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 silhouette of a hexacopter drone during flight.
Alex Brandon/AP
Drone sightings across the US have captivated many Americans and sparked widespread speculation.
The sightings have also put a spotlight on airspace management strategies in the US.
Experts say the focus should be on improved regulation and countermeasures instead of hysteria.
A recent wave of mysterious drone sightings across the US has, to a certain extent, kick-started a long-overdue discussion on drone technology and airspace management.
These drone sightings have captured national attention, and the public is now paying more attention to drone activity near US military bases. Federal agencies are talking to the public about drone issues. And there's more public discussion of congressional legislation to boost federal authority as the government says it's hamstrung in its ability to respond to drone threats.
"There's a fundamental notion that drones present a very, very new expanded type of threat," Doug Birkey, executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, told Business Insider, noting that the US largely lacks "the tactics and the procedures to deal with this."
Birkey said many people are "overplaying" the mystery behind the latest drone sightings. But the resulting buzz is driving conversations about counterstrategies and systems that "should have happened a long time ago."
Officials from the White House, FBI, DHS, DoD, and the FAA have urged Congress to "enact counter-UAS legislation when it reconvenes that would help extend and expand existing counter-drone authorities to identify and mitigate any threat that may emerge." This has been a recurring topic in press briefings in recent weeks.
"The good news is that technology largely exists" to address the challenges presented by drone tech, Birkey said. "We just have to get serious about going after it and then having the procedures down to be smart about it."
The latest drone drama
A drone is seen over Ridge, New York, on Thursday evening, on Dec. 12, 2024.
Newsday LLC/Newsday via Getty Images
In mid-November, unidentified aircraft were first seen flying over New Jersey. They drew national attention as reported sightings extended to Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York, among other states, this month.
It wasn't until worry and wild speculation about the drones reached a fever pitch that agencies began a more organized effort to communicate. In the initial absence, others filled the void with conspiracy theories, a major one being that the drones were launched from an Iranian drone mothership off the US East Coast.
The federal government has shot many of these assertions down, saying they're not of foreign origin and not a threat.
The White House, FBI, Homeland Security, Pentagon, and FAA have said that all the evidence available indicates the drone sightings are a mixture of "lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones."
Though not nefarious, US officials said they "recognize the concern among many communities" and the "irresponsible" nature of the drone activity near restricted airspace and infrastructure, including military bases and civilian airports.
Things have "sort of moved to a point of hysteria," said Stacie Pettyjohn, the director of the defense program at the Center for a New American Security. She said that "the public has gotten really agitated because of the perceived novelty of drones or the danger associated with them."
She said "people seeing drones everywhere" are "starting to conflate just normal air traffic and anything in the sky and assuming that something nefarious or strange is happening."
But even as the government has attempted to quell concerns, skepticism remains, leading some to push for greater clarity on this issue so that drones can be discussed rationally.
William Austin, a drone expert and president of Warren County Community College, said the federal government needs to be clear with the public in this situation.
He wrote in a recent op-ed that "the public needs clear, authoritative communication: there is no credible evidence of large drones operating over New Jersey,"
Austin argued in his article that "the drone industry has too much to offer — cutting-edge technology, job creation, and life-saving applications — to be derailed by myths." He said, "We need facts, not speculation."
Drones are becoming prolific
Surging interest and investment in new drone tech have catalyzed rapid advancements, transforming the technology at an unprecedented pace in recent years.
Increasing competition in the global market is making drones more accessible, affordable, and user-friendly, expanding their use beyond traditional military and defense applications to sectors like agriculture, logistics, and recreation.
"It's part of the changing technological landscape that extends beyond just the military," Pettyjohn said. "It's not just the realm of the government anymore to have really sophisticated capabilities. It's just part of everyday society."
Commercial and civilian drones only began to emerge in the early 2000s, leaving the general public largely unaccustomed to encountering them in their daily lives.
The high-profile Chinese spy balloon incident last year that ended with it being shot down by a US fighter jet spotlighted aerial surveillance as a potential threat to public safety and national security. Terrorist and insurgent operations, as well as the widespread use of drone warfare in Ukraine, have also heightened fears regarding their possible weaponization.
And there are real risks, regardless of whether drone activity is malicious. As drone technology proliferates further, activities around military bases and airfields are becoming a "huge problem" for the US, Mark Cancian, a defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a retired US Marine Corps colonel, recently told BI.
A US military base in Ohio briefly closed its airspace after small drones were spotted in the area, and the runways at a New York airport were also briefly shut down due to nearby drone activity.
Sociologist and New York Times columnist Zeynep Tufekci wrote that the hysteria and drama of the recent drone situation aside, "unauthorized drones are a problem, and there does need to be better regulation and technology to deal with them. Let's hear about that, then, rather than this mindless dangerous panic."
The silhouette of a hexacopter drone during flight.
Alex Brandon/AP
The FAA and FBI want people to stop pointing lasers at what they think are drones in the sky.
The agencies have received a big spike in reports of pilots affected by lasers over New Jersey.
Complaints have nearly tripled this month compared to last December, the FAA said.
US authorities want people to know they shouldn't point lasers at what they think are "mystery drones" in the sky.
The Federal Aviation Administration told multiple news outlets on Wednesday that complaints of laser strikes on crewed planes over New Jersey have jumped 269% in recent weeks compared to the same period last year.
Per Reuters, the agency received 59 reports of people aiming lasers at planes in the first half of December, up from eight in the same period of 2023.
The administration also said it had received "dozens of new laser reports from pilots" over the New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania areas.
The FAA told CNN that pilots across the entire US cumulatively report about 30 laser strikes on a typical night. But on Tuesday night alone, the number of reported strikes reached 123 nationwide, the administration told the outlet.
