‘Disgusted and Shocked’: Ex-FBI Head Details Trump Admin’s Political Purge of Federal Law Enforcement

CNN anchor Kate Bolduan spoke to Anderson Cooper on Tuesday morning about his interview with Brian Driscoll, the former acting director of the FBI who is now suing the Trump administration for wrongful termination.

Bolduan introduced Cooper to give a preview of his exclusive sitdown with Driscoll and asked, “What did he tell you?”

“Yeah, Brian Driscoll is a legendary CIA official, CIA agent, served nearly 18 years, FBI, served nearly 18 years with the FBI, he was the commander of the hostage rescue team, he worked to organize crime, he’s really done it all, he is very well respected among rank and file within the FBO,” replied Cooper, adding:

He was picked to be the acting director of the FBI by the incoming Trump administration before Kash Patel would be sworn in, and he is revealing what he saw and what he was asked to do by incoming Trump administration officials.

He really got a front row seat to this kind of wave of firings, this seeking of retribution for anybody in the FBI who had worked on cases against President Trump. It began with a phone call from Kash Patel. Kash Patel asking him to come down to Washington headquarters to serve as acting director.

CNN then aired a clip from the interview, which will air on Cooper’s show:

Driscoll: Yes, if I’d be willing to come down to headquarters to serve, I reflected that I serve at the pleasure of the director of the FBI.

Cooper: Patel told you that as long as you were not active on social media, didn’t donate to the Democratic Party, didn’t vote for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, that the vetting would not be an issue.

Driscoll: Yes, yeah. It’s exactly, it’s not funny, but that’s exactly what he said.

Cooper: Did that surprise you?

Driscoll: Yes, it was shocking. I’m apolitical by nature, but by profession, you must be apolitical. It’s a violation of the Hatch Act to express political meanings in a professional environment. There are very strict rules.

Cooper: The vetting call shocked Driscoll as well. It came from Paul Ingrassia, an attorney and conservative commentator working on the Trump transition team.

Driscoll: First question was softball and then it got worse. Who’d you vote for?

Cooper: Had you ever been asked that by anybody in a position of authority at the FBI?

Driscoll: No. I explained to him, ‘Listen, it’s inappropriate. You have my resume in front of you, right? So you know I’m a current FBI agent. It’s a violation for me to discuss my own personal feelings on politics, hoping to avoid any further politically charged questions, which it didn’t.

Cooper: What was the next question?

Driscoll: So I might be out of order here, but when did you start supporting President Trump?” I didn’t answer that one either. Then he asked me, “Do I agree that the agents who stormed Mar-a-Lago,” his words not mine, “should be held accountable?” I did answer that one with an “absolute no.”

And then I explained to him they were doing their jobs pursuant to a predicated investigation and court order and that we don’t choose what cases we work. He said, “Okay, just tell me if you voted for a Democrat in the last five elections.” This conversation is over and concluded the phone call.

I’m just disgusted and shocked.

Cooper: Why were you disgusted?

Driscoll: Because now my fear that there was a political wave coming towards the FBI with vitriol directed at the FBI, it was palpable. And there was this sense of shock that, well, I’m really close to this thing.

“Wow,” reacted Bolduan as Cooper added, “Yeah, I mean, he had a front row seat to this and he tried to do as much as he could to try to protect FBI agents who were not accused of anything specifically. The incoming administration essentially just wanted a list of the thousands of FBI agents, anybody who had worked on any case against the president.”

“And before he was fired, he did have some interactions with the now FBI director. Yeah. So after… How do you describe that?” Bolduan followed up.

Cooper replied, “Yeah, so after Kash Patel becomes the director, Brian Driscoll is reassigned. About six months later, Driscoll has a meeting with Kash Patel to defend an FBI agent, a long-serving FBI agent who’s being targeted by people, mega-podcasters, people on social media. Brian Driscoll has targeted incorrectly what they were saying was not true or mischaracterization. Driscoll defends him to Kash Patel, and then several days later, he gets a letter terminating him signed by Kash Patel.”

Bolduan concluded the discussion, noting, “Can’t wait to hear more of your conversation, Anderson. Thanks for coming on to give us a little preview. I really appreciate it. And we will note, Brian Driscoll has sued Kash Patel, the FBI, and the US government for wrongful termination and retaliation. The Department of Justice has rejected those claims and filed a motion to dismiss. And CNN has reached out to the White House, the Department of Justice, the FBI, Kash Patel, and Emil Bove and received no response.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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