Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who briefly served as acting director after then-President Trump dismissed James Comey in 2017, expressed alarm over President-elect Trump’s decision to nominate veteran attorney and intelligence analyst Kash Patel to lead the bureau. Now a law enforcement analyst for left-wing CNN, McCabe warned that Patel could “dismantle” the FBI, calling the nomination a “terrible development” for the agency.
“Yeah, well, it’s a terrible development for the men and women of the FBI and also for the nation that depends on a highly functioning, professional, independent Federal Bureau of Investigation,” McCabe said when asked about the nomination on Saturday evening. His claim that Kash Patel is “unqualified” is highly debatable, given his extensive background. Patel has served as a senior advisor to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and worked with the U.S. National Security Council. He also has a robust legal career, having served as both a public defender and a federal prosecutor specializing in national security cases.
By comparison, current FBI Director Christopher Wray had less than two years of experience as assistant U.S. attorney general for the criminal division under the Bush administration before transitioning to private legal practice. Nevertheless, McCabe continued to assert that Patel is unqualified despite having a much more extensive than the current director.
“So I think what we should what we should really be thinking about right now is what does this signal in terms of Donald Trump’s intent for the FBI? The installation or the nomination, I guess we should say at this point of Kash Patel as FBI director can only possibly be a plan to disrupt, to dismantle, to distract the FBI, and to possibly use it as a tool for the president’s political agenda,” he said.
McCabe—who was fired during Trump’s first term for illegally leaking info to the media and who also authorized a questionable surveillance warrant against Trump campaign officials based on Clinton campaign-funded research—alleged that Trump intends to politicize the FBI to target his political opponents.
“And, you know, as an organization, we know what that looks like. This country has been there before, right? The pre-Watergate FBI, the J. Edgar Hoover FBI struck fear in the hearts of Americans across the spectrum of politicians, people in entertainment, people in the civil rights community, because the director operated at the direction of presidents to collect political intelligence and to utilize the legal authorities, the investigative authorities of the FBI to terrorize and intimidate Americans,” the former deputy director said. “So the question is, is that where we’re going back to with this nomination. I would argue that Kash Patel would be the perfect person for Donald Trump to nominate if that is in fact his intent for the FBI.”
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Since 2017, the FBI has been involved in several high-profile raids and prosecutions that critics have described as politically motivated, targeting Trump supporters and conservative activists. Former FBI Special Agent Steve Friend testified that he was ordered to surveil parents and record license plate numbers at a local school board meeting. This directive followed Attorney General Merrick Garland’s order for the bureau to investigate individuals opposing DEI-themed curricula in schools. And, of course, there is the infamous FBI raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in August 2023, which was unprecedented.
Patel has vowed to bring major reforms to the politicized organization once in office. “The biggest problem the FBI has had has come out of its Intel shops. I’d break that component out of it. I’d shut down the FBI Hoover building on day one and reopening the next day as a museum of the deep state,” he said during a recent appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show.
“And I’d take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals. Go be cops, you’re cops, go be cops, go chase down murderers and and drug dealers and violent offenders. What do you need 7,000 people there for? Same thing with DOJ. What are all these people doing here?” he continued. “Looking for their next government promotion, looking for their next fancy government title, looking for their parachute out of government. So while you’re bringing in the right people, you also have to shrink government.”
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.