FBI leaders under pressure from MAGA voters to act on their 'weaponization' claims

For years, Kash Patel and Dan Bongino have said the FBI was “weaponized” against Trump. Now that they run the bureau, some Trump supporters ask, “Where’s the accountability?”

For years, Kash Patel and Dan Bongino have said the Biden administration and corrupt “deep state” actors “weaponized” the FBI against Donald Trump.

They accused the bureau of covering up what it knew about pipe bombs placed before the Jan. 6 attack. They suggested that FBI operatives helped ignite the Capitol riot. They said FBI agents committed crimes and tried to “overthrow” Trump. 

When Patel and Bongino did that, they weren’t just saying they disagreed with FBI investigative or prosecution decisions. They were accusing people of federal crimes. It would be illegal to investigate and prosecute someone because you didn’t like their political beliefs, which is what they are saying happened. And there is no evidence to support that.

Now that the two men lead the FBI, Director Patel and Deputy Director Bongino find themselves in an awkward position. Large numbers of Trump supporters still believe all those things, and some are publicly asking: Why haven’t Bongino and Patel exposed the “truth” about the “deep state” they promised? Why isn’t the Trump administration arresting and prosecuting the people Patel labeled “government gangsters”?

Since they took office, the two men have apparently sought to walk a careful line. They are backtracking on — or have stopped talking about — some of their debunked claims while promising to release documents they say will shed new light on others, including their assertions of FBI wrongdoing in the Russia and Jan. 6 investigations.