Overview
- An internal 115-page assessment compiled from current and former FBI personnel portrays the bureau as a 'rudderless ship' and criticizes Kash Patel as 'in over his head' with Dan Bongino labeled 'something of a clown.'
- Patel rejects the dossier, saying 'Anonymous sources always lie, results don't,' and cites 25,000 violent-felon arrests this year, 35% more espionage arrests, more than 6,000 child victims identified, and larger fentanyl seizures versus last year.
- Patel and Bongino highlight reforms including a bureau reorganization, shifting staff to field offices, a counter-drone training school, new AI tools, FOIA streamlining, DEI rollbacks, and cost savings such as scrapping a new headquarters plan.
- Copies of the assessment are being provided to congressional oversight, with coverage noting submissions to the Senate Judiciary Committee and reporting that filings went to both House and Senate Judiciary panels.
- A report anecdote claiming Patel refused to leave a plane without an FBI raid jacket is disputed, as Patel calls the story '100% false' while also trading barbs online with Rep. Eric Swalwell over the claim.