Latest / INSIGHT TODAY / 'Widespread DISGUST' Kash Patel's FBI plunged into more chaos after crucial TOP DEPUTY leaves

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'Widespread DISGUST' Kash Patel's FBI plunged into more chaos after crucial TOP DEPUTY leaves · INSIGHT TODAY

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Kash Patel's FBI already in turmoil over the mass departures
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: of purges of agents and the loss of decades of
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: expertise is today facing another major shakeup with the top
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: official announcing he's leaving after just one year on the job.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Co-deputy FBI Director Andrew Bailey, who was the former attorney
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: general of Missouri and was brought in to essentially babysit
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: podcast host Dan Bongino, announced today that he's leaving the bureau. Bailey,
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: who had been overseeing election-related matters, wrote online that he's
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: leaving to spend more time with his family. But here
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: is what my colleagues Ken Delaney and Carol Lennick report, quote,
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: According to two people familiar with his departure, Bailey had
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: also been annoyed by the recent demotions of two senior
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: counterterrorism agents in the FBI Washington field office. MSNOW reports
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: that the agents were removed from their jobs because FBI
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: leadership was dissatisfied with their handling of an investigation involving
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: harassing phone calls that were made to the wife of
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: White House official Stephen Miller. From that report, quote, the
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Washington field office's counterterrorism section was asked to conduct a
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: threat assessment on a person believed to have been making
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  Speaker 1: harassing phone calls to Katie Miller. Miller and Patel were
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  Speaker 1: displeased after the agents questioned the legality and legitimacy of
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  Speaker 1: the request. According to sources, Darren Cox, the head of
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: the Washington field office, then ordered the removal of those
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  Speaker 1: two men from their jobs. They've been demoted and transferred
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  Speaker 1: back to headquarters, sources add. Here is what is lost
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  Speaker 1: with the removal of those two agents from their jobs
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  Speaker 1: in the counterterrorism section. Quote, the special agent in charge
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  Speaker 1: of counterterrorism in the FBI's Washington field office, Michael Bergwald
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  Speaker 1: and his deputy, Cortland Ray, each have deep national security experience.
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  Speaker 1: Bergwald is a West Point graduate who won an award
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  Speaker 1: for his role in a counterterrorism case in 2016. Ray
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: worked on the Boston Marathon bombing case. Both were involved
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  Speaker 1: in investigating the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
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  Speaker 1: Beyond being annoyed over those demotions, something the FBI today
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: tried to say was false, two people also tell MSNL
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: that Andrew Bailey was frustrated at not being named the
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: director of the FBI, which was once floated to him
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  Speaker 1: after Kash Patel had made a number of, we're calling
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: them missteps. And while Kash Patel took to social media
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  Speaker 1: today to praise Bailey's work at the FBI, the New
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: York Times is reporting this about their frosty relationship. Quote,
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  Speaker 1: Patel and Bailey did not get along and often went
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: long stretches without speaking to one another. That's according to
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: multiple people familiar with their interactions. Kash Patel's tenure at
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: the FBI plunged into further turmoil is where we begin
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  Speaker 1: the hour with some of our favorite reporters and friends.
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  Speaker 1: Justice and intelligence reporter Ken Delaney is here. Also joining us,
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: former top DOJ official and former general counsel for the FBI.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: Our legal analyst, Andrew Weissman, is here. Also joining us,
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  Speaker 1: former Department of Justice pardon attorney Liz.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: Oyer is here.
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  Speaker 1: She's now the host of the podcast. Is this really legal?
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  Speaker 1: Ken Delaney, take us through your reporting.
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: Well, Nicole, in terms of those two agents who were
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  Speaker 3: suspended or demoted, I learned about that over the weekend.
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  Speaker 3: And there's just widespread disgust within the FBI about this
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  Speaker 3: situation because it's really the continuation of a trend that
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: we've seen for a long time, right? A politicized case,
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  Speaker 3: a case of harassing phone calls made to Katie Miller,
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  Speaker 3: the wife of senior White House official Stephen Miller. And ordinarily,
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  Speaker 3: that would be a matter for the local police. Perhaps
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  Speaker 3: the FBI would get involved if it's an interstate situation.
