By Steve Neavling

An FBI special agent in Puerto Rico is believed to be the first Black woman tapped to serve on the bureau’s SWAT team.

The 32-year-old agent, whom the FBI identifies in a press release as Tai, began her first day of Now Operator Training School, or NOTs, a 10-week proving ground for selectees, in May. 

During the training, Tai said she wasn’t focused on breaking racial barriers.

“I’m one of those people where I have a task at hand and I just focus on that task,” Tai said. “I don’t really think about people looking at me.”

But, she added, she hopes her selection inspires others. 

“Hopefully somebody will see that I was able to do it,” Tai said. “I’m not the biggest person. I’m not as strong as some of these guys. But as long as you have perseverance—because it does get really tough—you push through it and keep going.”

Tai’s career with the FBI began in 2017, when she was assigned to the San Juan Field Office, investigating corruption. 

Before joining the FBI, Tai was a deputy for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orland, Fla., and is also a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve. 

The mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando inspired Tai to join the FBI. 

“The amount of assets and the professional attitude of agents,” she said. “They were organized, and they got stuff done.”

TAI said she’s grateful for the Black female agents who preceded her. 

“I’m definitely thankful for all the Black women before me in the FBI,” Tai said. “Because if it didn’t start with that one, who knows how many there would be today, if any. I’m definitely grateful for all of them before me.”

By Steve Neavling

Former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen told congressional investigators on Saturday that President Trump pressured him and other Justice Department leaders to overturn the election. 

Rosen’s testimony came during closed-door testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, The New York Times reports. He also met Friday with the Justice Department’s Inspector General.

Rosen also said Jeffrey Clark, the acting head of the Justice Department’s civil division, pressed DOJ leadership to make false claims about widespread election fraud. At the time, Trump mulled replacing Rosen with Clark. 

In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said Rosen’s testimony was “invaluable.”

“It was real. Very real. And it was very specific,” Durbin said of Trump pressuring Rosen. “The former president is not subtle when he wants something.”

Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, lauded Rosen for his cooperation. 

“I have to say history is going to very kind to Mr. Rosen when this is all over. When he was initially appointed, I didn’t think that was the case. I was wrong,” Durbin said.

He added, “It’s a good thing for America we had someone like Rosen in that position.”