FBI analyst targeted in Kash Patel's book placed on leave
The FBI has placed an analyst on leave whose name was on a list of "Deep State actors" in a book written by FBI Director Kash Patel.
The FBI has placed an analyst on leave whose name was on a list of alleged "deep state" actors in a book written by FBI Director Kash Patel, two people familiar with the matter told NBC News.
This was first reported by the New York Times. It’s unclear what reason the FBI gave for the move, and the agency declined to comment.
Brian Auten, a Russia expert, was the employee who was placed on leave. He was also among the FBI employees recommended for internal discipline by former FBI Director Christopher Wray over mistakes made in connection with the 2017 investigation into links between then-candidate Donald Trump and the Russian government.
A later review by the Justice Department inspector general found no evidence that any FBI employee acted out of political bias in the Russia investigation.
Patel included Auten on a list of roughly 60 alleged "deep state" actors in his 2023 book, "Government Gangsters." Patel denounced the FBI analyst by name, writing: “The fact that Auten was not fired from the FBI and prosecuted for his part in the Russia Gate conspiracy is a national embarrassment.”
Rating: 5