Confirmed as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2025, these are the individuals shaping the decisions that undermine democracy.
Kash Patel, a former senior fellow at Project 2025-supporter the Center for Renewing America and Donald Trump’s controversial pick for FBI Director, has outlined a vision for American law enforcement that reads like a revenge fantasy. Armed with a list of 60 “Deep State” enemies in government and plans to prosecute journalists critical of Trump, Patel advocates the most radical proposed transformation of federal law enforcement since J. Edgar Hoover’s reign. His blueprint goes beyond mere personnel changes — it calls for dismantling FBI headquarters to “reopen it as a museum of the Deep State,” creating shadow investigative units outside traditional oversight, and stripping civil service protections from federal employees so they can be fired at will. A self-proclaimed warrior against “perverse gender ideology” and “woke” policies in government with no experience in law enforcement, Patel has embraced far-right conspiracy theories and QAnon messaging, even signing books with the movement’s “Where We Go 1 We Go All” slogan. Patel’s multimedia empire includes children’s books casting Trump as “King Donald,” a dietary supplement business claiming to “reverse” COVID-19 vaccine effects, and a foundation whose revenues soared to $1.3 million after funding witnesses for congressional hearings on government “weaponization” and imprisoned insurrectionists. From his unauthorized role in Ukraine policy during Trump’s first impeachment to his involvement in Pentagon discussions about martial law scenarios around January 6th, Patel has demonstrated a pattern of operating through back channels to achieve political goals aligned with his authoritarian beliefs.
In His Own Words
“The Biden DoD is also imposing woke so-called anti-racist training and perverse gender ideology on the world’s greatest fighting force in a way that pushes patriotic, Constitution-loving Americans from the ranks.”
— Patel criticizing investigations of extremism in the military. From his 2022 book Government Gangsters, p. 24.
“The FBI has become so thoroughly compromised that it will remain a threat to the people unless drastic measures are taken.”
— On federal law enforcement and intelligence. Government Gangsters, p. 108.
“Most importantly, we need to get the FBI the hell out of Washington, D.C. There is no reason for the nation’s law enforcement agency to be centralized in the swamp.”
— Patel mirroring Project 2025’s plan to move the FBI out of Washington D.C. Government Gangsters, p. 108.
“I’d take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals. Go be cops. You’re cops. Go be cops.”
— Patel’s plan to reorganize the FBI’s bureaucracy by moving agents out of Washington DC., The Shawn Ryan Show, September 2, 2024.
“The biggest problem the FBI has had, has come out of its intel shops. I’d break that component out of it. I’d shut down the FBI Hoover building on day one and reopen it the next day as a museum of the Deep State.”
— Patel addresses destroying the FBI’s physical infrastructure on The Shawn Ryan Show, September 2, 2024.
“I regularly used to tell people that the fastest way to move up in the government is to just screw up, and the bigger the screw up, the bigger the promotion. Every person implicated in your mistakes has an interest in covering up what they did, so they will promote you. That means the people at the very top are usually the most immoral, unethical people in the entire agency.”
— Patel on the “Deep State’s” corruption. Government Gangsters, p. 37.
“We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government, but in the media. Yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections. We’re going to come after you, whether it’s criminally or civilly. We’ll figure that out. But yeah, we’re putting you all on notice.”
— Patel on his plans to avenge Donald Trump’s bad press by persecuting the media. Steve Bannon Show, December 5, 2023.
“They, the radical left have told us we are the ones who hijack law enforcement agencies. Are we the ones that sent law enforcement into houses of worship? That was them. Are we the ones that told parents that you will be dictated the agenda for your children’s education? That was them, but they did it in the name of America and apparently since they have the mainstream media, they’re getting away with it.”
— Patel describing at CPAC what he sees as the Democrats’ plot to destroy America, February 3, 2024.
“You borrow from history. So you take Hillary Queenton and Donald Trump, and then you take Keeper Komey and a shifty knight, and you take a duke named Devin [Nunes] and you introduce them into the story, but you don’t say things like Democrat or Republican or liberal or conservative or this party or that party. You leave all that out. And you just borrow from the history and the truth. And you teach our kids, ‘This happened in America.’”
— Patel explaining how he came up with the idea for a children’s book about his Russiagate conspiracy theory suitable for ages four and up, June 10, 2022.
“It’s the plot against the king, the plot against the king. All the patriots say against the king, the body against the king. The scary fairy tale from the liars and the thieves against the king, the fight against the king. All the patriots say against the king, against king, against the king, against the king.”
— A song, accompanied by animation, inspired by Patel’s children’s books, which turns Russiagate into a fairy tale based in medieval times in order to indoctrinate children as young as four years of age.
When Kash is King
When Kash Patel appeared on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast in December 2023, he made an extraordinary declaration that revealed his anti-Constitutional agenda: “We will go out and find the conspirators not just in government, but in the media,” he vowed.
For most political figures, such a statement might be dismissed as typical right-wing bombast. But for Donald Trump’s newly announced pick to lead the FBI, it wasn’t mere rhetoric — it was a preview of how he plans to implement the most radical transformation of American federal law enforcement in generations.
