positions of trust, according to the FBI's new policy, are those who work in the fields of public safety, education, health, social work, finance or law. Being a member of the military was not among the listed categories, and it was not clear if they would be treated as such.

Under the new eligibility rules, a person who stole from an employer is not automatically disqualified as long as the incident occurred more than three years ago, one of the sources with direct knowledge said.

The new standards also specifically address applicants who have engaged in past acts of bestiality or animal cruelty – saying they may still be considered for the bureau as long as the incidents took place before the age of 18, the sources said.

An FBI spokesperson confirmed that some changes to the eligibility requirements have taken place, but claimed they are limited to a narrow set of circumstances, such as in cases where a person was sexually abused with animals as a child.

"Any polygraph changes reflect a clear difference between a disqualified applicant who has engaged in criminal behavior, versus an applicant who may be subject to further evaluation based on rare exigent circumstances," the spokesperson said.

Sources told CBS News that the new eligibility requirements do not distinguish between candidates who were coerced into sexual activity with animals, as opposed to those who engaged in such acts willingly.

Former FBI agent James Davidson, who now leads the nonprofit FBI Integrity Project, opposes changing this standard.