Even if the laser's target isn't a plane, it's illegal under US federal law to point a laser or shoot a firearm at a drone.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Newark, New Jersey also said on Monday that it was receiving more reports of pilots "being hit in the eyes" because people thought they were pointing lasers at drones.
The FBI added that local authorities have been out every night for several weeks to track down "operators acting illegally," saying the consequences of shining lasers at crewed aircraft could be deadly.
"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," the FBI's Monday statement said, referring to unmanned aircraft systems.
The government warnings come as residents along the East Coast have reported seeing "mystery drones" in the sky, triggering conspiracy theories that the unknown objects are being used for nefarious or secret purposes.
The Pentagon and other federal agencies said these sightings likely aren't a threat, and that out of 5,000 drone sightings reported in recent weeks, only 100 warranted investigations.
Over a million drones are legally registered in the US, and officials say the sightings could involve commercial drones, hobbyist drones, or law enforcement drones.
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.
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour confirmed on a podcast interview that his employees asked social media influencers to promote memes about the FBI’s raid on the home of his archrival, the CEO of Polymarket. Both companies offer competing events-betting markets, a new kind of betting industry where people wager about the outcomes of events ranging from […]
The New York Police Department's Crime Stoppers program offered a $10,000 reward for information that could lead to the killer's arrest or conviction. The Federal Bureau of Investigation followed suit, touting a $50,000 reward.
But the tipster who called 911 on Luigi Mangione needs Mangione, who was arrested Monday and accused of the killing, to be convicted before they get the money.
An ordinary Crime Stoppers reward is under $3,500. In those cases, tipsters can be paid upon arrest and indictment.
But when a reward is raised to exceed that amount, the money isn't disbursed until a conviction, either at trial or through a guilty plea, according to a spokesperson for the New York City Police Foundation, which administers the funds.
Officers in Altoona, Pennsylvania, arrested Mangione at a McDonald's restaurant, on charges that he lied about his identity and illegally carried a ghost gun police said was assembled from 3D-printed parts.
Mangione will likely be extradited to New York, where a warrant indicates he will be charged with murder, among other crimes. Mangione has not made any public statements since his arrest and has not yet entered a plea for the charges against him.
Thomas Dickey, an Altoona-based defense attorney representing Mangione on his Pennsylvania charges, didn't immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider.
According to New York Police Department officials, the 911 caller was a fast-food worker who was tipped off about Mangione by a restaurant patron.
Even though that person didn't call Crime Stoppers directly, they can still potentially receive the reward, according to the foundation spokesperson.
"The individual in Pennsylvania, who called in a tip, is eligible to receive the reward," the spokesperson told Business Insider.
More than one person could collect rewards
Crime Stoppers doesn't always pay out the maximum amount of their rewards. The total is determined by a board overseen by the foundation, which acts upon the recommendation of the commanding officer of the NYPD's Crime Stoppers unit.
Given the high profile of Thompson's killing, it's likely the tipster will be eligible for the full amount, Joe Giacalone, a former New York police officer who oversaw the unit, said.
"Since this was a national manhunt, I would assume they would ask for the highest amount of award," said Giacalone, now an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
The board would also decide whether the reward would go to either the restaurant patron, who first apparently recognized Mangione, or the employee who called 911, or both. Those details "would be ironed out between Crime Stoppers and the police foundation," the foundation spokesperson said.
"In the past, on other cases, sometimes they both get their reward," the spokesperson said. "Sometimes the reward is split half-and-half."
It's less clear whether the caller can get a piece of the FBI's $50,000 award anytime soon.
The language on the FBI poster offered money for "information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual responsible for this crime," also indicating it wouldn't pay out unless a conviction is reached.
An FBI representative said tips from the public are among the agency's "best tools in preventing, detecting, and deterring crime." It did not answer questions about the Mangione tipster or its reward process.
"The FBI maintains longstanding policy not to confirm the identity of individuals who assist the FBI by providing tips or information," the representative said in an email. "Additionally, the FBI will not comment on whether reward money has been paid and to whom. The FBI takes this position for privacy protection, and to ensure the public's continued cooperation and incentivization with any future assistance."
Reward funds can help ease the financial burden of potential informants, whose lives may be transformed if they become cooperating witnesses or ultimately testify at trial. Former prosecutor Opher Shweiki said they were helpful in capturing and building the case against Ahmed Abu Khatallah, who was involved in the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack. The case was featured as one of the "Success Stories" from Rewards for Justice, a law enforcement program that works with the FBI to offer rewards.
"They're sometimes upending their lives," said Shweiki, now a national security partner at Akin Gump. "And so there's a lot that goes into that equation."
A conviction in the Thompson killing could take a long time if it happens at all. As Business Insider's Laura Italiano reported, a savvy lawyer could delay the Pennsylvania-to-New York extradition for years — and that would be before Mangione would be arraigned on murder charges, kicking off the formal process for the criminal case.
Mangione's folk hero status has led to a cascade of online threats against the employee who called 911, whose name has not been publicly disclosed. The fast food restaurant location where Mangione was arrested has beefed up security, Newsweek reported.
The ordinary NYPD Crime Stoppers procedure is designed to be completely anonymous to protect tipsters. Callers are given ID numbers, and their identities are not even known to police officers — even when they collect the reward.
Given the threats and heightened emotions surrounding the case, Giacalone said NYPD officials were wrong to disclose identifying information about the tipsters, including the restaurant where the call was made.
A spokesperson for the NYPD didn't immediately return a request for comment on the disclosure.
"It was a mistake," Giacalone said. "Because, if you're watching what people are saying online about this person, they're in danger. And so is their family."
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.
