FBI agent under fire for Hunter Biden whistleblower claims says he resigned

A top FBI official who came under fire from Republicans over whistleblower complaints, including claims about the investigation into Hunter Biden, and his anti-Trump social media posts has retired from the bureau, his legal counsel confirmed on Tuesday.

Timothy Thibault, the FBI assistant special agent in charge of the Washington Field Office, "was not fired, not forced to retire, and not asked to retire," lawyers representing him from Morrison & Foerster LLP said in a statement shared on Twitter by CBS News's Catherine Herridge.

Thibault's lawyers strongly rejected early reporting on Thibault's departure from the FBI that suggested he was forced out and was seen being escorted out of the bureau's headquarters on Friday.

"On his last day, as part of his processing, Mr. Thibault turned in his security badge and walked with two long-time special agent friends through the field office to finish processing his paperwork. He walked out of the building by himself. Claims to the contrary are false," the statement from Thibault's counsel said.

Further, Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced this summer that Thibault may have violated the Hatch Act over his social media posts, including those criticizing Trump and then-Attorney General William Barr in 2020. To this, Thibault's lawyers asserted that "those allegations are being investigated by the Office of Special Counsel" and that their client "is cooperating with that investigation, urges the Office to complete its review, and expects to be fully exonerated."