January 30, 2025
Former and retired FBI agents have rallied behind Kash Patel ahead of his confirmation hearing this week, saying he will restore what they view as a loss of confidence in the bureau. A retired agent who worked on two special counsel investigations, an FBI whistleblower who lost his security clearance, and more than 30 other […]
Former and retired FBI agents have rallied behind Kash Patel ahead of his confirmation hearing this week, saying he will restore what they view as a loss of confidence in the bureau. A retired agent who worked on two special counsel investigations, an FBI whistleblower who lost his security clearance, and more than 30 other […]

Former and retired FBI agents have rallied behind Kash Patel ahead of his confirmation hearing this week, saying he will restore what they view as a loss of confidence in the bureau.

A retired agent who worked on two special counsel investigations, an FBI whistleblower who lost his security clearance, and more than 30 other former agents all say they hope to see Patel confirmed. Their support for Patel, a 44-year-old lawyer and outspoken critic of the intelligence community, comes against the backdrop of internal shifts at the bureau that signal it is readying for a director aligned with President Donald Trump to take the helm.

Retired agent Jack Eckenrode said he views Patel as a “motivated outsider,” according to a letter he wrote to Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans, obtained by the Washington Examiner. Eckenrode aided John Durham and Patrick Fitzgerald in their high-profile special counsel investigations and praised former FBI Director James Comey when Trump fired him. Eckenrode addressed worries about Patel’s relative lack of experience, saying Patel is, in fact, more equipped than most to lead the FBI.


“Regrettably, the FBI’s conduct during Crossfire Hurricane has caused the Bureau’s reputation to plummet, and for a variety of reasons, it has not rebounded. In significant and increasing numbers, Americans do not trust the Bureau, and it is all the more regrettable since the nation depends on the FBI to do its indispensable work and the FBI relies on the public for its support,” Eckenrode wrote. “Kash Patel understands this better than anyone, and he is prepared to address the underlying deficiencies.”

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Patel served in senior national security and Department of Defense roles during the first Trump administration. Before that, he made a name for himself as a top investigator in the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee’s inquiry into the FBI’s investigation of alleged Trump-Russia collusion. Patel raised alarm in a memo about the FBI’s investigation and the bureau’s problem-ridden warrant applications to surveil former Trump aide Carter Page. Two special counsel inquiries later partially corroborated Patel’s claims.

Kash Patel, Donald Trump’s pick to be the director of the FBI, center, walks between meetings on Capitol Hill on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Steve Friend, a former FBI agent of eight years and Patel ally, told the Washington Examiner he looked favorably on Patel’s attempts to expose intelligence community flaws and that he was aware of others at the bureau who felt the same.

“The contacts that I have on the inside that have consistently provided me information are all extremely excited with the idea that Kash Patel will come in,” Friend said. “I think that his record of rooting out the corruption is one thing, and the rot that they have, really top to bottom, but particularly at the top.”

Asked to expand on the reference to “rot,” Friend said he viewed the FBI’s arrest quota system as the “photo negative of what you want from law enforcement.” He said he felt the system incentivized senior officials to inflate numbers of cases or improperly prioritize certain crimes.

Friend’s security clearance was suspended in 2022 and later revoked after he objected to his supervisors about what he viewed as a heavy-handed approach to Jan. 6 cases, such as using a SWAT team for the arrest of a defendant. Friend testified to Congress that Patel’s organization gave him a financial boost after the FBI put Friend on leave. Patel established a nonprofit organization in 2022 called Kash Foundation and also fundraised at the same time through an organization called Fight With Kash. Patel and House Republicans accused the FBI of retaliating against Friend for speaking out, while House Democrats characterized Patel’s support of Friend and another suspended agent as an elaborate scheme to protect Trump.

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Endorsements for Patel have rolled in from other directions, including a letter from 33 former and retired agents, from the National Sheriffs’ Association, and from former Trump national security adviser Robert O’Brien.

Key Senate Republicans, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and centrist Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), have projected optimism about Patel. But Democrats have shown vehement disapproval of him, signaling his hearing will be a heated vetting session.

Patel’s vocal criticisms about the so-called deep state and his propensity for self-promotion have made him a controversial nominee. His Senate confirmation questionnaire detailed dozens of pages’ worth of his largely right-wing media appearances, he has flirted with unproven conspiracy theories, including QAnon, and he has envisioned making shock changes at the FBI, such as shutting down its headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the top Democrat on the committee, has described Patel as deeply unqualified, warning he is a “staunch political loyalist” who has pushed conspiracy theories and made “well-documented threats of retribution” to his personal and political adversaries.

In anticipation of Patel’s arrival, Trump’s transition team hired Tom Ferguson, a well-liked retired senior official, to scope out problem areas from inside the halls of the J. Edgar Hoover building. Ferguson, who worked at the bureau for about 22 years before joining the House Judiciary Committee’s investigative arm, has collaborated with Patel before but is now walled off from interacting with him during the nomination process, according to multiple people familiar with his hiring.

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Ferguson’s colleague, who is a retired agent of two decades, told the Washington Examiner Ferguson “is a big picture guy.”

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“He’s not on a holy jihad to hurt the bureau,” the retired agent said, adding that Ferguson’s mission has been “to help reform and improve our institution that we still love very much.”

The FBI declined to comment on Patel’s nomination.

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