The conservative ex-FBI agents who have Kash Patel's ear
When Donald Trump announced he wanted Kash Patel to be the next director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, one of Patel’s first moves was reaching out to three conservative former special agents who have been critics of the bureau and its sprawling investigation into the Jan. 6 riot.
WASHINGTON — When President-elect Donald Trump announced that he wanted Kash Patel to be the next director of the FBI, one of Patel’s first moves was to reach out to three conservative former special agents who have been critics of the bureau and its sprawling investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The former agents Patel spoke to refer to themselves as “The Suspendables.” They have claimed whistleblower status, and Republicans have called two of them (along with an FBI analyst) to testify before Congress. Patel, through his Kash Foundation, provided financial support to several of them during their suspensions, they testified in 2023.
Kyle Seraphin, 43, a military veteran who is a member of the group, said Patel reached out to the three “Suspendables” the night Trump announced that he wanted Patel atop the FBI; Seraphin was busy getting his kids asleep and couldn’t join the discussion.
Patel’s relationship with the former agents, who ran into trouble with FBI leadership during their tenures, helps illuminate his potential agenda as FBI director beyond the bombastic public statements he has made for years before Thursday’s Senate confirmation hearing, like when he talked about making the FBI headquarters into a “museum of the deep state.”
They see themselves as victims of what Trump has called “weaponization” of the justice system and are wholehearted supporters of Patel, whose book named potential targets for investigation and described the FBI itself as the “prime functionary of the Deep State.”
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