The increasing criticism from current and former officials implies that Kash Patel’s leadership is a threat to national security. Mark Warner criticized his lack of clarity, referring to his dismissal of agents before the Iran crisis. Former counterterrorism chief Christopher O’Leary called him “unfit” for the job. Former FBI officers Brian Driscoll, Steve Jensen, and Spencer Evans accused him of retaliation. Charles Kupperman criticized his “enemies list.” Recently, another former official added to the criticism.
Concerns have also been raised in the agency’s ranks in light of the dismissal of several counterterrorism experts in the days leading up to the war with Iran. Former Executive Assistant Director Jacqueline Maguire shared her thoughts on the evolution of the agency’s priorities in remarks to Erielle Reshef. At the outset of her career in 2000, the organization was primarily focused on criminal investigations.
This included taking down organized crime groups, reducing violent crime in the US, investigating financial crimes, and disrupting drug organizations. At the time, the growing threat of Al-Qaeda in the US was not given the sense of urgency it should have been. Following the 9/11 attacks, Robert Mueller undertook significant reforms to ensure counterterrorism was the top priority.
Jacqueline Maguire left the organization last year after serving in various key positions in counterterrorism and criminal operations, which is part of a larger purge that saw seven other senior officials removed. While the strength of the organization has been attributed to the people in it, the fact that dozens of veteran officials have been removed since Donald Trump took over has been cited as a worrying trend, especially since some were engaged in countering Iranian threats.
— Harish Chandra (@HarishChan20246) March 23, 2026
The current leadership has been accused of being overly concerned with political retribution and conspiracy to the extent that they have forgotten their responsibilities. As the war with Iran intensifies, so have the risks to Americans, which means the FBI should focus on countering terrorism, cyber threats, and foreign intelligence operations again.
As per Maguire, Iran is the most active sponsor of terrorism in the world and is responsible for numerous murders of Americans by its proxy forces and its direct recruitment in other countries. When Hezbollah detonated a powerful vehicle-borne bomb in Beirut in 1983 to kill 241 American servicemen, it supported Hezbollah. It was the reason for an attack in 1996 in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 service members.
Furthermore, it has also been utilizing its direct network, which is under the supervision of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the external operations wing of the ayatollah’s powerful military organization, to strike Americans back home more and more in recent years. In one case, it planned to kidnap an American citizen of Iranian descent who had publicly criticized the Iranian government, but ended up hiring Russian mobsters to assassinate her instead. An asset hired by the I.R.G.C. was tasked with following her for months after the mobsters were apprehended by the FBI, but was themselves apprehended by the FBI.
In light of the aforementioned, the current sophomoric leadership of the F.B.I. under Kash Patel is a cause for concern. Jacqueline Maguire said that the professionalism of the F.B.I. has been undermined by Patel’s hasty decisions and social media postings, as reported by The New York Times.
Patel hastened to tweet false information on the Brown University massacre and murder investigations of Charlie Kirk. Mr. Patel also lied when he said Alex Pretti violated Minnesota firearms laws, and he lied when he said Pretti had done it before when he was murdered in Minneapolis. Mr. Patel has been aggressive in his congressional testimony, has been playing around at the Olympics, and has formed a ridiculous alliance with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Patel is not paying attention to the most serious threats facing America.
Terrifying warning on live TV: A former FBI agent says she hopes it doesn’t take another 9/11 style attack to snap Kash Patel and the government into focusing on actual national security threats instead of political distractions and purges. pic.twitter.com/khpe7zXai2
— Furkan Gözükara (@FurkanGozukara) March 23, 2026
As per Maguire, retaliatory terminations by Patel are extremely detrimental. The United States is less secure when people are being terminated because of animosity and without any reason, especially when some of the terminated employees were very involved in the type of counterintelligence work that prevents Iranian attacks.
Patel often says he wants “good cops be cops.” It is his duty and obligation, being the head of the FBI, to let good special agents be special agents. Jacqueline Maguire revealed that FBI agents are trained to use technology and intelligence to advance investigations into federal crimes, which include cyberattacks and terrorism.
They are not trained, like Mr. Patel has used them, to police the city streets or to enforce immigration laws. In the US, there are 700,000 full-time sworn law enforcement officers in the states and cities, and 13,000 FBI agents. To effectively address problems like violent crimes, the FBI has to work with law enforcement organizations. FBI agents are not law enforcement officers; they are best suited to neutralize the worst threats.
