The recent terrorist attack in New Orleans, as well as the blast in Las Vegas, are sobering reminders of the FBI’s essential role in our lives and society.
The bureau has a no-fail mission — when the terrorists succeed, Americans die.
This all-important mission implies a trusting relationship between the FBI and the American people, but right now the bureau is facing an undeniable crisis in confidence.
A recent Gallup survey found that just 41% of Americans have a favorable view of our nation’s premier law enforcement agency. This didn’t happen overnight or by accident — trust and confidence levels are low in the FBI following repeated and shocking discoveries of malfeasance.
It was just last year when we learned the FBI had conducted an expansive investigation targeting traditional Catholics as potential domestic terrorists. This was a massive violation of religious liberty. The investigation included the use of an undercover agent and the participation of multiple field offices, as well as interviews of a priest and choir director.
This alone is a gross constitutional violation that would irreparably harm the FBI’s reputation, but it wasn’t a one-time mistake — this revelation followed evidence that the FBI targeted concerned parents at school board meetings as well as pro-life activists.
Frankly, though, the FBI’s problems are long-standing. I served on the House Intelligence Committee when we uncovered the Russiagate scandal. The committee unveiled that the entire Russian collusion narrative was not only funded by Democrats, but that this Democrat-funded research was weaponized by the FBI’s leadership to get a warrant to spy on a Trump campaign associate.
One of the people who was most instrumental in discovering FBI malfeasance was none other than Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for FBI director. I’ve known Kash for roughly ten years now. Kash was our committee’s national security adviser and counsel, and he was an invaluable tool in our oversight of the bureau.
His work did come at a cost. In return for his service to the nation in uncovering this wrongdoing, the FBI spied on Kash. A new Inspector General report revealed that the FBI compelled Apple and Google to turn over Kash’s private information and gagged them from notifying Kash of this intrusion.
This is why Kash is the exact right person for the position: He knows how deep the problems are. He knows where many of these problems lie, and Kash is smart enough and courageous enough to go in and fix them. President-elect Trump made a great pick when he chose Kash to fix this unique and pressing issue.
Properly reforming the FBI is a no-fail mission. It’s necessary that trust is restored to the bureau — not just for the bureau’s sake, but for our nation’s security.
FBI recruitment numbers have been significantly down in recent years, and it’s hard not to connect that dip to the nation’s growing distrust of the bureau. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, for example, recently revealed in a letter to Director Chris Way that “the FBI’s Special Agent hiring numbers are down,” and that whistleblowers have informed the Judiciary Committee that the number of special agent applications have fallen by half since the early 2000s.
It’s not going to be easy to restore trust in the FBI, but restoring transparency is a first step that I’m confident Kash will take.
I can’t tell you how many times the Intelligence Committee would ask for information from the FBI and then get stonewalled. The FBI has enormous power not only to investigate, but to surveil American citizens. You can’t have those kinds of capabilities and not be subject to oversight. Taxpayers deserve to know what the FBI is up to and I’m confident that Kash, particularly as a former congressional staffer, will understand the importance of promptly responding to congressional oversight inquiries.
I want to be clear on one point before I finish: The FBI is chock full of hard-working, patriotic agents who want to fight crime and keep Americans safe. These men and women are doing God’s work every day to protect us, and these are the agents who Kash will need to empower and promote.
I’m hopeful the Senate recognizes what we can all see clearly: need for reform at the FBI. It’ll be a long road to restoring the American people’s trust in the bureau, but the first step is appointing a director who has the experience, mind and courage to make reforms and rebuild that trust. Kash Patel is certainly the right man for that job.