Overview

• The bureau has stepped up polygraph testing of its own personnel under Director Kash Patel to trace internal leaks and probe negative remarks about his leadership.
• Agents were explicitly asked whether they had disparaged Patel or leaked his request for a service weapon, marking a departure from traditional counterintelligence use of lie detectors.
• Senior Special Agent Michael Feinberg resigned from the Norfolk field office rather than submit to a polygraph probing his friendship with ousted agent Peter Strzok.
• Former agents, including James Davidson, warn that loyalty exams to the director undermine constitutional duty and break with FBI precedent.
• Since Patel’s confirmation in February, roughly 40 percent of field office leaders have retired, been reassigned or dismissed, contributing to low morale.