FBI Director Kash Patel is facing allegations of misusing over $1m in taxpayer-funded bonus payments to a small circle of loyalist agents. Representative Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the House of Representatives judiciary committee, has written to Patel demanding a full accounting of the payments and their legality.
The alleged payments, which totalled over $1m, were made to agents serving on Patel's 'director's advisory team'. This team was created in 2025 to examine internal documents and government materials, and has been referred to internally as a 'payback squad' tasked with building politically motivated cases.
Raskin's letter raises concerns that the payments may have been used to silence witnesses to Patel's private conduct, and cites reporting from the Atlantic alleging erratic behaviour and excessive drinking by the FBI director. Patel has filed a $250m defamation lawsuit against the Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick over the article.
The allegations come after a series of firings of high-ranking FBI officials, including former acting director Brian Driscoll and Steven Jensen, who led the bureau's response to the January 6 attack on the Capitol in 2021. Raskin has given Patel until 29 June to provide a full accounting of all bonus payments, the identities of those who received them, and any internal communications assessing their legality.