On November 30, 2024, Trump announced his selection of Patel to lead the nation’s premier law enforcement agency, putting one of his most loyal enforcers in a position to execute his sweeping vision for restructuring federal law enforcement. The appointment represents the realization of a comprehensive plan to reorganize American justice under the direct political control of Trump.
The Making of an Enforcer
Patel’s journey to the apex of power began conventionally enough. In 2012, he left his position as a Miami public defender to join the Department of Justice as a national security prosecutor. Nothing in his early career suggested the radical vision he would later embrace. Former colleagues from his public defender days described him as “below average” and an “underachiever” — qualities that make his subsequent transformation all the more striking.
After working with the DOJ as a trial attorney, he worked his way into the House Intelligence Committee in 2017 as the counterterrorism senior counsel, becoming aid to committee chair Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) that same year.
His breakthrough moment came in the basement offices of the House Intelligence Committee in 2018, where he authored what became known as the “Nunes memo,” a controversial document alleging FBI surveillance abuses in the Russia investigation. While law enforcement officials disputed the memo’s claims, it accomplished something more valuable than factual vindication — it caught then-President Trump’s attention.
In 2019, Trump gave him a job on the National Security Council (NSC), then within months created a position, Senior Director of the Counterterrorism Directorate, just for Patel. He became a permanent fixture in Trump’s select entourage, bluffing his way into situations and issues he was unqualified to weigh in on by way of his status as a Trump darling.
Ukraine and the Rise of Parallel Power
Patel’s willingness to operate through informal channels emerged during Trump’s first impeachment. National Security Council (NSC) documents revealed his unusual role in Ukraine policy, about which he had no expertise, with former NSC official Fiona Hill testifying that Trump had come to believe Patel was his Ukraine expert, despite his experience being limited to counterterrorism. Internal NSC memos showed Patel maintained direct communication lines to Trump while serving under several different supervisors, each apparently unaware of his other reporting relationships.
The Pentagon Years
By late 2020, Patel had secured a position that would put him at the center of one of American democracy’s most contentious moments. As chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, Pentagon documents obtained by the January 6th Select Committee show Patel participating in at least three meetings about potential martial law scenarios in December 2020.
In the years following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection, Patel became actively involved in supporting January 6 defendants through his charitable Kash Foundation. He has promoted the “fedsurrection” theory which claims without evidence that federal agents or informants orchestrated or significantly influenced the January 6th Capitol riot rather than it being primarily driven by protestors and rioters.
Patel was also one of the producers of “Justice for All,” a musical single featuring the “J6 Prison Choir” singing the national anthem over a prison phone line while Trump recites the Pledge of Allegiance. Four members of the 15-prisoner choir were charged with assaulting police, including the fatal attack on Officer Brian D. Sicknick.
Patel’s time at the Pentagon was marked by concerning incidents that went beyond his response to January 6. In October 2020, while serving at the NSC, Patel nearly compromised a critical SEAL Team 6 rescue mission in Nigeria. According to then-Secretary of Defense Mark Esper’s memoir, Patel falsely claimed Nigerian officials had approved U.S. forces entering their airspace for a hostage rescue operation. The mission proceeded only after senior officials, including Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, scrambled to secure actual approval, with U.S. forces already positioned just 15 miles from the border. When confronted about potentially endangering U.S. service members, Patel reportedly dismissed the concerns, saying, “If nobody got hurt, who the f*** cares?” While the hostage was ultimately rescued successfully, the incident highlighted Patel’s willingness to bypass crucial security protocols —and his penchant for direct control.
Echoes of Project 2025
Although Patel has never worked in the law enforcement field, he’s got big plans for the FBI. “Keeping the FBI in its behemoth Washington HQ building only allows for institutional capture and incentivizes senior leadership in the FBI to lose focus on their mission and learn how to play political games instead,” he writes in Government Gangster. Patel calls for new offices with direct reporting lines to political appointees, bypassing traditional chain-of-command structures. Internal FBI communications would be monitored by politically appointed supervisors, marking a dramatic departure from post-Watergate reforms that insulated investigations from political pressure.
The Conspiracy Culture
Patel’s vision for transforming federal law enforcement has been accompanied by an increasing embrace of conspiracy theories, where — unlike the intelligence and law enforcement fields — Patel has a wealth of experience. Beyond traditional conservative critiques of government institutions, Patel has long ventured enthusiastically into the land of Deep State plots:
- Patel has actively promoted the idea of a “Deep State coup” against Trump and endorsed various election fraud theories.
- In late 2020, while serving as a Pentagon official, he spread the unfounded claim that Italian military satellites had been used to turn Trump votes into Biden votes during the 2020 election.
- He also claimed the July 2024 attempted assassination of Trump was perpetrated by “corrupt actors in government” in collusion with the media who would “churn out more lies to cover their failure.”
Patel’s relationship with conspiracy theories extends beyond political narratives into explicit support for QAnon, the baseless, bizarre conspiracy theory that claims a cabal of Satanic elite pedophiles controls the government. “We try to incorporate it into our overall messaging scheme to capture audiences because whoever that person is has certainly captured a widespread breadth of the MAGA and the America First movement,” Patel, who is a board member of Trump Media explained, acknowledging his strategic embrace of the QAnon on Truth Social.
