FBI watched Trump’s FBI director pick before nomination

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The Department of Justice’s internal watchdog disclosed on Tuesday that the FBI conducted surveillance on Kash Patel, who was later nominated as FBI director by President-elect Trump, multiple news outlets reported.

According to a press release, the DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General issued a report detailing the department’s use of “compulsory process” to obtain records from congressional members, media representatives, and congressional staff.

The FBI spied on Kash Patel while he was investigating their corruption. Now he’s about to be their boss as FBI Director. Talk about poetic justice. 🎯 Big mistake. pic.twitter.com/cgyDcXHQ8f

— Ethan Townsend (@TheEthanCode) December 13, 2024

While specific names weren’t mentioned in the report, sources told the New York Post and CNN that Patel was among those monitored. During this period, Patel served as a staff member on the Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee. The same sources indicated that Democratic Representatives Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell were also targeted.

In 2023, Patel filed a lawsuit against key Trump-era DOJ and FBI officials, including recently resigned FBI Director Christopher Wray, regarding the FBI’s 2017 attempt to subpoena his personal email data.

As the principal investigator examining the DOJ and FBI’s handling of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, Patel scrutinized the FBI’s use of the later-discredited Steele Dossier to secure a wiretap warrant for Trump campaign advisor Carter Page.

The OIG report also revealed that the DOJ sought records from journalists at CNN, the New York Times, and The Washington Post after these outlets published classified information in 2017.

“As the Report sets out, the OIG found no indication in its review that the investigative steps of the career prosecutors in any of these cases were pursued for improper reasons or based on party affiliation or status,” the FBI stated.

While the report found no evidence of political motivation, it noted that the surveillance created “at a minimum, the appearance of inappropriate interference by the executive branch.”

Kash Patel 💥 BOMBSHELL 💥
Chris Wray's FBI has already ILLEGALLY used 702s to spy on American citizens
👉A dozen people involved in 1/6
👉19K citizens who donated to specific candidates
👉24Kx against AMERICAN CITIZEN GROUPS 1/6@RandPaul@SpeakerJohnson@Jim_Jordan@mrddmia pic.twitter.com/jsawEEajRe

— Bama_Jeans (@bamajayt) December 8, 2023

The investigation’s scope was extensive, encompassing 21 Democratic staffers, 20 Republican staffers, two nonpartisan staff members, and two Congress members. The DOJ justified most surveillance decisions based on the timing between information access and subsequent news publications.

“[T]he decision to issue most of the compulsory process for their records was based on the close proximity in time between that access and the subsequent publication of the news articles,” the report stated.

“As a result, dozens of congressional staffers became part of the subject pool in a federal criminal investigation for doing nothing more than performing constitutionally authorized oversight of the executive branch.”