EXCLUSIVE: Senate Republicans are demanding answers on whether confidential human sources from Justice Department agencies beyond the FBI were used on Jan. 6, 2021, while also questioning whether Inspector General Michael Horowitz thoroughly reviewed classified and unclassified communications between handlers and their sources, warning that without that review, there may be a "major blind spot" in his findings.
Horowitz last week released his highly anticipated report that there were more than two dozen FBI confidential human sources in the crowd outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but only three were assigned by the bureau to be present for the event. Horowitz said none of the sources were authorized or directed by the FBI to "break the law" or "encourage others to commit illegal acts."
But now, Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., are demanding further information from Horowitz, writing to him in a letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital that it is "unclear" if his office reviewed the use of confidential human sources by other DOJ components during the Capitol riot.
"This IG report was a step in the right direction, but Senator Johnson and I still have questions the Justice Department needs to account for," Grassley told Fox News Digital. "The American people deserve a full picture of whether Justice Department sources from its component agencies, in addition to the FBI, were present on January 6, what their role was, and whether DOJ had knowledge of their attendance."
Grassley told Fox News Digital that Horowitz and his team "must redouble its efforts to make sure it has reviewed all relevant information and provide a sufficient response to our inquiry."
Johnson told Fox News Digital he believes the report made public last week "may have only provided a fraction of the story regarding the presence and activities of confidential human sources or undercover federal agents in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021."
"I urge the Inspector General’s office to be fully transparent about their work to ensure that Congress and the public have an accurate and complete understanding about what it actually reviewed," Johnson said.
In their letter to Horowitz, Grassley and Johnson noted that the inspector general’s office received more than 500,000 documents from the Justice Department and its components as part of its investigation.
"According to the report, your office obtained: CHS reporting, thousands of tips provided to the FBI, investigative and intelligence records from the FBI case management system, emails, instant messages, and phone records; contemporaneous notes of meetings and telephone calls; chronologies concerning the lead-up of events to January 6; after-action assessments; training materials and policy guides; and preparatory materials for press conferences or congressional testimony as well as talking points," they wrote.
Grassley and Johnson told Horowitz "it is vital" that his office "more precisely explain what records it sought and received from all DOJ component agencies."
Grassley and Johnson are demanding answers on whether Horowitz obtained evidence on whether other DOJ component agencies had tasked or untasked undercover confidential human sources in the Washington, D.C., area or at the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.
They are also asking if all communications were obtained between DOJ component agency handlers and confidential human sources or undercover agents present in the D.C. area, and whether he has received classified and unclassified non-email communication platforms used by the FBI.
Grassley and Johnson are also demanding Horowitz share all FD-1023 forms, or confidential human source reporting documents, used in the investigation with them.
As for his initial report, Horowitz "determined that none of these FBI CHSs was authorized by the FBI to enter the Capitol or a restricted area or to otherwise break the law on January 6, nor was any CHS directed by the FBI to encourage others to commit illegal acts on January 6."
The report revealed that the FBI had a minor supporting role in responding on Jan. 6, 2021 – largely because the event was not deemed at the highest security level by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Horowitz, though, said the FBI took significant and appropriate steps to prepare for that role.
According to the report, there were a total of 26 confidential human sources in the crowd that day, but only three of them were assigned by the bureau to be there.
One of the three confidential human sources tasked by the FBI to attend the rally entered the Capitol building, while the other two entered the restricted area around the Capitol.
If a confidential human source is directed to be at a certain event, they are paid by the FBI for their time.
FIRST ON FOX: The House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government released a more than 17,000-page report detailing its work this Congress, touting their success in protecting Americans against censorship of speech and the weaponization of federal law enforcement agencies, Fox News Digital has learned.
Fox News Digital obtained the 17,019-page report compiled by the subcommittee, which falls under the House Judiciary Committee, led by Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
"The Weaponization Committee conducted rigorous oversight of the Biden-Harris administrations weaponized government and uncovered numerous examples of federal government abuses," Jordan told Fox News Digital. "Through our oversight, we protected the First Amendment by investigating the censorship-industrial-complex, heard from numerous brave whistleblowers, stopped the targeting of Americans by the IRS and Department of Justice, and created serious legislative and policy changes that will benefit all Americans."
The report, first obtained by Fox News Digital, states that the "founding documents of the United States articulate the ideals of the American republic and guarantee to all American citizens fundamental rights and liberties.
"For too long, however, the American people have faced a two-tiered system of government—one of favorable treatment for the politically-favored class, and one of intimidation and unfairness for the rest of American citizens," it continues. "Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the contrast between these two tiers has become even more stark."
The committee was created to "stand up for the American people," the report says, highlighting its work to "bring abuses by the federal government into the light for the American people and ensure that Congress, as their elected representatives, can take action to remedy them."
The mission of the subcommittee was to "protect and strengthen the fundamental rights of the American people," the report said, noting that by investigating, uncovering and documenting executive branch misconduct, lawmakers on the panel have taken "important steps to ensure that the federal government no longer works against the American people."
"This work is not complete, but it is a necessary first step to stop the weaponization of the federal government," the report states.
The committee, from its inception, says it has been working to protect free speech and expand upon the constitutional protections of the First Amendment.
"Throughout the Biden-Harris administration, multiple federal agencies, including the White House, have engaged in a vast censorship campaign against so-called mis-, dis-, or malinformation," the report states, noting that the subcommittee revealed the extent of the "censorship-industrial complex," and detailed how the federal government and law enforcement coordinated with academics, nonprofits, and other private entities to censor speech online."
The panel is touting its work, saying its oversight has "had a real effect in expanding the First Amendment."
"In a Supreme Court dissent, three justices noted how the Select Subcommittee’s investigation revealed that ‘valuable speech was..suppressed,’" the report states.
And in a letter to the subcommittee, Facebook and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted that the Biden-Harris administration "pressured" Facebook to censor Americans.
"Facebook gave in to this pressure, demoting posts and content that was highly relevant to political discourse in the United States," the report states.
And in another win for the subcommittee, in response to its work, universities and other groups shut down their "disinformation" research, and federal agencies "slowed their communications with Big Tech."
The committee also celebrated a "big win" in October after it prevented the creation of a new "GARM," an advertising association that engaged in censorship and boycotts of conservative media companies. The committee revealed, before it was disbanded, that GARM had been discussing ways to ensure conservative news outlets and platforms could not receive advertising dollars and were engaged in boycotts of conservative voices and Twitter once it became "X" under the ownership of Elon Musk.
Meanwhile, the subcommittee also investigated the alleged weaponization of federal law enforcement resources.
In speaking with a number of whistleblowers, the subcommittee learned of waste, fraud and abuse at the FBI.
"When these whistleblowers came forward, the bureau brutally retaliated against many of them for breaking ranks—suspending them without pay, preventing them from seeking outside employment, and even purging suspected disloyal employees," the report states, noting that the subcommittee revealed that the FBI "abused its security clearance adjudication process to target whistleblowers."
The report references the FBI’s response, in which the bureau admitted its "error" and reinstated the security clearance of one decorated FBI employee.
The subcommittee also was tasked with investigating the executive branch’s actions in "intruding and interfering with Americans’ constitutionally protected activity."
For example, the subcommittee revealed "and stopped" the FBI’s effort to target Catholic Americans because of their religious views; detailed the DOJ’s directives to target parents at school board meetings; stopped the Internal Revenue Service from making "unannounced visits to American taxpayers’ homes;" caused the DOJ to change its internal policies to "respect the separation of powers and limit subpoenas for Legislative Branch employees; and highlighted the "vast warrantless surveillance of Americans by federal law enforcement."
The panel also investigated the federal government’s election interference, highlighting the FBI’s "fervent efforts to ‘prebunk’ a story about the Biden family’s influence peddling scheme in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election."
The panel also investigated and demonstrated how the 2020 Biden campaign "colluded with the intelligence community to falsely discredit this story as ‘Russian disinformation.’"
The report includes a list of hearings the subcommittee held, letters sent by the subcommittee and subpoenas issued by the panel.
It also includes depositions and transcribed interviews conducted by the subcommittee. The subcommittee conducted 99 depositions and transcribed interviews during this Congress.
Depositions and interviews included in the massive report are of former FBI officials and CIA officials, like former Director John Brennan, former prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office involved in the original hush money probe against President Trump, Mark Pomerantz, and interviews with Facebook, Meta and Google officials.
The FBI field office in Newark urged New Jersey residents this week not to shoot down drones or point lasers at manned aircraft, taking to social media to warn against the dangerous — and possibly deadly — activity, which comes amid an uptick in reported drone sightings along the U.S. East Coast.
The drone sightings have prompted a collective sense of panic among residents, who have taken to social media to share photos and videos of believed drones captured in the darkened U.S. skies. The shared sense of fear-mongering has also prompted some vigilante-like responses, with some social media users documenting efforts to take matters into their own hands, including via laser beam.
In the statement, released by the FBI and New Jersey State Police, authorities expressly warned against such activities, citing an increase in pilots of manned aircraft in the area who have been hit in the eyes with lasers after being misidentified as a drone by someone on the ground.
Officials said there is also a concern that people on the ground could also mistakenly fire weapons at what they believe to be an Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or UAS, but is in fact a manned aircraft.
"FBI Newark, NJSP, and dozens of other agencies and law enforcement partners have been out every night for several weeks to legally track down operators acting illegally or with nefarious intent and using every available tool and piece of equipment to find the answers the public is seeking," the authorities said in the statement. "However, there could be dangerous and possibly deadly consequences if manned aircraft are targeted mistakenly as UAS."
They also noted how easy it can be for an individual on the ground to mistake a manned aircraft for a UAS.
"Misidentification often occurs when UAS are mistaken for more familiar objects such as manned aircraft, low-orbit satellites, or celestial bodies like planets or stars," they said.
