Micah
‪@rincewind.run‬
heckuva job, kash

‪Keith Boykin‬
‪@keithboykin.bsky.social‬
· 7h
Trump’s FBI Director, Kash Patel, is under fire for spreading misinformation about the Charlie Kirk case, undermining confidence in the bureau, forcing out the counterterrorism agent in Utah with expertise in these types of investigations, and cursing out agents for his own failures.

Scrutiny Mounts of F.B.I. Under Patel as Kirk’s Killer Remains at Large
www.nytimes.com
September 12, 2025 at 1:28 AM

Keith Boykin
‪@keithboykin.bsky.social‬

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Trump’s FBI Director, Kash Patel, is under fire for spreading misinformation about the Charlie Kirk case, undermining confidence in the bureau, forcing out the counterterrorism agent in Utah with expertise in these types of investigations, and cursing out agents for his own failures.

Scrutiny Mounts of F.B.I. Under Patel as Kirk’s Killer Remains at Large
www.nytimes.com
September 12, 2025 at 12:14 AM

Scrutiny Mounts of F.B.I. Under Patel as Kirk’s Killer Remains at Large

Already, a series of missteps by Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, in recent months have invited worries that he has eroded public confidence in the agency.


Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, attended a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York before heading to Utah to oversee the investigation into the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Vincent Alban/The New York Times

By Glenn Thrush, Devlin Barrett and Adam Goldman
Sept. 11, 2025

On Thursday morning, a day after hastily suggesting the person who gunned down Charlie Kirk was in custody, Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, convened an online meeting with 200 agents around the country to discuss the manhunt. It was a tense affair. … Mr. Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, made it clear they were under intense pressure to catch the killer of Mr. Kirk. They expressed themselves with such fierce urgency that, in the view of some participants, it hinted at another motive: to prove they were up to the task.

The director wasted no time before calling out subordinates that he said failed to give him timely information and was incensed that agents in Salt Lake City waited nearly 12 hours to show him a photo of the suspected killer, according to three people familiar on the exchange. … Mr. Patel said he would not tolerate any more “Mickey Mouse operations,” an official on the call recounted. It was one of his few utterances without profanity, the person added.

The killing of Mr. Kirk on Wednesday not only poses a challenge to agents racing to find the shooter, it also represents a grave leadership test for Mr. Patel. His swift pronouncements about the inquiry have revived concerns about his lack of experience, obsession with social media and purge of some of the bureau’s most experienced investigators, according to current and former officials, most of whom spoke on the sensitive matter on the condition of anonymity.

Whether Mr. Patel can overcome his embarrassing early stumble in posts online about the Kirk investigation remains to be seen. The F.B.I. director’s actions have already invited scorn and scrutiny from the bureau’s work force, and some senior officials at the Justice Department, who think his behavior has eroded public confidence in the F.B.I.

{snip}

At a news conference on the university’s campus in Orem hours later, [Governor Spencer] Cox reiterated the plea for help in identifying and tracking the suspect. … Mr. Patel, flanking him, stayed silent.

Glenn Thrush covers the Department of Justice for The Times and has also written about gun violence, civil rights and conditions in the country’s jails and prisons.

Devlin Barrett covers the Justice Department and the F.B.I. for The Times.

Adam Goldman writes about the F.B.I. and national security for The Times. He has been a journalist for more than two decades.