Category: Articles, Blog, and Tweets

“With great pride in what we have accomplished, I am announcing that I am stepping down to return to my family in Missouri,” Bailey wrote on social media. “I am confident Director Patel will continue to reform the FBI, combat violent crime, defend the homeland, ensure strong organizational accountability, and restore public trust in this institution of excellence.”

The departure marks a dramatic turn for Bailey, a loyalist of President Donald Trump who had been floated as a candidate early in the administration to run the FBI or Justice Department.

It is also the latest shake-up at the federal law enforcement agency under FBI Director Kash Patel. Bailey was hired to serve as the co-deputy director alongside Dan Bongino, a conservative podcast host and former Secret Service officer.

Neither Bongino nor Bailey had FBI experience, which made them highly unusual picks for a position that typically goes to a veteran of the bureau. The position does not require Senate confirmation and is tasked with running the day-to-day operations of the FBI.

Earlier this year, Bongino quit amid frustrations about the demands of the position, The Washington Post previously reported. He was replaced with Christopher Raia, a career FBI official.

During Bailey’s tenure, the department has seen an unprecedented wave of dismissals and transfers of experienced FBI agents.

Last week, for example, the top two agents running the counterterrorism division in the Washington field office were transferred because of their work investigating threats against Katie Miller — a conservative podcaster who is the wife of top Trump aide Stephen Miller — according to three people familiar with the matter.

The officials were transferred because top officials felt work on the probe was moving too slowly, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel matter.

Bailey resigned from his position as Missouri attorney general last September to assume the role as FBI co-deputy director.

He is a military veteran who as Missouri’s chief legal officer mounted high-profile legal fights aligned with Trump’s agenda. He sued Starbucks over its diversity, equity and inclusion policies; fought transgender care policies; and waged legal battles against “sanctuary city” policies.

Among the most notable parts of Bailey’s short FBI tenure was his presence on the scene as the FBI executed search warrants in January to seize 2020 ballots and other election material from Fulton County, Georgia.

It is rare for an FBI deputy director to personally oversee such a routine development in an investigation, but Bailey’s presence was also notable given the political tensions surrounding the probe and Trump’s repeated insistence, without evidence, that the 2020 election was stolen. The FBI has said it is investigating whether what it has described in court filings as “deficiencies” in the 2020 vote tabulation in Fulton County, home to Atlanta, were the result of intentional wrongdoing that could constitute a crime.

Two veteran FBI counterterrorism officials were demoted after investigators determined allegedly harassing calls to a top White House aide’s wife did not warrant further investigation, according to multiple reports.

Michael Burgwald, who led counterterrorism operations at the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and his deputy, Courtland Rae, were removed from their leadership positions Friday and reassigned to FBI headquarters.

The shakeup followed an investigation into allegedly threatening and harassing calls received by Katie Miller, a conservative podcaster married to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

A field office team reviewed the calls but found they did not meet the threshold for an FBI investigation and identified no connection to terrorism, CNN reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

That conclusion reportedly caused friction with FBI leadership.

Bloomberg Law, which first reported the demotions, said Washington Field Office leadership was dissatisfied with the pace of the investigation and that the Miller family shared those frustrations. FBI Director Kash Patel was also displeased with the office’s progress, according to the outlet.

The FBI and White House have pushed back on suggestions that the Millers or Patel ordered the personnel changes.

Washington Field Office chief Darren Cox said he made the decision himself.

“Director Patel did not order this decision,” Cox said. “This was a personnel decision made at the Washington field office level alone based on our constant evaluation of mission needs.”

White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said the Millers had never met or interacted with Burgwald or Rae.

“Senior leadership at the FBI determined they were stifling investigations into very serious threats and made a unilateral decision to remove them,” Bis said.

Details about the calls themselves have not been made public, leaving unclear what investigators reviewed or why they concluded the messages did not warrant further FBI action.

Start your day with essential news from Salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.

The reassignments also remove decades of counterterrorism experience from the Washington office as the United States remains at war with Iran.

Burgwald is a West Point graduate who has received multiple attorney general’s awards. Rae helped oversee the FBI’s response to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Both officials also worked on investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

The Millers and their children moved from their Virginia home into military housing last year amid what the White House has described as a campaign of stalking, doxing and threats against the family.

The post “Very serious threats”: FBI officials demoted after Katie Miller theats probe appeared first on Salon.com.