"To improve accuracy and prevent false sightings, a variety of tools and techniques can be used to assist with the visual identification of suspected UAS. Accurate identification is critical for maintaining safety and ensuring appropriate responses to UAS activity."
The statement from the FBI field office and state police comes as New Jersey residents and lawmakers have voiced frustrations about the uptick in drone sightings and what they view as a lack of answers they have been given by the federal government in response.
Still, U.S. officials have sought to emphasize that the aircraft in question are not, in fact, a national security threat. Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, stressed to reporters during a briefing Tuesday that the drones are any sort of government asset, and ruled out the notion that they were any part of "experimental program" being tested by the U.S.
In a joint statement Monday, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense said that, while they "recognize the concern" from the general public, there is no evidence that the drones are "anomalous" or a threat to public safety or to U.S. national security.
Separately, senior officials from the CIA, FBI, and DOD traveled to Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon to brief lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee on the uptick in drone sightings.
It is unclear, however, how far these efforts have gone to thwart the rise in public concerns.
The FBI said Monday that it has received more than 5,000 reports of alleged drone sightings in the last "few weeks" — reflecting the rise in panic from some residents, including many who have taken to social media to document their sightings on social media.
Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, R-Conn., used an interview on "Fox News Sunday" to call on more federal agencies — including the Federal Aviation Administration — to share more information about the drone sightings with the public.
"The FAA in particular, which is the agency of jurisdiction through the domestic skies, ought to be out Saturday morning saying, ‘Let’s show you a picture at the number of aircraft, commercial and private and military, that go over New Jersey in any 24-hour period,’" Himes said.
"Just putting information out there to fill that vacuum would be helpful," he added.
As FBI Director Christopher Wray is slated to resign after seven years of service in his 10-year tenure, questions about the bureau's "political motivation" have been reignited, with critics like President-elect Trump citing bias in domestic terrorism and civil rights probes.
While Wray, who was appointed by Trump in his first term, has faced scrutiny from conservatives for a kind of political bias in the bureau, FBI whistleblower Kyle Seraphin said the FBI's shift toward politicized agendas within its field offices began in the post-9/11 era when sweeping reforms and surveillance powers were granted to the agency.
"What people are seeing is the natural outgrowth of letting FBI agents, or FBI senior management, forecast what they think the crime is going to be in the country, being incentivized to be correct, because they're going to be paid a monetary bonus at the end of it if they're right, and then they go out and find that crime," Seraphin told Fox News Digital.
"And so it looks very politicized," he added. "But I think that's actually just a mistake of the correlation. In reality, what's going on is the FBI is serving the interests of the senior management, which is that they want to get paid, and the easiest way to get paid is to go round up MAGA people, which they fall under this category of … anti-government, anti-authority, violent extremists."
Over the last four years, the FBI has increased its focus on domestic terrorism, particularly targeting white supremacist activities. The agency's caseload more than doubled from about 1,000 to 2,700 investigations between spring 2020 and September 2021, according to the Government Accountability Office. FBI Director Christopher Wray testified in September 2020 that white supremacy constitutes the largest domestic terrorism category.
Critics, however, have questioned the FBI's definition of domestic terrorism. Seraphin said a New Mexico field office prioritized "anti-abortion extremists" as the state’s third-highest national security threat. Separately over the summer, a Texas doctor was charged with four felonies for exposing alleged transgender surgeries on children at a hospital.
"Everybody assumes that it's about politics because the FBI has some really politically motivated leads," Seraphin said. "The current deputy director, Paul Abbate, is very politically motivated, and he's very hard leading to the left."
Seraphin blamed the FBI's seemingly political bias on an integrated program management, a McKinsey & Company-designed system rewarding executives with large bonuses for meeting self-set metrics, including domestic extremism and terrorism.
In December 2023, the House Judiciary Committee released a report titled "The FBI's Breach of Religious Freedom: The Weaponization of Law Enforcement Against Catholic Americans." The report followed Seraphin’s disclosure of an FBI memo labeling certain Catholic Americans as potential violent extremists.
"They use national security words to go after domestic individuals, and they have national security tools to look through your email to grab access to your comms, your phone calls, your text messages, your emails and so on," Seraphin said. "They have the ability to look into your bank account and check out your financial records. And should they find evidence of a crime that is not related to what they're searching for, the threat that they're actually looking for?"
"Do we want people to get away with crime? No, but we want the government to be accountable to the freaking Bill of Rights," Seraphin said.
In a December interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Trump said, "I can't say I'm thrilled with him," when asked if he would fire Wray upon entering his second non-consecutive presidential term.
"He invaded my home," Trump said, referencing the FBI's 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Trump announced at the end of November his nomination of Kash Patel – a Trump ally and previous chief of staff to the secretary of defense – as the next FBI director. Patel has been critical of the FBI's handling of investigations relating to Trump.
Seraphin, who said he has spoken to Patel about the bureau, said he may be "the most qualified" nominee for the role.
"He understands what the FBI does to directors in order to maintain their status quo," Seraphin said. "That makes him a very potentially disruptive force to the status quo. But I actually think he'll be if he's able to achieve the things that he said, which is going out there and rooting out the corruption, taking away the political things, making sure that the FBI is subservient to the Constitution."
Wray made his resignation announcement during an FBI virtual town hall from Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, during which thousands of FBI employees across the country were expected to attend online.
"After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down," Wray said during the town hall. "My goal is to keep the focus on our mission: the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work."
Wray also said his focus is and always has been on the FBI doing what is right.
"When you look at where the threats are headed, it’s clear that the importance of our work – keeping Americans safe and upholding the Constitution – will not change. And what absolutely cannot, must not, change is our commitment to doing the right thing, the right way, every time," Wray said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI but did not hear back by the publication deadline.
Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner and David Spunt contributed to this report.
"After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current Administration in January and then step down," Wray said during a town hall on Wednesday, announcing his resignation.
"My goal is to keep the focus on our mission – the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work."
Fox News Digital looked back on the director’s last seven years with the federal agency, compiling five of the biggest controversies that rocked the bureau, as well as the Biden administration overall.
Approximately 30 armed FBI agents converged on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida in August 2022 to execute a search warrant regarding classified documents in the former president’s possession.
The unprecedented raid included agents rifling through former and upcoming first lady Melania Trump’s wardrobe. The agents seized 33 boxes of documents amid the search warrant.
"He invaded my home. I’m suing the country over it. He invaded Mar-a-Lago. I’m very unhappy with the things he’s done. And crime is at an all-time high. Migrants are pouring into the country that are from prisons and from mental institutions, as we’ve discussed. I can’t say I’m thrilled," Trump said of Wray during an interview with NBC that aired Sunday.
Earlier this year, it was revealed the Biden administration authorized the use of deadly force during the raid. The jarring revelation added fuel to the fire of conservatives slamming the raid, though the FBI clarified that the same language was used in a similar search warrant for President Biden’s Delaware home.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who called for Wray’s resignation in a scathing letter earlier this week, argued there were "serious questions" revolving around the raid considering Trump had been cooperating with investigators regarding the classified documents.
"This raid occurred despite serious questions about the need for it. President Trump apparently was cooperating with the investigation, notwithstanding liberal press reports. He voluntarily turned over 15 boxes of documents months before the FBI’s drastic escalation," Grassley continued, adding that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton never faced such a raid "even though she and her staff mishandled highly classified information while using a non-government server."
Trump, in reaction to Wray’s resignation, again railed against the "illegal" raid on Mar-a-Lago.
"Under the leadership of Christopher Wray, the FBI illegally raided my home, without cause, worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me, and has done everything else to interfere with the success and future of America. They have used their vast powers to threaten and destroy many innocent Americans, some of which will never be able to recover from what has been done to them," he wrote on Truth Social.
Wray testified before the House Judiciary Committee in July and defended that he "would not call it a raid" on Mar-a-Lago, instead saying the FBI conducted "the execution of a lawful search warrant."
In January 2023, conservative lawmakers slammed an internal FBI memo from the Richmond field office, titled "Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities."
The memo identified "radical-traditionalist Catholic[s]" as potential "racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists" and said that "racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) in radical-traditionalist Catholic (RTC) ideology almost certainly presents opportunities for threat mitigation through the exploration of new avenues for tripwire and source development."
The memo was rescinded, but lawmakers scrutinized Wray as to why Americans were targeted due to their religious beliefs – which defies the U.S. Constitution.
Twenty Republican lawmakers wrote in a letter to Wray last year, saying that the memo "singled out traditional Catholics for their pro-life views, accusing RTCs of ‘hostility towards abortion-rights advocates’ in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision…"
"This specific call out to pro-life views is of even greater concern, considering the slow rate of investigation and response to the violent attacks that a number of pro-life pregnancy centers and Catholic Churches have experienced since the Dobbs decision was leaked in May of last year," they wrote.
Wray said in a 2023 Senate Judiciary hearing that, "We do not and will not conduct investigations based on anybody’s exercise of their constitutionally protected religious [expression]."
The FBI also came under fire during Wray’s tenure when the FBI raided a home and arrested a pro-life man in Pennsylvania in 2022.
Mark Houck, a Catholic dad of seven who would often pray outside a Philadelphia abortion clinic, was arrested at his rural Pennsylvania home in Kintnersville by the FBI. The arrest stemmed from an altercation he had with a Planned Parenthood escort in Philadelphia in October 2021. Houck was accused of pushing the abortion clinic escort, who allegedly verbally harassed Houck's 12-year-old son outside the clinic.
The Biden administration alleged Houck violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which makes it a federal crime to use force with the intent to injure, intimidate and interfere with anyone because that person provides reproductive health care.
