FBI under Kash Patel searches records to discredit officials who probed Trump

Under FBI director Kash Patel, bureau personnel have been combing case files and internal records to find material intended to discredit federal law enforcement officials who investigated Donald J. Trump and his allies, and Republican lawmakers such as Senator Charles E. Grassley have become a clearinghouse for the disclosures, according to current and former officials, lawmakers and lawyers representing some of those targeted.

Administration officials say the work is meant to end what they call the "weaponization" of law enforcement by Democrats, while critics describe it as a partisan opposition research operation. The material has come from three streams: documents produced in response to longstanding Republican congressional inquiries, files uncovered by Patel’s team in self-generated searches, and self-described whistle-blowers — including at least one from the FBI — who provided sensitive documents, in some cases containing grand jury information that is normally confidential.

One former Patel deputy, Dan Bongino, helped oversee searches through a handpicked directors’ advisory team, and batches of material have been distributed to Trump-allied media and to Republicans on Capitol Hill. Much of the recent material relates to Arctic Frost, the FBI investigation that formed the core of the election-interference case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Key Topics

Politics, Kash Patel, Fbi, Charles Grassley, Jack Smith, Arctic Frost