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FBI Ousts Critical Incident Response Chief After Reports on Director’s Jet Trip

Public flight data to Penn State followed by a tracking block fuels questions over government aircraft use.

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WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 23: Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Kash Patel listens as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an announcement on his Homeland Security Task Force in the State Dining Room of the White House on October 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump announced his administration’s task force has arrested over 3,000 cartel and foreign terrorist members. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Candace Owens has already pointed fingers at the FBI and by extension, director Patel over their handling of the Charlie Kirk assassination.

Overview

  • Steven Palmer, a 27-year bureau veteran who led the Critical Incident Response Group, was told to resign or be fired, with his removal made official Friday and a successor posted on the FBI website.
  • Bloomberg Law, citing three people familiar with the matter, tied the move to Kash Patel’s anger over coverage of publicly available logs showing FBI jet N708JH flew to State College on Oct. 25 as Alexis Wilkins performed.
  • FlightAware now lists N708JH as unavailable for public tracking at the owner’s request after logs also showed a subsequent flight to Nashville.
  • Patel dismissed the story as “fake news” and defended Wilkins in a post on X, while spokesman Ben Williamson said the director follows reimbursement rules and has limited personal travel compared with predecessors.
  • Palmer is the third leader of the crisis-response unit removed under Patel, and the bureau is also facing fresh scrutiny as a defense lawyer disputes the director’s claims about an alleged Halloween terror plot.