In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Kash Patel as FBI director. Calling him a “brilliant lawyer and investigator” who spent his career “defending justice,” Trump said Patel would work in tandem with AG-designate Pam Bondi to “bring back integrity to FBI.”
Notably, Trump made no mention in his post about current FBI director Chris Wray, whom he himself selected after firing James Comey in 2017. From CBS News:
For Patel to take the post, Wray would have to voluntarily vacate the position or be fired by Trump if he is to be replaced before his term ends in 2027. One source previously told CBS News the Trump team was aware of the complexities involved in ousting Wray. Patel will also have to be confirmed by the Senate. In his social media post, Trump did not call on Wray to resign. Trump nominated Wray in 2017 for the 10-year term after firing James Comey.
AUTHOR COMMENT
In times like these I usually turn to Marcy Wheeler at Emptywheel, particuarly because legacy media gets too bogged down in performative neutrality to tell the truth. From her latest post:
By announcing now, Trump has made Chris Wray a lame duck. Anyone investigating something that might implicate Trump—such as those investigating Polymarket CEO Shane Coplan—will know that they will have no top cover in a matter of weeks. That was already true, mind you: Pam Bondi would see to that. Plus, it was already clear that Trump was going to replace Wray. Still, this could have a chilling effect on ongoing investigations—or it could create very interesting martyrs at the beginning of Trump’s term.
Two overarching themes are at play here. First, yes, the goal is nuking inconvenient investigations of himself and associates off the face of the earth. Second, and perhaps more importantly, Donald is making good on his promise to seek retribution against perceived enemies who sought to prosecute him for crimes. Patel, you might recall, was one of many operatives who got moved around in government positions like a chess piece after Trump’s loss to President Biden in 2020.
And that’s not including the times when Trump tried, and failed, to install Patel elsewhere—including the CIA.
Patel cut his teeth in 2018 as author of widely debunked Nunes memo, which tried to argue top DOJ officials lied about the reasons for surveilling Carter Page. The memo was rejected by Earth 1 but made Patel a “hero” in MAGA Land.
Author and historian Timothy Snyder pulled no punches about Donald’s choice: “Patel is a narcissistic zealot with zero qualifications for such a post, as even hard-right Trump insiders such as Bill Barr have said (‘over my dead body’ were his words when Trump proposed Patel for a lesser position of authority in 2020). Patel got Trump’s attention for his efforts to denounce the entirely correct proposition that Trump was supported by Russian in 2016. Patel was then one of the most active and outspoken participants in Trump’s coup attempt of 2020-2021.”