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  Speaker 3: But in this case, it was these men were asked
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  Speaker 3: to treat this as a terrorism threat assessment. They were
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  Speaker 3: asked to make a so-called guardian assessment. threats assessment inside
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  Speaker 3: the Washington field office of this person, and they questioned
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  Speaker 3: whether that was appropriate. Now, keep in mind, the Washington
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  Speaker 3: field office counterterrorism section has responsibility for the Middle East.
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  Speaker 3: That's the part of the world that they cover in
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  Speaker 3: terms of terrorism cases. So they presumably have a lot
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  Speaker 3: on their plate, and these two men were the people
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  Speaker 3: in charge, the special agent in charge for counterterrorism and
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: his deputy. And Apparently there was dissatisfaction in the White
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: House and at the senior levels of the FBI, along
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  Speaker 3: with Kash Patel and others, about the way these guys
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  Speaker 3: were handling this matter. And what the FBI is saying
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  Speaker 3: is that the assistant director in charge of the Washington
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  Speaker 3: field office, Darren Cox, made the decision on his own
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  Speaker 3: to remove these people and that Kash Patel was in
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  Speaker 3: no way involved. Now, Our viewers can use their own
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: judgment as to whether they think that's plausible. It seems
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  Speaker 3: like kind of an extraordinary step to take for just
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: the head of that office without consulting his bosses. But
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  Speaker 3: that's their story, that Kash Patel was not involved. Stephen
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: Miller was not involved. But as you said, it's a
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  Speaker 3: huge loss for the FBI. And it's, you know, amid
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  Speaker 3: a series of losses, a very experienced FBI. Counter-terrorism, counter-espionage,
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  Speaker 3: cybersecurity officials, some fired, some forced out, many others retired.
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  Speaker 3: Decades and decades of experience has left. And this is
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  Speaker 3: just the latest example. And a lot of people have
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  Speaker 3: left for reasons that are overtly political. And although the
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  Speaker 3: FBI is disputing that this is the reason, all my
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: sources are telling me that this was absolutely the reason.
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  Speaker 2: They were demoted.
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  Speaker 1: Let me ask you then to square this piece of
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  Speaker 1: the reporting. Miller and Patel were displeased after the agents
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: questioned the legality and legitimacy of the request. So I
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  Speaker 1: assume that Stephen Miller, not Katie Miller, and Kash Patel
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  Speaker 1: were made aware that the agents wanted some legal rationale
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  Speaker 1: for a counterterror investigation into a prank call or a
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  Speaker 1: crank call.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's what my sources are telling me. Now, the
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  Speaker 3: FBI is, well, they're not disputing that particular assertion, but
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  Speaker 3: they are disputing that Miller and Patel had anything to
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  Speaker 3: do with them being removed from their jobs. And look,
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  Speaker 3: we don't know the full picture of what's going on
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  Speaker 3: with this threats case. In fact, I have reason to
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  Speaker 3: believe that there could be a criminal action imminent on
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  Speaker 3: this case. So it's not that there was nothing. And look,
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  Speaker 3: Stephen Miller and his wife should be free from harassment,
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  Speaker 3: criminal harassment, via phone or otherwise. But the issue here was,
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  Speaker 3: was this appropriate as a terrorism matter sent to the
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  Speaker 3: Washington field office? And why did it lead to the
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  Speaker 3: demotion of these two experienced and capable top veteran agents?
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  Speaker 3: I mean, Bergwald, as you said, was a West Point graduate.
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  Speaker 3: He joined the FBI at some point after 9-11. He's
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  Speaker 3: worked on many cases throughout his career.
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  Speaker 2: He's won awards.
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  Speaker 3: So this was a very significant action that drew widespread outrage,
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  Speaker 3: I'm told, across the FBI.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, Andrew Weissman, Katie Miller should be free from harassment,
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  Speaker 1: verbal or telephonic or otherwise. So should Michael Fanone and
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: Liz Cheney. federal judges and election officials. I mean, everyone
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  Speaker 1: should be free from harassment verbal online through the telephone.
