FBI sources: Kash Patel, Dan Bongino likely out soon

Kash Patel s troubled tenure as Donald Trump s FBI director may be at its end according to multiple sources in the wake of the latest mass shooting at Brown University along with a series of other perceived mishaps Meanwhile staffers also say that Deputy Director Dan Bongino is already out the door signaling a larger shakeup at the agency Patel boasted Sunday on X that the FBI had brought in a person of interest in the Brown shooting using geolocation capabilities and then added that Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez had praised the FBI for following through on a tip to locate the likely suspect A minimal hours later in a Sunday evening press conference however Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha disclosed that person had been published as there was no basis to keep them in custody Patel had made similar announcements about a person of interest during the early stages of the FBI s analysis into Charlie Kirk s murder and was also forced to walk those back Related Running the FBI Kash Patel believes his job is getting attention Insiders explained Salon that pressure has been mounting against Patel from inside the FBI White House agents on background noted that Trump wouldn t be all that upset to see Patel go According to three different sources inside the FBI the once-respected federal law enforcement agency is in shambles Morale is at an all-time low commented one -year veteran adding The cause is at the top Staffers say that Bongino s office has been empty for close to two weeks indicating he has already left the agency No such announcement has been made however and Bongino remains functioning on social media On Monday he reposted news of the FBI s arrest of four alleged members of a pro-Palestinian group accused of planning a New Year s Eve bombing attack on Los Angeles Nobody here will miss him one of the staffers explained He has no credibility Jimmy Paul Bongino s chief of staff for the past nine months has already left Washington for a new post as special agent in charge of the Baltimore field office Start your day with essential news from Salon Sign up for our free morning newsletter Crash Module According to FBI sources who spoke to Salon Andrew Bailey who until just now was Missouri s attorney general is favored to take over the role of FBI director presumably around the first of the year Bailey is viewed positively by MAGA insiders and reportedly has the backing of Sen Josh Hawley the influential Missouri Republican Democrats say that he has no FBI experience and is motivated by politics President Trump is appointing a partisan politician Sen Dick Durbin of Illinois notified NBC when Bailey was lately appointed to serve alongside Bongino as co-deputy director FBI insiders say Bailey s stock has risen significantly of late He in recent months joined a U S delegation led by Attorney General Pam Bondi to a human trafficking conference in Rome according to the New York Sun In response to Salon s request for comment White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson denied that any changes were forthcoming at the FBI adding that there s no truth to anything published on Salon President Trump has full confidence in his entire law enforcement and justice band she declared Trump himself briefly addressed the FBI s handling of the Brown shooting during a press availability on Monday afternoon You really have to ask the school a little bit more about that because this was a school matter he disclosed They had their own guards they had their own police they had their own everything But you d have to ask that question really to the school not to the FBI The FBI will do a good job but they came in after the fact We need your help to stay independent Subscribe in the current era to sponsorship Salon s progressive journalism While Patel has been under fire for a lack of credibility and perceived incompetence so has Bongino He had no prior FBI experience having previously been a Secret Function agent and a New York police officer He became a right-wing media celebrity as a podcaster accusing the FBI of a massive cover-up in its handling of the Jan insurrection After his FBI appointment Bongino backed away from those views saying that in the past he was paid for expressing controversial opinions Bongino was among the loudest voices urging the full release of FBI files on Jeffrey Epstein and had suggested the late sex trafficker was murdered by deep state actors to protect powerful elites Bongino has faced increasing internal criticism for his lack of understanding of how things work an FBI source narrated Salon That echoed a latest summary from a national alliance of retired and working duty agents and analysts which described Bongino as something of a clown He has no future here even if he stays one staffer explained Read more about Trump s FBI Patel waived FBI s polygraph protection screening for Bongino Kash Patel hasn t ruined the FBI he s only revealed its true nature FBI agents are resisting Director Kash Patel s political agenda The post FBI sources Kash Patel Dan Bongino likely out soon appeared first on Salon com