Houck was acquitted by a jury last year after arguing that he was protecting his son. He and his wife Ryan-Marie argued the FBI used excessive force during the arrest, filing a lawsuit against the DOJ earlier this year alleging the arrest followed a "faulty and malicious investigation."
The DOJ and FBI were heavily criticized by parents nationwide in 2021, when Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo directing the FBI to use counterterrorism tools related to parents speaking out at school board meetings against transgender-related issues and critical race theory curricula.
The memorandum followed the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sending a letter to President Biden, asking that the federal government investigate parents protesting at school board meetings, claiming school officials were facing threats at meetings.
The NSBA requested that parents' actions should be examined under the Patriot Act as "domestic terrorists," sparking Garland’s eventual memo, which did not use the phrase "domestic terrorist."
"After surveying local law enforcement, U.S. Attorney’s offices around the country reported back to Main Justice that there was no legitimate law-enforcement basis for the Attorney General’s directive to use federal law-enforcement and counterterrorism resources to investigate school board-related threats," the House Judiciary Committee stated in an interim report on the memo last year.
Garland testified before the Senate last year that the memo "was aimed at violence and threats of violence against a whole host of school personnel," not parents "making complaints to their school board," but the memo set off a firestorm of criticism from parents, nonetheless.
"The premier law enforcement agency of the United States of America, the FBI, was used as a weapon by the DOJ against parents who dared to voice their concerns at the most local level – their school board," Moms For Liberty founder Tiffany Justice told Fox News Digital last year.
In Grassley’s blistering 11-page letter to Wray on Monday, he slammed the FBI for acting as an "accomplice to the Democrats’ false information campaign" surrounding his investigation into "alleged Biden-family corruption."
Grassley said that the FBI "sat on bribery allegations" against Biden when he served as vice president, as well as Biden's son, Hunter Biden, and Ukrainian officials.
"Consistent with that FBI failure, yet another glaring example of FBI’s broken promises under your leadership is its inexcusable failure to investigate bribery allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden, while strictly scrutinizing former President Trump. You’ve repeatedly claimed you would ensure the FBI does justice, ‘free of fear, favor, or partisan influence.’ The FBI under your watch, however, had possession of incriminating information against President Biden for three years until I exposed the existence of the record outlining those allegations, but did nothing to investigate it," he wrote.
At question in the investigation was an FBI-generated FD-1023 form that allegedly described a multimillion-dollar criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions. Grassley ultimately acquired the document through legally protected disclosures by Department of Justice whistleblowers.
That document reflects the FBI's interview with a "highly credible" confidential human source who described meetings and conversations they had with an executive of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings over the course of several years, starting in 2015. Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma at the time.
Biden denied the accusations, calling the bribery allegations a "bunch of malarkey" last year.
"Still, to-date, the DOJ and FBI have neither answered whether they investigated the substance of the FD-1023, nor have they provided an explanation for any effort undertaken to obtain the financial records and other pieces of evidence referenced within the document," Grassley wrote to Wray on Monday. "This sounds a lot like Director Comey’s leadership of the FBI, which was nothing short of shameful."
When asked about Grassley’s letter earlier this week, the FBI said it "has repeatedly demonstrated our commitment to responding to Congressional oversight and being transparent with the American people."
"Director Wray and Deputy Director Abbate have taken strong actions toward achieving accountability in the areas mentioned in the letter and remain committed to sharing information about the continuously evolving threat environment facing our nation and the extraordinary work of the FBI."
Trump faced a shocking assassination attempt in July during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was hit on the side of his face as the suspect opened fire on the crowd.
Trump survived the attempt, while local dad and volunteer firefighter Corey Compatore lost his life protecting his family.
Wray came under fire regarding the assassination attempt when he appeared before the House Judiciary Committee and cast doubt on whether a bullet actually struck Trump.
"I think with respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that, you know, hit his ear," Wray said at the hearing.
Trump blasted him online for the comment.
"FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress yesterday that he wasn’t sure if I was hit by shrapnel, glass, or a bullet (the FBI never even checked!), but he was sure that Crooked Joe Biden was physically and cognitively ’uneventful’ - Wrong!" Trump wrote on Truth Social in July.
"No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel. The hospital called it a "bullet wound to the ear," and that is what it was. No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!"
The FBI later confirmed a bullet, "whether whole or fragmented," struck Trump.
The FBI did not provide Fox News Digital with additional comment when presented with the scandals on Wednesday afternoon. The FBI later followed up and, while the agency did not address any of the scandals, provided a lengthy list of what the bureau said it believes are Wray’s accomplishments.
Wray stepping down as FBI director clears the path for Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, to begin the confirmation process in earnest. Wray, whom Trump appointed during his first administration, was in the midst of a 10-year appointment that did not end until 2027. If Wray had not announced that he would voluntarily step down, Trump would have needed to fire him in order for Patel to potentially take his spot if confirmed by the Senate.
"Kash Patel is the most qualified Nominee to lead the FBI in the Agency’s History, and is committed to helping ensure that Law, Order, and Justice will be brought back to our Country again, and soon. As everyone knows, I have great respect for the rank-and-file of the FBI, and they have great respect for me. They want to see these changes every bit as much as I do but, more importantly, the American People are demanding a strong, but fair, System of Justice. We want our FBI back, and that will now happen. I look forward to Kash Patel’s confirmation, so that the process of Making the FBI Great Again can begin," Trump added in his reaction to Wray’s resignation.
Fox News Digital's Andrew Mark Miller and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Washington, D.C., councilman Trayon White edged closer to expulsion this week after an investigative report found he violated multiple city code of conduct provisions.
Despite being arrested by the FBI on a federal bribery charge in August, White, a Democrat representing Ward 8, recently secured a third term on Election Day in a landslide victory.
While the federal criminal case remains pending, the report, commissioned by an ad hoc committee and conducted by the law firm Latham & Watkins LLP, was submitted to the council on Monday following an independent probe into whether White violated applicable D.C. law, the D.C. Code of Conduct, or Council Rules. The council is meeting next Monday to deliberate the findings and consider whether to recommend sanctions against White.
The councilman has pleaded not guilty to allegations he accepted $156,000 in cash payments in exchange for using his position to pressure government employees at the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) and Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) to extend several D.C. contracts. The federal complaint says the contracts were valued at $5.2 million and were for two companies to provide "Violence Intervention" services in D.C.
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson established the ad hoc committee in August.
White has declined multiple offers to meet with the committee since.
Councilman Kenyan McDuffie, who chairs the ad hoc committee, said the investigation found "substantial evidence" that White’s alleged conduct connected to the bribery claims violated several provisions of the D.C. Council’s Code of Official Conduct, FOX 5 DC reported. McDuffie said that the report does not support allegations White violated residency requirements outlined in the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973.
The investigation spanned 11 weeks and involved 22 interviews with officials from multiple D.C. agencies, including DYRS, ONSE and the Office of Risk Management; current and former members of White’s staff; leaders in the violence intervention community and other individuals believed to have information related to the allegations against White.
The law firm also reviewed relevant documents and records obtained from D.C. agencies and thousands of emails from the official accounts of White and his staff.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland praised FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday as a leader who served the U.S. "honorably and with integrity" for two decades in the hours after Wray announced his plans to step down at the end of Biden's presidency.
In a statement Wednesday, Garland lauded Wray's multi-decade career as a civil servant and U.S. prosecutor, including as U.S. assistant attorney general and the head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division.
"Chris Wray has served our country honorably and with integrity for decades, including for seven years as the Director of the FBI under presidents of both parties," Garland wrote Wednesday.
"In a heightened threat environment, Director Wray has worked tirelessly to protect the American people and to lead an agency of 38,000 dedicated public servants, many of whom put their lives on the line every day to serve their communities," Garland wrote, praising his role in working to fulfill the Justice Department’s mission "to keep our country safe, protect civil rights, and uphold the rule of law."
"He has led the FBI’s efforts to aggressively confront the broad range of threats facing our country — from nation-state adversaries and foreign and domestic terrorism to violent crime, cybercrime, and financial crime," Garland said. "There are few leadership positions more central to keeping the American people safe than the Director of the FBI."
The statement came shortly after Wray announced his plans to resign at Wednesday's FBI town hall in Washington, D.C., which was attended by thousands of FBI employees virtually and in person. President-elect Donald Trump announced shortly after his election victory last month his nomination of Kash Patel to succeed Wray, giving Wray the option to either exit on his own or be fired after Trump takes office.
Patel told Fox News on Wednesday that he's seeking a "smooth transition" to replace Wray.
"After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down," Wray told employees during the town hall. "My goal is to keep the focus on our mission, the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work."
In his statement, Garland emphasized the role the FBI director plays in protecting the agency's independence from what he described as "inappropriate influence in its criminal investigations. … That independence is central to preserving the rule of law and to protecting the freedoms we as Americans hold dear."
"Director Wray has done that job with integrity and skill," Garland wrote Wednesday. "He has my gratitude, the gratitude of the FBI agents and employees whose respect and admiration he has earned, and the gratitude of the American people."
FIRST ON FOX: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, signaled he is not finished with his oversight of FBI Director Christopher Wray’s handling of the bureau, even after the intelligence official announced he was stepping down.
Jordan said Wray’s resignation was "great" news and lambasted his handling of the FBI in comments to Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
"I mean, Chris Wray was, you know, investigating moms and dads who show up for school board meetings. He was putting out a memorandum on saying, ‘If you're a pro-life Catholic, you're an extremist.’ The FBI retaliated against whistleblowers who came and gave us that kind of information. We learned yesterday that they were spying on congressional staffers and their metadata. And of course, he raided President Trump's home," Jordan said.
Wray previously denied targeting pro-life activists. He also defended the FBI’s handling of a Department of Justice (DOJ) memo raising alarms about conduct at school board meetings, though he said last year that there was "no compelling nationwide law enforcement justification" for the directive to be issued.
