FBI Director Kash Patel faces fresh allegations that he steered over $1 million in taxpayer money to a handpicked group of agents through what a senior House Democrat characterizes as an illegal bonus scheme.
Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, leveled the accusation in a letter sent June 15, claiming Patel authorized recurring payments to agents in his immediate circle and security detail. The pattern of payouts raised immediate red flags about their legality and purpose.
Raskin obtained records showing some agents received roughly $8,000 every two weeks despite already earning at the federal salary ceiling. Committee investigators confirmed multiple agents collected at least five consecutive such payments, totaling close to $40,000 per person. The disbursement rate proved so aggressive that FBI reserve accounts for bonuses ran dry, causing some payments to fail.
"Why are these agents receiving extra pay simply for doing their jobs?" Raskin wrote. "Are they, in fact, collecting bonus compensation for engaging in actions outside of their duties and outside of the law?"
The primary recipients, according to Raskin, worked on Patel's "director's advisory team," a unit established in 2025 to review internal documents and materials aimed at discrediting federal law enforcement officials involved in investigating Trump and his associates. News outlets previously reported the team operates internally as a "payback squad" focused on building politically motivated cases.
Raskin's letter suggested a darker motive beyond rewarding favored staff. He raised the possibility that payments to agents on Patel's personal security detail served to silence potential witnesses to the director's private conduct. The letter referenced reporting about Patel's erratic behavior and excessive drinking, noting that protective detail agents accompanied him on personal outings.
Patel has sued the Atlantic magazine and journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick for $250 million over an article addressing those allegations.
The congressman also detailed what he views as politically motivated personnel actions, including the firing of former acting director Brian Driscoll, a medal of valor recipient; Steven Jensen, who led the FBI's January 6 investigation; and a dozen counterintelligence agents tracking Iranian threats, dismissed days before U.S. military strikes on Iran.
The FBI declined to comment. Democrats lack authority to compel document production as the minority party, though they could gain that power if they win back the House in upcoming midterm elections.
Raskin set a June 29 deadline for Patel to provide a complete accounting of all bonus payments, recipient identities, and any internal legal assessments.
Author James Rodriguez: "If these payments happened as described, it's a brazen misuse of federal resources to reward political loyalty, not performance."
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