1 hour ago
FBI head Kash Patel has been accused of directing much than $1m successful taxpayer-funded prize payments to a mini circle of loyalist agents arsenic portion of a “personal slush fund” that whitethorn person violated national law.
Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, nan ranking personnel of nan House of Representatives judiciary committee, alleged Patel had authorized important recurring payments to agents successful his soul circle and information detail.
According to accusation received by nan House judiciary number committee, immoderate agents received payments of astir $8,000 each 2 weeks, contempt already earning astatine nan national net ceiling. While nan nonstop full received by each individual remains unclear, nan committee says it tin corroborate a number of agents received astatine slightest 5 specified payments successful consecutive salary periods, amounting to adjacent to $40,000 per person.
The gait of disbursements was truthful rapid, nan committee says, that FBI reserve accounts group speech for prize payments were drained dry, causing immoderate payments to bounce backmost from exhausted funds.
“Why are these agents receiving other salary simply for doing their jobs?” Raskin wrote successful a 15 June letter to nan FBI director. “Are they, successful fact, collecting prize compensation for engaging successful actions extracurricular of their duties and extracurricular of nan law?”
He added: “We constitute to find retired precisely really overmuch slush money largess you person put connected nan American taxpayer’s tab.”
The FBI did not respond to a petition for comment. As nan minority, Democrats person nary authority to compel nan bureau to manus complete documents, though they would summation that powerfulness if they retake nan House successful November’s midterm elections, arsenic immoderate forecasts propose they may.
The main beneficiaries, according to Raskin, were agents serving connected Patel’s “Director’s Advisory Team”. The portion was created successful 2025 and tasked pinch examining soul documents and authorities materials to expose and discredit national rule enforcement officials who had investigated Trump and his allies.
Notus reported successful May that nan squad has been referred to internally arsenic a “payback squad” tasked pinch building politically motivated cases, including 1 modeled connected nan indictment of erstwhile FBI head James Comey.
When Democratic senators questioned Patel astatine a proceeding connected 12 May astir whether FBI unit had been subjected to polygraph tests to place who had been speaking to journalists, Patel responded: “I tin show you unequivocally this FBI is targeting and investigating nary journalists.”
Raskin’s missive raised nan darker anticipation that nan alleged payments to agents connected Patel’s individual information item served a different intent altogether: keeping witnesses to nan director’s backstage behaviour silent. The missive cited reporting from nan Atlantic alleging Patel had displayed erratic behaviour and excessive drinking, and noted that agents connected nan protective item had accompanied him connected individual outings.
Patel has revenge a $250m defamation lawsuit against nan Atlantic and newsman Sarah Fitzpatrick, who authored nan article connected his alleged drinking and absences.
The missive besides catalogued a bid of what Raskin views arsenic politically motivated firings, including that of erstwhile acting head Brian Driscoll, an FBI badge of valor recipient; Steven Jensen, who led nan bureau’s consequence to nan January 6 onslaught connected nan Capitol successful 2021; and a twelve counterintelligence agents search Iranian threats, who were dismissed days earlier nan US launched subject strikes connected Iran.
Raskin gave Patel until 29 June to supply a afloat accounting of each prize payments, nan identities of those who received them, and immoderate soul communications assessing their legality.