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  Speaker 1: I don't think there's any dispute or debate about that.
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  Speaker 1: But this seems to be the White House and Kash
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  Speaker 1: Patel reaching into what is really sort of the spine
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  Speaker 1: or has been for a long time of the FBI.
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  Speaker 1: And that is our counterterrorism expertise.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely. So I do have one point.
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  Speaker 4: To really ask Ken about, because one of the things
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  Speaker 4: that he said was that the FBI is saying that
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  Speaker 4: Kash Patel had nothing to do with this.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: This happened at the field office level.
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  Speaker 4: And the meaning that the FBI is divided so that
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  Speaker 4: there's a main office in Washington, but then there are
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  Speaker 4: lots and lots of field offices.
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  Speaker 2: And this is dealing with the Washington, D.C. field offices.
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  Speaker 4: If these people were somehow reassigned to the main office
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  Speaker 4: that is not something that is within the purview of
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  Speaker 4: the field office that has to have been approved by
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  Speaker 4: somebody senior at the at the main office it's literally
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  Speaker 4: not possible for the field office to make that transfer
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  Speaker 4: they don't have the power their power is only within
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  Speaker 4: the field office So to me, if that's the case,
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  Speaker 4: something is.
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  Speaker 2: Wrong with the FBI story.
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  Speaker 4: And based on this reporting, I think the big picture
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  Speaker 4: for people here to take it beyond the sort of
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  Speaker 4: individuals involved is just think about the priorities of this administration.
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  Speaker 4: let's assume that Katie Miller and her husband are frustrated,
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  Speaker 4: that they think more should have been done. Lots of
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  Speaker 4: people who are the victims of these kinds of harassing
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  Speaker 4: calls have that view. They may take it out on
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  Speaker 4: the FBI, on the locals, but instead, you're going to
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  Speaker 4: seek retribution and make the public suffer. That's who you
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  Speaker 4: owe a duty to. This isn't about, this isn't high school,
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  Speaker 4: and this isn't about you personally. The idea that you
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  Speaker 4: would be seeking the demotion of people who protect the
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  Speaker 4: public because of your own personal interests, to me, tells
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  Speaker 4: you everything that you need to know about the priorities
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  Speaker 4: of this administration.
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  Speaker 1: Ken, I'll let you address that, but let me just
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  Speaker 1: add a second question. I mean, obviously, we're not the
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  Speaker 1: only ones that think this is screwed up. It sounds
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: like the guy that came in to be the wingman
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: to Bongino, which feels like forever and ever ago, left
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  Speaker 1: over this.
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  Speaker 3: I don't know if he left over it, Nicole, because
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  Speaker 3: he certainly had been iced out and did not have
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: a good relationship with Kash Patel. But he was certainly
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: annoyed by it. And, yeah, to answer, Andrew raises a very,
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: very good point. It just struck me in response to
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: my reporting and the reporting of others when we ferreted
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  Speaker 3: out this story. The FBI issued not one but two
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  Speaker 3: statements asserting that Kash Patel had nothing to do with this.
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  Speaker 3: And whenever you see that as a reporter... It strikes
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: you as curious, right? Because I didn't report that he did.
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  Speaker 3: Some others may have, but they were very, very sensitive
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: about keeping Kash Patel's fingerprints off this. the assistant director
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  Speaker 3: in charge of Washington field office. They issued a statement
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: in his name saying it was his decision. And then
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: they issued a separate statement from Christopher Raya, the deputy director,
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  Speaker 3: the co-deputy director, now the sole deputy director, asserting once
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  Speaker 3: again that Kash Patel had nothing to do with it. Now,
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: they didn't say that the general counsel's office or some
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: other element of headquarters didn't sign off on it. But
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  Speaker 3: as Andrew knows, it just doesn't make any sense that
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: a decision like that would have been made to demote
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: very senior officials and playing such a prominent role in
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: the counterterrorism section without consulting senior people at headquarters, if
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: not the director himself.
• 11:13
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