Jordan has made no secret of his thoughts on Wray’s leadership, overseeing multiple inquiries by the House Judiciary Committee into his leadership.
When asked by Fox News Digital if that oversight will continue, Jordan said, "Oh, yeah."
"And there's, we think, reports coming that are going to, you know, shed even more light on what's been going on down line from the from the inspector general," Jordan said.
"After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current Administration in January and then step down. My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day," Wray told FBI colleagues. "In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work."
Jordan told Fox News Digital he was not surprised at Wray’s decision.
"I mean when the president nominates someone to replace you, you’ve got to go, man," Jordan said.
FIRST ON FOX: Dozens of Republican state attorneys general are backing Kash Patel, whom President-elect Trump has chosen to lead the FBI in his next administration.
In a letter to incoming Senate Republican leader John Thune, R-S.D., who currently serves as Senate minority whip, and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., 24 Republican attorneys general advocated for Patel to be the next FBI director.
"Kash Patel is the leader that the Federal Bureau of Investigation needs. The FBI has long been a beacon for hardworking and impressive investigators – but their leadership has failed both those brave men and women as well as the country. The FBI needs a smart, competent, reformer as its leader. Mr. Patel is the man for the job," the letter of support read.
Signers included Brenna Bird of Iowa, Steve Marshall of Alabama, Todd Rokita of Indiana, Treg Taylor of Alaska, Kris Kobach of Kansas, Tim Griffin of Arkansas, Liz Murrill of Louisiana, Ashley Moody of Florida, Lynn Fitch of Mississippi, Chris Carr of Georgia, Andrew T. Bailey of Missouri, Raúl R. Labrador of Idaho, Austin Knudsen of Montana, Mike Hilgers of Nebraska, Jonathan Skrmetti of Tennessee, Drew Wrigley of North Dakota, Ken Paxton of Texas, Dave Yost of Ohio, Sean D. Reyes of Utah, Gentner Drummond of Oklahoma, Jason S. Miyares of Virginia, Alan Wilson of South Carolina, Patrick Morrisey of West Virginia and Marty Jackley of South Dakota.
"As Attorneys General for our respective States familiar with the operations of justice departments, we have in the past weighed in on past nominees for the United States Department of Justice positions or when our own colleagues have been nominated," the attorneys general said. "And we take the rule of law seriously. Many of us are also the chief law enforcement officers in our States – and we all partner with the federal government and FBI when needed to ensure justice is done. That the FBI is run well is important to us – and who runs the FBI is important to us, too."
Neither Thune nor Schumer immediately provided comment to Fox News Digital.
According to the state officials, "Americans have a crisis in confidence in FBI’s leadership. Years of scandal, including baseless investigations into President Trump have shaken the nation’s trust in the agency. Rather than focusing on investigating crime and America’s domestic threats, the FBI seems oddly focused on investigating President Trump. It is time for a leader to refocus the FBI on its core mission."
The letter was sent to Thune and Schumer just over an hour before FBI Director Christopher Wray announced that he would be resigning ahead of the Trump administration.
"After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down," Wray said at a town hall in Washington, D.C. "My goal is to keep the focus on our mission – the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work."
FIRST ON FOX: President-elect Trump said Christopher Wray's resignation is a "great day for America," telling Fox News Digital it "will end the weaponization" of the FBI, while touting his nominee Kash Patel as the "most qualified" to lead the bureau.
Wray announced Wednesday afternoon his plans to resign in January 2025.
"The resignation of Christopher Wray is a great day for America as it will end the weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice," Trump told Fox News Digital. "I just don’t know what happened to him."
Trump said his administration "will now restore the rule of law for all Americans."
"Under the leadership of Christopher Wray, the FBI illegally raided my home, without cause, worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me, and has done everything else to interfere with the success and future of America," Trump told Fox News Digital. "They have used their vast powers to threaten and destroy many innocent Americans, some of which will never be able to recover from what has been done to them."
The president-elect looked ahead to his nominee to lead the bureau, Kash Patel.
"Kash Patel is the most qualified nominee to lead the FBI in the Agency’s History, and is committed to helping ensure that Law, Order, and Justice will be brought back to our Country again, and soon," Trump said. "As everyone knows, I have great respect for the rank-and-file of the FBI, and they have great respect for me. They want to see these changes every bit as much as I do but, more importantly, the American People are demanding a strong, but fair, system of justice."
"We want our FBI back, and that will now happen," he continued. "I look forward to Kash Patel’s confirmation, so that the process of Making the FBI Great Again can begin."
During a town hall Wednesday, Wray announced his plans to resign next month.
"After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down," Wray said during the town hall. "My goal is to keep the focus on our mission – the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work."
The FBI director said the decision was not easy for him, adding he loves the FBI, its mission and people.
Wray is seven years into his 10-year term.
Trump appointed Wray in 2017 after he fired former Director James Comey from the post.
Trump nominated Kash Patel to serve as FBI director earlier this month, giving Wray the option to leave on his own or be fired.
While Wray’s last day is still undecided, it is expected to be in January before Trump’s inauguration.
The moment Wray leaves, Deputy Director Paul Abbate will become acting director until the new director is in place. Abbate is a career official who is eligible to retire from the bureau soon. He planned months ago to retire in the new year.
Meanwhile, Patel has been meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week and has received a warm reception.
Patel's experience ranges from personally carrying out dangerous missions in the Middle East in an effort to bring home U.S. hostages to implementing counterterrorism strategies against America’s most-wanted terrorists.
Current and former U.S. national security officials and lawmakers say that when looking at his résumé "objectively," he is "one of the most experienced people ever to be nominated" to lead the bureau.
During the first Trump administration, Patel served as a deputy assistant to Trump and as senior director for counterterrorism. In that role, Patel was involved in presidential missions aimed at decimating al Qaeda senior leadership and ISIS command and control. Patel was involved in the planning of the mission to take out Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, among others.
Patel also was involved in efforts to bring some of the most-wanted terrorists to the U.S. for prosecution, and worked on Trump administration efforts to return dozens of U.S. hostages back home.
Beyond his counterterrorism work, Patel was heavily involved in U.S. strategy to counter Chinese, Russian, Iranian and North Korean efforts against U.S. interests. He also worked on the implementation of multimillion-dollar sanctions against foreign adversaries.
Prior to working as a deputy to Trump and in the NSC, Patel worked in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as the principal deputy to the acting DNI Ric Grenell and helped former Director John Ratcliffe transition into the role. Trump nominated Ratcliffe last month to serve as the director of the CIA.
At ODNI, Patel also worked to focus intelligence collection against counter narcotic and transnational threats.
FBI Director Christopher Wray announced plans to step down from his post at the end of the Biden administration.
Fox News learned just moments before the announcement that Wray would make the announcement during an FBI town hall in Washington, D.C., during which thousands of FBI employees are expected to join virtually across the country.
"After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down," Wray said during the town hall. "My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work."
The FBI director said the decision was not easy for him, adding he loves the FBI, its mission and people.
Wray also said his focus is, and always has been, on the FBI doing what is right.
"When you look at where the threats are headed, it’s clear that the importance of our work — keeping Americans safe and upholding the Constitution — will not change. And what absolutely cannot, must not change is our commitment to doing the right thing, the right way, every time," Wray said.
"Our adherence to our core values, our dedication to independence and objectivity and our defense of the rule of law — those fundamental aspects of who we are must never change. That’s the real strength of the FBI — the importance of our mission, the quality of our people and their dedication to service over self.
"It’s an unshakeable foundation that’s stood the test of time and cannot be easily moved. And it — you, the men and women of the FBI — are why the bureau will endure and remain successful long into the future."
Wray is seven years into his 10-year term.
The Republican lawyer in D.C. was hired by President Trump in 2017 after Trump fired former Director James Comey.
Since being re-elected to a second term in the Oval Office, Trump has nominated Kash Patel to succeed Wray, giving the current director the option to leave on his own or be fired.
While Wray’s last day is still undecided, it is expected to be in January before Trump’s inauguration.
The moment Wray leaves, Deputy Director Paul Abbate will become acting director until a new director — Patel if confirmed — is in place. Abbate is a career official who is eligible to retire from the bureau soon. He planned months ago to retire in the new year.
A New Jersey state senator called for a limited state of emergency Tuesday as the mystery surrounding large drones flying over the Garden State continues to deepen.
"The State of New Jersey should issue a limited state of emergency banning all drones until the public receives an explanation regarding these multiple sightings," Republican New Jersey state Sen. Jon Bramnick said in a press release.
Reports of large drones flying over President-elect Trump’s Bedminster golf course and near military research sites in New Jersey have been on the rise in recent weeks. On Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy announced there were dozens of reports of drones on Sunday alone.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that drones flying over New Jersey were not foreign, adding that President Biden has been made aware of the situation, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and FBI are investigating.
"So, we are certainly aware. The president is aware, so we are closely tracking the activity and coordinating closely with relevant agencies, including DHS and FBI, to continue to investigate these incidents," Jean-Pierre said before adding she did not have anything else to share. "Obviously, this is something the DHS and FBI are tracking very, very closely."
When pressed if the federal government had ruled out that the drones are being controlled by foreign entities, Jean-Pierre promptly responded, "Yeah."
The Federal Aviation Administration first received reports of drone activity Nov. 18 in Morris County, which is nearly 2 miles north of Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Somerset County.
Since then, sightings have occurred a few miles north of Bedminster in Mendham and Parsippany and other places across the Garden State.
On Monday, Murphy said there were 49 reports of drones Sunday, mostly in Hunterdon County. The Democratic governor said his numbers also included possible sightings and potentially the same drone being reported more than once.
