A damning report from active-duty and retired FBI agents, released on Sunday, said that Director Kash Patel is “in over his head.”
The report from the 24 agents, entitled “A Pulse Check of the First Six Months,” was obtained by the New York Post. It finds that morale is low at the department, described as a “rudderless ship” under Patel. The report found Patel “has neither the breadth of experience nor the bearing an FBI director needs to be successful.”
One source in the report called Patel “very personable and likable,” but blamed him for creating “a culture of mistrust and uncertainty among the ranks.” Another said that leaders at the FBI are “keeping their heads down and are afraid to say anything.”
“They do not want to be terminated from employment,” the source said.
Patel was described by another source as “not very good” as director, saying he “lacks the requisite experience” and “may be insecure.”
Criticism was also leveled against Deputy Director Dan Bongino, whom the report called “something of a clown.” Bongino responded on X, saying the report was “gossipy nonsense” from sources with “a clear agenda.”
“A LOT of people are very upset at the changes and reforms we’ve made at the FBI,” Bongino said. “They will do anything to revert to the old ways of doing things.”
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One anecdote from the report claims that when Patel traveled to Utah following the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, he “refused” to leave his plane without wearing an FBI raid jacket.
FBI agents who “were busy working in the aftermath of the assassination…had to [stop and] ask around to find an FBI raid jacket – a medium-sized one – that would fit FBI Director Kash Patel,” according to the report. When “two velcro patches” were found to be missing from the jacket, two agents removed their own patches and “ran” them over to Patel’s aircraft.
The report comes at a time of uncertainty for Patel. It was reported last week by MSNOW that President Donald Trump is “considering” replacing Patel after growing “increasingly frustrated by the unflattering headlines” surrounding the director.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the rumors were “fake news.”
“This story is completely made up,” she wrote on X.
