6 Craziest Revelations From Scathing Report on Kash Patel — Including His Refusal to Leave a Plane Until He Was Given a Female Agent’s Jacket

(Photo Credit: Francis Chung for POLITICO and AP)

A blistering report from a number of current and former federal agents blasted the FBI under Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, saying it has been a “circus” and “all f*cked up” under their leadership.

The 115-page report, first reported on by The New York Post’s Miranda Devine on Monday, was from the National Alliance of Retired and Active-Duty FBI Special Agents and Analysts. It paints a damning picture of the bureau under Patel, who is branded as someone who is “insecure,” lacks “self-confidence,” and is unfit for the role. Bongino, meanwhile, is described as a “clown.”

Those current and former agents recently shared the “pulse check” report with the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, which is chaired by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA). Here are six of the most brutal, wild, and funny takeaways below:

1. Patel “refused” to leave a plane until someone found him a medium size FBI jacket belonging to a female agent

The director, according to one unnamed agent, “refused” to leave a plane that had landed in Utah, following the murder of Charlie Kirk, until someone gave him a size medium FBI jacket. The agent said there were plenty of large and extra-large jackets available, but Patel insisted on a medium sized jacket — which sent agents scrambling to find him one while they were “busy working” on the shooting. Eventually a female FBI Special Agent gave him a jacket that fit his requirements.

Patel then refused to leave the plane again, after noticing it was missing a few Velcro patches he wanted. A couple members of the FBI Swat team nearby found the patches he wanted, ran them over to the airport, and Patel finally departed the plane.

2. FBI agents “laughed at” Patel for ordering the removal of pronouns and messages from email signatures — even though his email signature contained his own message

Another unnamed agent said several agents “laughed at what was perceived as hypocrisy” from Patel, after he emailed agents in August, telling them to remove all pronouns and special messages from their email signatures.

The agents mocked him, because Patel did not follow his own orders — his email signature included “#9,” which FBI personnel interpreted as Patel pointing out he was the bureau’s 9th director.

3. Patel’s FBI is infected by a “culture of mistrust and uncertainty” 

The bureau is “paralyzed” by a lack of confidence in leadership and a general feeling of “mistrust and uncertainty,” multiple anonymous sources said in the report. That mistrust, one agent said, has been exacerbated by Patel’s criticism of the FBI before he took over.

Agents are “afraid of losing their jobs and are making operational decisions based on that fear,” one agent said.

Another unnamed agent said “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.”

4. Feds are tired of Patel and Bongino’s “obsession” with social media

A number of feds said they were sick of the “frequent use of social media” by both Patel and Bongino. One agent lamented they often find out about FBI news first on social media, rather than via internal communication, and another blasted both leaders, saying they are “too often concerned with building [their own] personal resumes” via X.

5. Patel ordered agents to take a polygraph test after they discussed whether he should be issued an FBI firearm

Patel was “upset” after catching wind that a few dozen FBI agents discussed his request to be issued an FBI firearm. Those agents had mixed opinions on the matter — some agreed he should have one, others did not, and still others were “indifferent,” according to one source.

The director, after the discussion was “leaked” to him, ordered those agents to “submit to polygraph examinations to determine their involvement in the discussion and any actions they may have taken after the discussion took place.” The unnamed agent described it as “punitive”; the report does not mention what came of the polygraph tests.

6. Bongino disgusted agents when he declared “The truth is for chumps” 

Several FBI agents were “shocked” when Bongino told personnel at a western FBI office that “The truth is for chumps.” It is unclear what the context was for the statement, but one agent was “offended” and “appalled” by the comment, while several others said they were stunned by it.

You can read about several other notable takeaways — including agents believing the FBI is full of employees suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and agents being upset they have had to assist ICE — by reading the full report here.