Federal lawmakers from the state have expressed a degree of concern about the drones, regardless of the side of the aisle they stand on.
"My office has been in communication with Governor Murphy’s office and our federal agency partners," Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said in a post on X. "While the drones currently pose no known threat to the public, my team and I will continue to monitor the situation closely."
Booker also penned a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, FBI Director Christopher Wray and Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Tuesday, seeking better transparency and a comprehensive briefing on drone activity over New Jersey.
"Over the past several weeks, there have been multiple confirmed sightings of unexplained drone activity over New Jersey communities and military installations," Booker wrote. "I recognize the need to maintain operational security of ongoing investigations and that this situation requires complex Interagency coordination.
"However, there is a growing sense of uncertainty and urgency across the state — from constituents and local officials alike — despite assurances that the drones pose no known threats to public safety. As such, I urge you to share any relevant information about these drone sightings with the public. Without transparency, I believe that rumors, fear, and misinformation will continue to spread."
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the recent drone sightings in New Jersey are "not only scary for residents." They point to the need for change in the state and in the U.S.
"There has been no transparency with the public, and this lack of communication is unacceptable," Van Drew said. "Constituents have been told the drones are not a threat, but no further information has been provided. People need, want and deserve answers now so they can stop worrying about their safety and privacy."
As concerns continue to mount, Robert Wheeler, the FBI's assistant director of the Critical IIncident Response Group, told Congress the federal agency knows concerningly little about the mysterious drones that have been spotted hovering over New Jersey.
When asked if Americans are at risk, Wheeler said, "There is nothing that is known that would lead me to say that, but we just don't know. And that's the concerning part."
While the FBI has been investigating the incidents, the agency has called on the public for additional information.
The FAA confirmed earlier this month that it had issued two flight restrictions in response to the questionable drone activity reported near Trump’s Bedminster golf club.
Upon request from "federal security partners," the agency issued two temporary flight restrictions.
One restriction covers an area near Solberg-Hunterdon County Airport that consists of airspace above Trump Bedminster. Flights are also banned over Picatinny Arsenal, a major U.S. Army hub in Dover, N.J., geared toward research and development via its CCDCAC armaments center.
The ban remained in place over Trump Bedminster through last week, snd the ban over Picatinny Arsenal will remain in place until Dec. 26.
Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz and Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI director, was the chief investigator in the congressional probe into alleged Trump-Russia collusion, uncovering government surveillance abuse that led to the appointment of two special counsels: one who determined there was no such collusion and another who determined the entire premise of the FBI’s original investigation was bogus.
Patel served as senior counsel and a national security adviser on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) for then-Chair Rep. Devin Nunes.
"Kash was instrumental in unraveling the Russia collusion hoax and finding evidence of government malfeasance despite constant attempts by the FBI and DOJ to stonewall our investigation," Nunes, who now chiefs Trump's Truth Social site, told Fox News Digital.
In July 2016, during the 2016 election cycle, the FBI launched an investigation into whether the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia to influence the outcome of the election. That investigation, inside the bureau, was known as "Crossfire Hurricane."
By January 2017, then-FBI Director James Comey had notified Trump of a dossier, known as the Steele dossier, that contained salacious and unverified allegations about Trump’s purported coordination with the Russian government, a key document prompting the opening of the probe.
The dossier was authored by Christopher Steele, an ex-British intelligence officer, and commissioned by Fusion GPS. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign hired Fusion GPS during the 2016 election cycle.
It eventually was determined that the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee funded the dossier through the law firm Perkins Coie.
Trump fired Comey in May 2017. Days later, Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel to take over the "Crossfire Hurricane" probe and investigate whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election cycle.
While Mueller investigated, the HPSCI opened its own investigation into alleged Trump-Russia collusion.
Patel, as chief investigator for Nunes, by February 2018 had discovered widespread government surveillance abuse, including improper surveillance of former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
"While most members of Congress were ready to ignore the unprecedented civil rights abuses against the Trump campaign and myself, Kash Patel’s training as a top public defender made him the perfect advocate for exposing one of the greatest election interference scandals of all time," Page told Fox News Digital.
Patel was an integral part of the creation of a memo released by then-Chair Nunes in February 2018, which detailed the DOJ's and FBI’s surveillance of Page under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Nunes and Patel revealed that the infamous anti-Trump dossier funded by Democrats "formed an essential part" of the application to spy on Page.
The memo referred to closed-door testimony from former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who said that "no surveillance warrant would have been sought" from the FISA court "without the Steele dossier information."
But when applying for the FISA warrant, the FBI omitted the origins of the dossier, specifically its funding from Clinton, who was Trump’s 2016 presidential opponent.
The memo also said Steele, who worked as an FBI informant, was eventually cut off from the bureau for what the FBI described as the most serious of violations, "an unauthorized disclosure to the media of his relationship with the FBI."
The memo noted that the FBI and DOJ obtained "one initial FISA warrant" targeting Page and three FISA renewals from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The statute required that every 90 days a FISA order on an American citizen "must be reviewed."
The memo revealed that Comey signed three FISA applications for Page, while McCabe, former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and former Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente signed at least one.
The memo was widely criticized by Democrats but was ultimately correct.
The Justice Department inspector general, Michael Horowitz, reviewed the memo and confirmed the dossier served as the basis for the controversial FISA warrants obtained against Page.
"The feds spied on Kash during the probe and ran information warfare against him, but Kash helped expose them anyway," Nunes told Fox News Digital.
Nunes was referring to the Justice Department in November 2017 using grand jury subpoenas to secretly obtain the personal email and phone data for Patel and another Nunes staffer on the HPSCI as they were investigating FBI abuse and the Russia probe.
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote a letter to now-FBI Director Christopher Wray last year to investigate the improper surveillance of Patel.
Meanwhile, Mueller completed his investigation in April 2019, which yielded no evidence of criminal conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 election.
Weeks later, then-Attorney General Bill Barr tapped then-U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John Durham to serve as special counsel to investigate the origins of the FBI’s original Trump-Russia probe.
Durham in his report said the Justice Department and FBI "failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law" when it launched its original Trump-Russia probe.
He also said in his report that the FBI "failed to act" on a "clear warning sign" that the bureau was the "target" of a Clinton-led effort to "manipulate or influence the law enforcement process for political purposes" ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Durham was referring to intelligence on a plan stirred up by Clinton’s presidential campaign in July 2016 to tie Trump to Russia in an effort to distract from the investigation into her use of a private email server and mishandling of classified information.
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is looking for answers from the FBI after a selection by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the bureau was reportedly targeted by Iranian hackers.
"For an Iranian-backed group to have targeted the potential next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is extremely alarming. Also alarming is the speed at which sensitive and potentially classified information about this attack spread to the news media," the North Carolina senator penned in a Monday letter to FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate.
It was reported by several outlets last week that Kash Patel, who Trump has chosen to be his nominee for FBI director in his new administration, was the target of an Iranian hacking attempt.
In response to reports of the hack attempt, Trump Transition spokesperson Alex Pfeiffer told Fox News Digital, "Kash Patel was a key part of the first Trump administration's efforts against the terrorist Iranian regime and will implement President Trump’s policies to protect America from adversaries as the FBI Director."
In his letter, Tillis pointed to various law enforcement sources that apparently communicated with news publications.
"As you know, it is imperative that the FBI and other intelligence agencies maintain confidentiality to ensure the American people are safe from enemies at home and abroad. The release of this information raises major national security and personal safety concerns," he wrote.
The Republican asked Abbate a series of questions, including whether FBI employees shared information about the cyberattack with either media or with third parties that could've given it to media.
The FBI told Fox News Digital that it received the letter but had no further comment.
Patel has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill and meeting with senators as he looks to shore up support before Trump is inaugurated in January.
Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley doubled down that he believes Christopher Wray has failed his "fundamental duties" as FBI director in a blistering letter expressing he has "no confidence" in Wray’s continued leadership over the agency.
"For the good of the country, it’s time for you and your deputy to move on to the next chapter in your lives. I’ve spent my career fighting for transparency, and I’ve always called out those in government who have fought against it," Grassley wrote in a letter to Wray on Monday morning, referring also to the FBI’s deputy director Paul Abbate. "For the public record, I must do so once again now."
Grassley went on to say he "must express my vote of no confidence in your continued leadership of the FBI. President-elect Trump has already announced his intention to nominate a candidate to replace you, and the Senate will carefully consider that choice. For my part, I’ve also seen enough, and hope your respective successors will learn from these failures," Grassley, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, continued.
The longtime Republican senator’s letter comes as Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, headed to Capitol Hill on Monday to meet with lawmakers, including Grassley, and rally support for his confirmation.
Before the Senate could potentially confirm Patel as FBI chief under the second Trump administration, Wray would need to step down or be fired, as he is in the midst of a 10-year appointment that does not end until 2027.
Grassley’s lengthy letter to Wray, which spans 11 pages, detailed specific examples of Wray’s "failures" as FBI director, which Grassley said "shattered my confidence in your leadership and the confidence and hope many others in Congress placed in you." The Iowa senator previously argued that Wray has "failed" as FBI director in a social media message posted one day after Trump nominated Patel as FBI chief.
Grassley pointed to the FBI’s "unprecedented raid" of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida in August 2022 regarding classified documents as an example of Wray's failures. The Republican senator noted the raid included about 30 armed agents who were authorized to "use lethal force if needed" in order to execute the search warrant.
The agents "even searched the former First Lady’s clothing drawers," Grassley continued.
"This raid occurred despite serious questions about the need for it. President Trump apparently was cooperating with the investigation, notwithstanding liberal press reports. He voluntarily turned over 15 boxes of documents months before the FBI’s drastic escalation," Grassley continued, adding that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton never faced such a raid "even though she and her staff mishandled highly classified information while using a non-government server."
