On December 2, 2025, a scathing internal report authored by 24 experienced FBI agents sent shockwaves through Washington, laying bare a series of bombshell allegations and internal grievances against FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino. The report, compiled by the National Alliance of Retired and Active-Duty FBI Special Agents and Analysts, paints a picture of an agency gripped by low morale, distrust, and what some agents describe as a "paralyzing" leadership style.
The report’s release comes at a tense moment for the bureau. President Donald Trump, who appointed Patel as FBI director in February, has recently denied rumors that Patel is on the verge of being ousted. According to The Economic Times and the New York Post, the White House dismissed such speculation, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt stating, “This story is completely made up.” She even recounted the president laughing off the rumors, saying, “Come on Kash, let’s take a picture to show them you’re doing a great job!”
But beneath the public denials, the report details a cascade of incidents that have left many inside the FBI questioning both the competence and priorities of its top leadership. One of the most bizarre episodes centers on Patel’s behavior in Utah following the high-profile murder of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. According to multiple agents cited by Mediaite and the New York Post, Patel refused to disembark his plane unless he was given a size medium FBI jacket. While larger sizes were readily available, agents scrambled to find a medium, eventually producing a female agent’s jacket. Even then, Patel reportedly balked at leaving the plane when he noticed the jacket lacked certain Velcro patches, prompting SWAT team members to remove patches from their own uniforms and rush them to the airport. Only then did Patel agree to step off.
One agent, referred to as ALPHA 99 in the report, described the scene: “FBI director Kash Patel refused to step down from the plane without wearing one. FBI Special Agents were busy working in the aftermath of the assassination of Charlie Kirk and had to [stop and] ask around to find an FBI raid jacket – a medium sized one – that would fit FBI director Kash Patel.”
This incident, while eyebrow-raising, is just one of several that agents say have eroded confidence in the bureau’s direction. The report also recounts Patel’s directive in August to remove pronouns and special messages from email signatures—an order that was met with laughter and accusations of hypocrisy after agents noticed Patel’s own signature included “#9,” a reference to his status as the bureau’s ninth director.
According to Mediaite, “Several agents laughed at what was perceived as hypocrisy” and questioned whether leadership was out of touch with the rank and file. The report further claims that morale within the FBI has reached a nadir. Agents described the bureau as “paralyzed” by a “culture of mistrust and uncertainty.” Many said they were “afraid of losing their jobs and are making operational decisions based on that fear,” with one noting that “everyone… is on ‘pins and needles’ about what they are required to do next, who will get fired, and who will get re-assigned for non-specific reasons.”
Patel’s leadership style, described as both “very personable and likeable” and yet a source of a “culture of mistrust and uncertainty,” has left the FBI “rudderless,” according to the report obtained by The Daily Beast. The same report features agents referring to the current leadership as the “Kash-Bongino circus,” with one agent bluntly stating that Patel “has neither the breadth of experience nor the bearing an FBI director needs to be successful,” while Bongino was labeled “something of a clown.”
The tension between the bureau’s leadership and its agents is exacerbated by Patel and Bongino’s frequent use of social media. Several agents expressed frustration that important news about the bureau sometimes reached them via X (formerly Twitter) before official internal channels. One agent accused the leaders of being “too often concerned with building [their own] personal resumes” online, rather than focusing on the agency’s core mission.
The report also details Patel’s penchant for “premature public remarks” during sensitive investigations. In the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting, Patel took to X to announce that agents had “the subject of the shooting” in custody, only to later walk back the statement when it emerged that the individual detained was unrelated to the attack. The report alleges that Patel then attempted to take credit for the eventual arrest of the actual suspect—credit that, according to agents, belonged to other agencies. The episode reportedly ended with Patel “yelling and swearing” at the agent in charge.
Perhaps most controversially, Patel allegedly ordered agents to undergo polygraph examinations after learning they had privately discussed whether he should be issued an FBI firearm. The directive was described by one agent as “punitive,” though the report does not specify what happened following the tests.
Deputy Director Bongino has not remained silent in the face of mounting criticism. In a post on X, he dismissed the leaked report as “gossipy nonsense” and accused New York Post columnist Miranda Devine of being part of a “deep-state cabal” intent on undermining the Trump administration’s reform agenda. “A LOT of people are very upset at the changes and reforms we’ve made at the FBI,” Bongino wrote. “They will do anything to revert to the old ways of doing things. So they leak gossipy nonsense to media outlets and ‘journalists’ with a clear agenda, and they ignore the historic results and the significant reforms we instituted.”
Devine, for her part, pushed back on Fox News, saying, “I know these people, they’re patriots and they only have the best interests of the FBI in mind. They asked for a six-month sort of report card on Kash Patel and Dan Bongino’s performance, and they found 80 percent of their responses were negative. What they hope, and what I would have hoped, is that Kash Patel and Dan Bongino would take this criticism on board, as it’s coming from Trump-aligned people.” She added that the alliance behind the report had publicly endorsed Trump for FBI reform just last October, underscoring that the criticism “is coming in good spirit.”
Beyond the headline-grabbing anecdotes, the report delves into deeper issues that have dogged the FBI for years. Agents criticized Patel for assigning a SWAT team to protect his girlfriend and for using government aircraft for personal trips, including visits to a luxury resort in Texas, a golfing outing in Scotland, and trips to see his girlfriend, country musician Alexis Wilkins, perform. Former special agent Christopher O’Leary, speaking on MS NOW, described Patel as “patently unqualified” and mocked what he called the “Make-a-Wish director” for his use of government resources for personal leisure.
The fallout from the report is far from over. The document is set to be presented to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, where it will likely fuel ongoing debates about the direction of the FBI and the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape the bureau. With both supporters and critics of Patel and Bongino digging in, the controversy is certain to reverberate through Washington’s corridors for weeks to come.
For now, the FBI’s leadership faces a crisis of confidence from within, with agents and observers alike wondering whether the bureau can regain its footing under its current command—or if more dramatic change is on the horizon.
