Kash Patel could have dozens of current and former government officials in his crosshairs if he’s confirmed as FBI director.
President-elect Donald Trump nominated his longtime aide and fierce ally, Kash Patel, to serve as the next director of the FBI.
Trump lauded Patel for having done an «incredible job during my First Term, where he served as Chief of Staff at the Department of Defense, Deputy Director of National intelligence, and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the National Security Council.»
The president-elect went on to say Patel played a «pivotal role» in «uncovering the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax», and noted that was a key factor in his decision to tap Patel to lead the FBI.
Indeed, Patel is one of Trump’s staunchest defenders and has publicly railed against the «Deep State» political establishment and called to root out government employees deemed insufficiently loyal to Trump.
Patel singled out many of those people in his book, «Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy», published in September 2023.
The Bulwark’s Tim Miller pointed the list out on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday afternoon. Some of those on Patel’s list weren’t even aware they were on it until after Miller posted about it.
«Just learned I’m included on this list», former Justice Department spokesperson Sarah Isgur, who worked under Trump, wrote on X. «I’ve never met Patel or attended any meetings where he was present as far as I know.»
Here are the other current and former officials in Patel’s crosshairs, according to the book, which notes that the list is not exhaustive:
Michael Atkinson: former Inspector General of the Intelligence Community.
Lloyd Austin: U.S. Secretary of Defense.
Brian Auten: FBI official who supervised the bureau’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
James Baker: the former general counsel of the FBI and former deputy general counsel at Twitter.
Bill Barr: attorney general under Trump.
John Bolton: Trump’s one-time national security adviser.
Stephen Boyd: the former head of legislative affairs at the Justice Department.
Joe Biden: President of the United States.
John Brennan: former CIA director who served under President Barack Obama.
John Carlin: former acting deputy attorney general and the former head of the national security division at the Justice Department.
Eric Ciaramella: former Ukraine director of the National Security Council under Obama and former deputy national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council.