He also hit the FBI for acting as an "accomplice to the Democrats’ false information campaign designed to undermine my investigation of alleged Biden-family corruption."
"On August 6, 2020, as Senator Ron Johnson and I were finishing our report on the Biden family’s financial connections to foreign governments and questionable foreign nationals, you succumbed to pressure from Democrats in Congress and provided an unnecessary briefing that Democratic leadership requested in an effort to falsely label our investigation as Russian disinformation."
"That briefing consisted of information we already knew and information that wasn’t connected to our Biden investigation. We made clear at the time our concern that the briefing would be subject to a leak that would shed false light on the focus of our investigation. Predictably, on May 1, 2021, the Washington Post did just that, falsely labeling our investigation as Russian disinformation," he continued.
He added that the FBI "sat on bribery allegations" against Biden when he served as vice president, as well as Biden's son, Hunter Biden, and Ukrainian officials.
"Consistent with that FBI failure, yet another glaring example of FBI’s broken promises under your leadership is its inexcusable failure to investigate bribery allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden, while strictly scrutinizing former President Trump. You’ve repeatedly claimed you would ensure the FBI does justice, ‘free of fear, favor, or partisan influence.’ The FBI under your watch, however, had possession of incriminating information against President Biden for three years until I exposed the existence of the record outlining those allegations, but did nothing to investigate it," he wrote.
Grassley argued that under Wray’s leadership, the FBI has also shown an "outright disdain for congressional oversight," including failure to provide lawmakers with information related to the "FBI’s ongoing mishandling of sexual harassment claims" made by female employees.
"This request was not pulled out of a hat. It was based on credible whistleblower disclosures alleging hundreds of FBI employees had retired or resigned to avoid accountability for sexual misconduct," Grassley wrote.
The FBI also "refused" to provide information to lawmakers regarding the vetting process of Afghan nationals amid the Biden administration's botched withdrawal from the nation in 2021, Grassley added. The FBI also came under fire from Grassley for "refusing to provide information to Congress on the FBI’s ‘Richmond memo,’" which has become known as the anti-Catholic memo for depicting traditional Catholics as violent extremists.
"Your and Deputy Director Abbate’s failure to take control of the FBI has hindered my work and others’ work throughout multiple Congresses on matters that needed timely information, and has prevented the truth on some issues from ever reaching the American people. You’ve also shown a continuing double standard and failure to carry through on promises," Grassley wrote in his letter.
When asked about Grassley's letter, the FBI told Fox News Digital that "the FBI has repeatedly demonstrated our commitment to responding to Congressional oversight and being transparent with the American people."
"Director Wray and Deputy Director Abbate have taken strong actions toward achieving accountability in the areas mentioned in the letter and remain committed to sharing information about the continuously evolving threat environment facing our nation and the extraordinary work of the FBI."
Trump joined NBC’s "Meet the Press" for an interview that aired Sunday, where the president-elect also slammed Wray and said the "FBI’s respect has gone way down over the last number of years."
"He invaded my home. I’m suing the country over it. He invaded Mar-a-Lago. I’m very unhappy with the things he’s done. And crime is at an all-time high. Migrants are pouring into the country that are from prisons and from mental institutions, as we’ve discussed. I can’t say I’m thrilled," Trump said during the interview.
"I certainly can not be happy with him. Take a look at what’s happened. And then when I was shot in the ear, he said, maybe it was shrapnel. Where’s the shrapnel coming from? Is it coming from heaven? I don’t think so. So we need somebody to – you know, I have a lot of respect for the FBI. But the FBI’s respect has gone way down over the last number of years," Trump continued.
Wray has not revealed whether he will voluntarily step down as FBI director, with Trump expected to fire Wray in order to make room for Patel as FBI director.
Patel is a longtime Trump ally and crusader against the "deep state," who has advocated for the firings of "corrupt actors" within the FBI, "aggressive" congressional oversight over the agency, complete overhauls to special counsels, and moving the FBI out of Washington, D.C.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Grassley's letter, but did not immediately receive responses.
FIRST ON FOX: Federal law enforcement has been manipulating the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) system to gain access to Americans’ financial information without warrants or probable cause, the House Judiciary Committee said Friday.
The panel and its Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government released its interim report, first obtained by Fox News Digital, which details its findings.
The committee said in the report that the FBI "has manipulated" the SAR's filing process to treat financial institutions "as de facto arms of law enforcement, issuing ‘requests’ without legal process, that amount to demands for information related to certain persons or activities it considers ‘suspicious.'"
"With narrow exception, federal law does not permit law enforcement to inquire into financial institutions’ customer information without some form of legal process," the report states. "The FBI circumvents this process by tipping off financial institutions to ‘suspicious’ individuals and encouraging these institutions to file a SAR — which does not require any legal process — and thereby provide federal law enforcement with access to confidential and highly sensitive information."
The committee said that, in doing so, the FBI "gets around the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act," which specifies that it is a bank’s responsibility to file a SAR whenever it identifies a "suspicious transaction relevant to a possible violation of law or regulation."
The committee acknowledged that "at least one financial institution requested legal process from the FBI for information it was seeking," but noted that "all too often the FBI appeared to receive no pushback."
"In sum, by providing financial institutions with lists of people that it views as generally ‘suspicious’ on the front end, the FBI has turned this framework on its head and contravened the Fourth Amendment’s requirements of particularity and probable cause," the report states.
The committee added that their oversight of "financial surveillance" had shed "new light on the decaying state of Americans’ financial privacy and the federal government’s widespread, warrantless surveillance programs."
The FBI responded to the report in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying, "While we have no comment on the report, as a general matter the FBI frequently receives information from the private sector about possible criminal activity. Financial institutions are required under the Bank Secrecy Act to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARS) on activity they deem reportable, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) shares the information with law enforcement.
"The FBI cannot open an investigation without evidence of a federal criminal violation or a threat to national security. We follow the law and the facts, and we never open an investigation based solely on First Amendment activity."
The committee began their investigation into government-led financial surveillance earlier this year, after a whistleblower disclosed that following the events of Jan. 6, 2021, Bank of America "voluntarily and without legal process" provided the FBI with a list of names of all individuals who used a Bank of America credit or debit card in the Washington, D.C., region around that time.
Fox News Digital first reported in March that federal investigators had asked banks to search and filter customer transactions by using terms like "MAGA" and "Trump" as part of an investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, warning that purchases of "religious texts" could indicate "extremism."
The committee also obtained documents that indicate officials suggested that banks query transactions with keywords like Dick's Sporting Goods, Cabela's, Bass Pro Shops and more.
A source familiar with the documents told Fox News Digital at the time that while Jan. 6 was the "impetus" for the queries and searches, none of the documents the committee had obtained revealed any specific time frames or limitations for banks searching for customer transactions with the terms. The source said the federal government used the information for investigations beyond Jan. 6.
"In the days and weeks after January 6, 2021, the FBI coordinated with the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to encourage financial institutions across the country to scour their data and file SARs on hundreds of Americans, if not more, without any clear criminal nexus," the report says.
Bank of America, at the time, told Fox News it "follows all applicable laws and regulatory requirements to receive, evaluate, process, safeguard, and narrowly respond to law enforcement requests."
Documents obtained by the committee revealed that at least one financial institution reached out to the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) with the idea that it would "support the Bureau’s efforts to address the acute threat of domestic terrorism."
"The financial institution encouraged FinCEN to use SARs as the basis for issuing Patriot Act 314 (a) requests, which allows FinCEN to ‘canvas the nation’s financial institutions for potential lead information’ from ‘more than 37,000 points of contact at more than 16,000 financial institutions to locate accounts and transactions of persons that may be involved in terrorism or money laundering."
After those findings, the panel continued investigating the matter and obtained more than 48,000 pages of documents, noting that the information they received through their probe "is concerning."
"Documents show that federal law enforcement increasingly works hand-in-glove with financial institutions, obtaining virtually unchecked access to private financial data and testing out new methods and new technology to continue the financial surveillance of American citizens," the report states.
However, the committee is warning that "all Americans should be disturbed by how their financial data is collected, made accessible to, and searched by federal and state officials, including law enforcement and regulatory agencies."
"With the rise in e-commerce and the widespread adoption of cash alternatives like credit cards or peer-to-peer payment services, the future leaves very little financial activity beyond the purview of modern financial institutions or the government’s prying eyes," the report states. "This is because, as a condition of participating in the modern economy, Americans are forced to disclose details of their private lives to a financial industry that has been too eager to pass this information along to federal law enforcement."
The report says the committee's investigation "makes clear that federal law enforcement has taken advantage of this dynamic by deploying financial institutions as arms of federal law enforcement, directing financial institutions to profile Americans using the typologies it distributes or urging financial institutions to identify any ‘suspicious activity’ an individual may have engaged in."
The committee is warning that "absent renewed safeguards, the federal government and financial institutions will continue to siphon off Americans’ sensitive financial data, place it into the hands of bureaucrats, and erode any remaining semblance of financial privacy in the United States."
President-elect Trump has nominated Kash Patel to be the next FBI director, a person with an extensive background in national security and intelligence.
Patel's experience ranges from personally carrying out dangerous missions in the Middle East in an effort to bring home U.S. hostages to implementing counterterrorism strategies against America’s most-wanted terrorists. Current and former U.S. national security officials and lawmakers say that when looking at his résumé "objectively," he is "one of the most experienced people ever to be nominated" to lead the bureau.
During the first Trump administration, Patel served as a deputy assistant to Trump and as senior director for counterterrorism. In that role, Patel was involved in presidential missions aimed at decimating Al-Qaeda senior leadership and ISIS command and control. Patel was involved in the planning of the mission to take out Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, among others.
