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WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI has released a classified report to its workforce examining what it says are chapters from the bureau’s history “where this institution fell short,” according to an internal message obtained Friday by The Associated Press.
It was unclear what episodes from the FBI’s past are chronicled in the new “Patel Report.” But the document’s existence is in keeping with Director Kash Patel’s vocal criticism of the leaders who preceded him and with his determination to rid the FBI of agents he contends have politicized the bureau in the past. Patel’s critics say he is the one who has weaponized the FBI and that his scrutiny of his predecessors and their decision-making is part of an effort to rewrite history in favor of President Donald Trump.
Patel pledged at his confirmation hearing last year that he would not look “backward,” but as director, he has encouraged investigations of former senior officials and presided over sweeping terminations, including of employees who participated in years-old investigations of Trump, were photographed taking a knee during a 2020 racial justice protest and contributed to a disputed analytical memo about Catholic extremism.
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“The Patel Report looks backward because accountability demands it,” says a message to the workforce signed by the FBI’s co-deputy directors, Christopher Raia and Andrew Bailey. The message describes the report as marking the “closing of one chapter in our history and the beginning of another complete with a brighter future ahead.”
Bailey announced his resignation earlier this week, and his last day is Friday. The FBI declined to comment on the report.
The message also says: “We cannot change what happened before we arrived. But we can confront it honestly. We can recognize failures instead of protecting them. We can hold people accountable. We can fix what was broken. And we can build safeguards strong enough to ensure the mistakes of the past are never allowed to define this institution again. These steps are consistent with any institution of excellence that is constantly striving for improvement.”
It was unclear if the report made recommendations or demanded any action to address what the FBI now regards as past shortcomings.
The FBI message says the report is meant to “promote fierce organizational accountability” and rebuild “public trust.” But Patel’s critics say the politically charged investigations into perceived adversaries of Trump that the FBI has embarked on under his watch, as well as the punishment of agents who participated in investigations into the Republican president to which they were assigned, have eroded faith in the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency.