A group of former FBI agents called “The Suspendables” has joined forces with President Donald Trump’s FBI director nominee Kash Patel as he awaits Senate confirmation, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. Patel has been accused of playing a role in the firing of several top FBI officials, some of whom were “vilified” by “The Suspendables.”
“Perhaps no group is happier” about his nomination “than the coterie of suspended or former agents Patel has connected with in recent years,” write Mark Berman, Jeremy Roebuck, Perry Stein and Clara Ence Morse.
“The Suspendables:
President Donald Trump’s FBI director nominee Kash Patel “The Suspendables” consider themselves to be victims of an anti-conservative bent at the FBI, and they argue that they were “punished for political differences and whistleblowing,” the journalists write. Members “have previously been accused of misconduct and suspended.”
READ MORE: Former Trump officials consider loyalist Kash Patel….
The stakes are high for Patel’s possible confirmation. The FBI is facing immense unrest, and Patel has been accused of playing a role in “purges of at least eight top officials while his nomination was pending.”
citizen with no role
“This is a private citizen with no role in government allegedly [directing] baseless firings of career politicians and then misleading this committee about his actions,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance Patel’s nomination. No Democrats on the committee voted in favor of his advancement.
Some of the former FBI officials who were purged had been “vilified” by “The Suspendables” for years. The group applauded the firings via social media posts and podcast appearances.
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The members of the group deny any wrongdoing, and Patel’s spokeswoman, Erica Knight, said the idea that he was involved in the firings was “secondhand gossip.” Patel, she said, “has been fully transparent with the American people throughout this process and has demonstrated the integrity and leadership needed for this role.”
One member of the group told the Washington Post that the ex-agents have been in contact with Patel since he was nominated. Some even accepted money from his nonprofit, the Kash Foundation.
Patel “basically said, ‘I’ve got a check. I’ve got a foundation. I’d like to help your family out and get you through a month or help you pay some bills,’ ex-agent and podcaster Kyle Seraphin said.” Patel allegedly sent him $10,000.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. is expected to file cloture on Kash. This will set up a final confirmation vote for Thursday at the latest, Mullin explained.
Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines, clearing the way for President Donald Trump’s pick for FBI director.
“The FBI’s core mission is to protect the American people, but the majority of Americans have lost faith in the FBI these last few years,” Senate Republicans wrote. “Kash Patel is the change agent Americans want—he’ll restore law and order.”
Patel has drawn scrutiny from Democrats who are concerned he would operate as a loyalist for the president and target perceived adversaries of the White House.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., warned, “This Patel guy will come back to haunt you.”
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has also expressed strong opposition to Patel’s nomination, citing concerns raised by whistleblowers.
We are inviting a political disaster if we put Kash Patel into this job,” Durbin said.
He claimed that Patel was responsible for recent mass firings at the FBI, despite not yet assuming the role, and argued that these actions have weakened the agency’s ability to protect national security. Durbin called for an investigation by the Department of Justice’s inspector general into the firings.
So far even nominees once seen as having uncertain prospects — including new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — have been able to marshal sufficient support from Republicans eager to fall in line with Trump’s