Patel also was involved in efforts to bring some of the most-wanted terrorists to the U.S. for prosecution, and worked on Trump administration efforts to return dozens of U.S. hostages back home.
"When I was national security adviser, Kash was my senior director for counterterrorism. He was responsible for all interagency actions against ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations," former White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien told Fox News Digital. "He was also responsible for hostage rescues, and he did a great job on both fronts."
O’Brien recalled Patel’s "tremendous personal bravery" with regard to Austin Tice, a hostage who has been held presumably by the Syrian government for more than 12 years.
In 2020, O’Brien said Syrians "finally agreed to let an American come in for negotiations and I asked Kash Patel and Amb. Roger Carstens if they would go."
"I wanted someone from the White House, so it wasn't just representatives of the State Department. Kash was the White House’s man," O’Brien said. "They traveled overland from Beirut to Damascus through territory where the Al Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda, ISIS and Hezbollah were all present. It was a very complex situation. They drove all the way to Damascus to meet with the head of Assad's intelligence service."
O’Brien said the "Syrians themselves could easily have taken Kash and Roger hostage."
"I have never heard Kash talk or tell war stories about that mission to try to save a fellow American," O’Brien said.
He added: "I would say to anyone who ignorantly criticizes Kash Patel’s character, tell me the last time you did something dangerous to try to save a stranger."
Not everyone shared O'Brien's rosy representation of Patel. Fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and others have blasted Trump’s pick of Patel, claiming he is unqualified.
But O’Brien and others say those attacks "are entirely politically motivated because he supports the president's America First agenda."
"There was a time when Democrats would have applauded a president for appointing someone with criminal defense experience and who is against the FBI surveilling American citizens — but that was a very different Democrat party," O’Brien said.
Beyond his counterterrorism work, Patel was heavily involved in U.S. strategy to counter Chinese, Russian, Iranian and North Korean efforts against U.S. interests. He also worked on the implementation of multimillion-dollar sanctions against foreign adversaries.
Victoria Coates, a former deputy national security adviser to Trump and vice president for national security at the Heritage Foundation, said that Patel was a "strong colleague" at the National Security Council (NSC) and "understands that critical piece of our national security architecture."
"After four years of Biden-Harris mismanagement, he will be the strong hand the FBI needs to keep the American people safe," Coates said. "Instead of a director who spends all his time testifying to Congress about all the red lights he sees flashing across the dashboard, we will have one who will do something to actually put them out."
Prior to working as a deputy to Trump and in the NSC, Patel worked in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as the principal deputy to the acting DNI Ric Grenell and helped former Director John Ratcliffe transition into the role. Trump nominated Ratcliffe last month to serve as the director of the CIA.
At ODNI, Patel also worked to focus intelligence collection against counter narcotic and transnational threats.
"Kash brings a lot of passion to government service because he has seen what corruption is like from the inside," Grenell said. "He is a first-generation American who knows how elites manipulate the system so they retain power and control over Americans."
"Reforming Washington and its insular ways requires courage," Grenell continued. "Those of us outside of Washington who want reform have to stop expecting those who live and work in Washington to deliver reform. They are never going to reform themselves."
Prior to joining the Trump administration, Patel served as the national security adviser and senior counsel for counterterrorism to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Patel was the chief investigator for the committee’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Throughout his investigation, he led the effort to uncover FISA abuse and exposed the FBI and the DOJ’s unlawful actions before federal court to illegally surveil Americans, including members of the 2016 Trump campaign.
"The best thing about Kash is, because of his previous government experience and his key role in uncovering Russiagate, he won’t be bamboozled by the bureaucracy," said former Trump White House deputy national security adviser KT McFarland.
"Intelligence community bureaucrats cover up their mistakes and malfeasance by hiding behind the ‘sources and methods’ excuse. They slow-walk de-classification efforts and internal investigations. Most appointed officials new to intel bureaucracy fall for it — Kash won’t."
McFarland said that critics of Patel claim that he will "seek revenge," but she declared that those critics "are wrong."
"Remember, government bureaucrats always leave a paper trail of their actions," she said. "Kash can expose them by declassifying these documents and then letting the American people decide whether these nameless, faceless FBI and DOJ bureaucrats have abused their power with a two-tier system of justice — by prosecuting their political opponents and protecting their allies."
Patel, a lawyer, served as a public defender and national security prosecutor at the Justice Department and tried scores of complex criminal cases. All told, Patel has served in the U.S. government for 16 years.
His final role in the Trump administration was serving as the chief of staff at the Department of Defense.
"Kash Patel is the right guy for the job," Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital.
Jordan said he worked closely with Patel when he served among then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes’ top staffers.
"He did an outstanding job," Jordan said.
And soon to be on the other side of Capitol Hill, Sen.-elect Jim Banks, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital that Patel "will shake up the FBI."
"He has my support and vote for confirmation," said Banks.
President Biden's White House is reportedly considering preemptive pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, Sen.-elect Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.
White House counsel Ed Siskel is arranging discussions about the potential pardons with several other senior Biden aides, including chief of staff Jeff Zients, Politico reported, citing senior Democrats familiar with the talks.
The president, who granted a sweeping pardon to his son, Hunter, for the past 11 years of crimes or potential crimes earlier this week, reportedly has not been roped in on the deliberations, according to Politico.
The conversations included whether Fauci, Schiff or Cheney would even accept a preemptive pardon, which could suggest wrongdoing and exacerbate criticisms brought by President-elect Trump's team.
"I would urge the president not to do that," Schiff told Politico. "I think it would seem defensive and unnecessary."
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Trump's appointment of Kash Patel to be the next FBI director reportedly drove the talks of preemptive pardons amid concern of possible forthcoming inquiries or indictments once the new administration takes over in January.
Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., who hosted Biden in battleground Pennsylvania before the election, called on the president to issue blanket pardons when Patel's nomination was announced — though he did not specify the intended recipients.
"By choosing Kash Patel as his FBI Director, Trump has made it clear that he is more focused on settling personal scores than on protecting the American people or upholding the rule of law. Patel has openly published an ‘enemies list’ in his book, naming individuals he and Trump plan to investigate and prosecute — targeting those who stood up to Trump’s lies, abuses of power, and baseless attempts to overturn the 2020 election. This is no hypothetical threat," Boyle said in a statement. "The people they’re targeting include law enforcement officers, military personnel, and others who have spent their lives protecting this country. These patriots shouldn’t have to live in fear of political retribution for doing what’s right. That’s why I’m urging President Biden to issue a blanket pardon for anyone unjustly targeted by this vindictive scheme."
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., also spoke in favor of preemptive pardons last week, noting how former President Gerald Ford granted one to Richard Nixon.
"If it’s clear by January 19 that [revenge] is his intention, then I would recommend to President Biden that he provide those preemptive pardons to people, because that’s really what our country is going to need next year," Markey told WGBH.
Schiff and Cheney both led the Jan. 6 select committee that investigated the U.S. Capitol riot.
Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is under renewed scrutiny this week in light of the over 500-page final report dropped by the House subcommittee that has been investigating government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report — which found that COVID-19 most likely emerged from a laboratory in Wuhan, China — supported how Fauci "played a critical role in disparaging the lab-leak theory" among top scientific circles early in 2020 and later to the public. His congressional testimony to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., the report states, misled the public regarding National Institute of Health funding of gain-of-function research at coronavirus labs.
It goes on to cite how Fauci testified that the six-foot social distancing rule imposed on Americans "sort of just appeared" and did not support quality scientific standards, when he was grilled on what studies he and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had reviewed before announcing the policy. He also gave similarly vague testimony when asked what science supported K-12 public school mask mandates.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed Tuesday it issued two flight restrictions following questionable drone activity in the area of President-elect Trump's New Jersey golf club.
On Nov. 18, the FAA first received reports of drone activity within Morris County, the border of which lies about two miles north of Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Somerset County.
Upon request from "federal security partners," the agency issued two TFRs, or temporary flight restrictions, and several reports of drone sightings continued into this week in Central Jersey.
One restriction covers an area near Solberg-Hunterdon County Airport that consists of airspace above Trump Bedminster. Flights are also banned over Picatinny Arsenal, a major U.S. Army hub in Dover, N.J., geared toward research and development via its CCDCAC armaments center.
The ban remains in place over Trump Bedminster for the rest of this week and over Picatinny Arsenal until Dec. 26.
"Safely integrating drones into the National Airspace System is a key priority for the FAA," the agency said in a statement Tuesday.
"We look into all reports of unauthorized drone operations and investigate when appropriate," the agency said, adding drone pilots who endanger aircraft or people can have their certification revoked and/or face $75,000 in fines.
Local media reported law enforcement has also been probing continued drone activity in the area.
Sightings have also occurred a few miles north of Bedminster in Mendham and Parsippany, where I-80 meets I-287.
A Parsippany woman told the Morristown Record she saw as many as five drones overhead Sunday night.
Morris County Sheriff James Gannon told New Jersey Patch there is "no advisable immediate danger to the public at this time" and asked the public to send law enforcement clear photographs of the drones.
An FBI spokeswoman told the outlet the bureau’s Newark field office and New Jersey State Police are investigating.
Fox News Digital reached out to Team Trump as well as the U.S. Army’s garrison at Picatinny for comment.
The drone sightings in New Jersey come as unidentified drones have been seen over British-American joint bases in the United Kingdom.
"Swarms of small drones" have been seen over Royal Air Force (RAF) Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Fairford and RAF Feltwell in England. Some of those bases house F-15 and F-35 fighter jets.
The British military sent dozens of personnel to protect the bases, and a Pentagon spokesman said Nov. 26 none of the incursions affected the base’s buildings, personnel or assets.
Nineties punk rock band Green Day also paused a September show in Detroit after a drone was spotted overhead. Frontman Billie Joe Armstrong rushed backstage as he closed out "Longview."
The show resumed about 10 minutes later, and Detroit Police said a man was detained.
Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin, Liz Friden and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
Critics of "deep state" foe Kash Patel, President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, call the veteran official a "danger" to the U.S. who will politicize the bureau – but a review of the agency's recent history shows the upper echelon of the FBI has long had a politicization problem, and Patel says he's just the man to end it.
Trump announced over the weekend that he is nominating Patel as FBI director, after years as a public defender and working up the echelons of the federal government, including as senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council under the Trump administration, and chief of staff to acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller toward the end of Trump's first term.
Patel is an outspoken crusader against the "deep state." In a book published last year, he explicitly called for revamping the FBI in a chapter dubbed "Overhauling the FBI," and moving the FBI’s headquarters out of Washington, D.C.
Since 2013, the FBI has seen three directors take the helm: James Comey, who served under the Obama administration before Trump fired him in May 2017; short-term acting-director Andrew McCabe under the Trump administration; and current director, Christopher Wray, whom Trump also appointed.
Amid the political left’s outrage over the Patel pick, Fox News Digital revisited a handful of the agency’s scandals that were lambasted as politically motivated and spoiling the integrity of the agency.
In 2017, the FBI and Special Counsel Robert Mueller came under fire when it was revealed that two FBI employees tasked with investigating and handling alleged Russian interference into the 2016 election had texted each other anti-Trump rhetoric.
"[Trump’s] not ever going to become president, right? Right?!" FBI attorney Lisa Page texted FBI agent Peter Strzok in August 2016, Fox Digital previously reported.
"No. No he won’t. We’ll stop it," Strzok responded.
Strzok wrote in another August 2016 text, seemingly referring to Trump’s chance of winning the 2016 election: "I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office – that there’s no way he gets elected – but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40."
Strzok and Page were both working on Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election – which ultimately found no evidence that Trump or his campaign coordinated with Russia – before Mueller dismissed Strzok from the investigation amid the text scandal. Page left the team before the text messages were discovered and revealed to the public.
The pair had also worked together on the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server for official government duties.
The FBI ultimately fired Strzok in 2018 over the texts, as conservative lawmakers and critics lambasted the "bias" within the FBI.
"In Louisiana, we call that bias, we don't call that objective," Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said on Fox News at the time.
While then-House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy said: "Peter Strzok's manifest bias trending toward animus casts a pall on this investigation… His bias impacted his decision-making and he assigned to himself the role of stopping the Trump campaign or ending a Trump Presidency."
"This is not the FBI I know," the South Carolina Republican added.
Trump slammed the scandal as an instance of "treason."
"A man is tweeting to his lover that if [former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton] loses, we'll essentially do the insurance policy," Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal in 2018. "We'll go to phase two and we'll get this guy out of office."
"This is the FBI we're talking about – that is treason," he continued. "That is a treasonous act. What he tweeted to his lover is a treasonous act."
Trump dismissed FBI Director James Comey on May 9, 2017, with Deputy Director Andrew McCabe stepping up to take the helm of the agency for roughly three months before he was fired for allegedly leaking information to the press and initially lying about the leaks, Justice Department's internal watchdog found in a 2018 investigation.
McCabe automatically assumed the responsibilities of FBI director upon Comey’s firing, as the Trump administration searched for another FBI chief. McCabe had reportedly been in the running for the nomination, but was ultimately replaced by Wray in August of that year. Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe just days before he would have been eligible for a lifetime pension after it was determined that he had leaked a self-serving story to the press regarding the bureau’s probe of Clinton’s email server, and then misled investigators on the matter.
Sessions said McCabe "made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor − including under oath − on multiple occasions."
The DOJ IG report found McCabe leaked information of an August 2016 call to the Wall Street Journal for an Oct. 30, 2016, story titled "FBI in Internal Feud Over Hillary Clinton Probe." The story focused on the FBI announcing the reopening of the Clinton investigation after finding thousands of her emails on a laptop belonging to former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, who was married to Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin.
The Journal reported a senior Justice Department official expressed displeasure to McCabe that FBI agents were still looking into the Clinton Foundation, and that McCabe had defended the FBI’s authority to pursue the issue.
McCabe filed a lawsuit over the firing, and saw his pension restored as part of a settlement deal that also vacated Sessions’ decision, and removed any mention of being fired from McCabe’s FBI record.
Under Director Comey’s tenure as FBI chief, the agency came under fire when media outlets began reporting in 2019 that the DOJ’s watchdog made a criminal referral to U.S. prosecutor John Durham regarding FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith, elevating the investigation from an inquiry to a criminal probe. Durham was the U.S. attorney for Connecticut and later tapped by then-Attorney General Bill Barr to lead a criminal investigation into the origins of the FBI investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Clinesmith had worked on the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation, which investigated alleged claims Russia interfered in the 2016 election, when Trump won the Oval Office in his campaign against Clinton.
The DOJ inspector general accused Clinesmith, though not by name, of altering an email about former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page to say that he was "not a source" for another government agency, downplaying Page’s relationship with the CIA. Page had worked as an "operational contact" for the CIA for about five years until 2013.
The Justice Department relied on Clinesmith’s altered email assertion as it submitted a third and final renewal application in 2017 to eavesdrop on Page under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
The Justice Department’s charging document stated that Clinesmith "did willfully and knowingly make and use a false writing and document, knowing the same to contain a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement and entry in a matter before the jurisdiction of the executive branch and judicial branch of the Government of the United States."
Clinesmith ultimately pleaded guilty to "one count of making a false statement within both the jurisdiction of the executive branch and judicial branch of the U.S. government, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000."
He was sentenced in 2021 to 12 months probation and 400 hours of community service.
Page said the 2020 Clinesmith indictment was the "first step on the road to justice" for the FBI and DOJ, slamming Clinesmith's actions as "false conspiracies and made-up lies paid for by Democrats."
"Friday was just a first step on the road to justice, because it was the first time that I started to see some semblance of justice from the DOJ and FBI with the fact they were acting in accordance with Crime Victims' Rights Act, a law that was totally avoided and not respected throughout last four years," Page told "Mornings with Maria" at the time.
Trump’s first national security adviser Michael Flynn, who also served as Obama administration Defense Intelligence Agency chief, was embroiled in FBI legal woes at the start of Trump’s first administration amid the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation, which ultimately sparked the Mueller investigation and was followed by the Durham report.
In December 2017, when Comey helmed the FBI, Flynn struck a plea deal with Mueller, pleading guilty to giving false statements to the FBI, which included comment regarding his communications with a Russian ambassador. Flynn also admitted to filing paperwork under the Foreign Agents Registration Act that contained misrepresentations regarding business with Turkey.
The plea deal included Flynn’s cooperation with Mueller’s special counsel investigation into Trump's alleged connections to Russia during the 2016 election.
In 2019, however, Flynn claimed innocence and accused the FBI of misconduct. Internal FBI documents made public in 2020 showed top FBI leadership discussing the motivation behind interviewing Flynn when he served as national security adviser and whether their "goal" was "to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired."
The documents were handwritten notes between the FBI's former head of counterintelligence Bill Priestap following a meeting with Comey and McCabe, Fox News Digital previously reported. The notes suggested that agents also planned to get Flynn "to admit to breaking the Logan Act" when he spoke to then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transition period.
Strzok was notably one of the FBI agents who interviewed Flynn.
Trump ultimately pardoned Flynn in 2020 and his case was dismissed. Flynn has since said he faced a "political persecution of the highest order."
"So, you know, we went and made the decision that this was the direction that we wanted to go and good enough for President Donald Trump for coming through, and we’re certainly grateful to him," Flynn said in 2020 on Fox News. "But at the same time, we also know that this was a political persecution of the highest order and not something that any American should ever have to go through."
Trump announced over the weekend that he is nominating Patel as FBI director, touting him as someone who will "end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border."
Patel has been a staunch Trump ally, including joining the 45th president during his trial in Manhattan in the spring, and echoing that the United States’ security and law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, need to be overhauled. Patel published a book last year called "Government Gangsters," where he railed against the "deep state," the weaponization of the federal government and the Russia investigation into Trump.
"Things are bad. There’s no denying it," Patel wrote in his book. "The FBI has gravely abused its power, threatening not only the rule of law, but the very foundations of self-government at the root of our democracy. But this isn’t the end of the story. Change is possible at the FBI and desperately needed," he wrote.
"The fact is we need a federal agency that investigates federal crimes, and that agency will always be at risk of having its powers abused," he continued, advocating the firing of "corrupt actors," "aggressive" congressional oversight over the agency, complete overhauls to special counsels, and moving the FBI out of Washington, D.C.
Democrats and liberal members of the media have slammed Trump’s choice of Patel, calling him as a "danger" to the U.S. and "unqualified" for the role.
"It’s a terrible development for the men and women of the FBI and also for the nation that depends on a highly functioning, professional, independent Federal Bureau of Investigation. The fact that Kash Patel is profoundly unqualified for this job is not even, like, a matter for debate," McCabe said on CNN following the announcement. "The installation, or the nomination, I guess we should say at this point, of Kash Patel as FBI director can only possibly be a plan to disrupt, to dismantle, to distract the FBI, and to possibly use it as a tool for the president’s political agenda."
Before Patel could assume the role as FBI chief, Wray would need to step down or be fired, as he is in the midst of a 10-year appointment that does not end until 2027. The Senate would also have to confirm Patel.
"It is the honor of a lifetime to be nominated by President Trump to serve as Director of the FBI," Patel said in a statement following the announcement. "Together, we will restore integrity, accountability, and equal justice to our justice system and return the FBI to its rightful mission: protecting the American people."
Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman, Ronn Blitzer and Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