Patel’s support for QAnon has been more than rhetorical. When promoting his children’s books, Patel offered special signed copies featuring “WWG1WGA” – the QAnon motto meaning “Where we go one, we go all.” On Truth Social, he actively promoted an account called @Q that pushed QAnon messaging, and praised the movement on multiple QAnon-supporting shows. “There’s a lot of good to a lot of it,” Patel said of QAnon, which he characterized as a vital part of national discourse. He praised the QAnon community, gushing, “we’re just blown away at the amount of acumen some of these people have,” continuing with “if it’s Q or whatever movement that’s getting that information out, I am all for it, every day of the week.”
The prospect of an FBI Director who has actively promoted QAnon — a movement that has sparked multiple acts of violence — while simultaneously planning unprecedented changes to law enforcement oversight raises serious concerns about the potential politicization of federal investigations.
The Deep State and the Media
Patel’s vision for transforming federal law enforcement includes an explicit agenda targeting the media. In December 2023, speaking on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, he declared: “We will go out and find the conspirators — not just in government, but in the media. Yes, we’re going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections.” He added, “We’re going to come after you. Whether it’s criminally or civilly, we’ll figure that out”.
His 2023 book Government Gangsters makes his views on the press explicit: “The media is not just one-sided, but liars… Some of the characters… are elected leaders. Others are yellow journalists in the media who serve as peddlers of propaganda and disinformation at the behest of the ruling elites.” Speaking at CPAC in February 2024, he called the mainstream media “the most powerful enemy that the United States has ever seen.”
Patel’s Enemies List: Personal Vendettas and Political Targets
Patel’s enemies go beyond journalists and include a carefully curated hit list of 60 “Deep State” operatives as an appendix to his 2022 book Government Gangsters. The roster reveals both expected partisan targets and surprising Republican inclusions, suggesting personal grievances drive his selections as much as ideology.
[[A partial list (A-M) of Patel’s 60 perceived enemies from his book, Government Ganster. ]]
Democrats like Biden, Harris, and Clinton make predictable appearances, but it’s the Republican targets who have somehow offended Patel, whether they have met him or not, that raise eyebrows: Bill Barr, who blocked Patel’s FBI ambitions with an “over my dead body” declaration; former House Speaker Paul Ryan; and numerous Trump administration alumni including John Bolton, Mark Esper, and Alyssa Farah Griffin. For those named, especially Republicans who once considered themselves Trump allies, it’s a stark warning: in Patel’s FBI, past loyalty offers no protection from future persecution.
The Multimedia Empire
Since leaving the government, Patel has built a multimedia machine that serves as a profitable enterprise, financial support for his friends and colleagues, and a platform for promoting authoritarian policy proposals and conservative ideals.
- His Plot Against the King trilogy, which The Times dubbed “Trumplestiltskin” has sold over 100,000 copies, Patel claims, and reimagines Trump as “King Donald,” with Patel appearing as a wizard called the “Distinguished Discoverer.” Patel has also commissioned a disturbing “live-action” “trailer” using superimposed faces for the sword-wielding characters, including Hillary Queenton and King Donald. There’s also an animated promotional film designed to enthrall the very young with bright colors and a custom soundtrack that repeats the book’s title over and over.
- Patel’s 501( c )3, The Kash Foundation, supports conservatives in defamation cases as well as the January 6 “hostages” and their families. “We have provided financial assistance to Jan. 6 families, and we have saved active-duty military members’ careers by providing them with the legal defense funds they need so they can fight this arcane administration,” he said in December 2021.“If you have a case for defamation, or some other cause of action, I will fly to wherever you are in America and hand you a check for your lawyer so you can go to court and have your name cleared,” Patel added in a 2022 interview with the Independent Women’s Forum, a Project 2025 supporter. A testament to Patel’s strange yet powerful influence, the Kash Foundation saw a dramatic revenue increase from $182,000 in 2022 to $1.29 million in 2023.
- In early 2024, Patel expanded into the wellness market with “Nocovidium” pills, fraudulently claiming they would reverse COVID-19 vaccine effects by offering a fake “mRNA detox.” In April 2024, Michigan politician Mike Rogers was endorsed by Patel, who stated “Mike Rogers will be an America First senator who will never stop fighting for American freedoms and constitutional rights. Mike is a veteran who will hold the FBI and DOJ accountable and stand up to the growing threat of Communist China.” Rogers rejected Patel’s endorsement just four days later, deleting a social media post referencing the support after learning of Patel’s pill peddling and his vendetta against journalists. Rogers was also reportedly on Trump’s shortlist for FBI director, but the former Representative’s feud with Patel knocked him out of contention.
- Patel’s social media reach extends through his position on Trump Media and Technology Group’s board of directors, with a reported consulting contract paying $130,000 annually.
What Lies Ahead
Trump’s November 2024 announcement of Patel as his choice for FBI Director signals the impending transformation of American law enforcement into a weapon against perceived enemies. With his list of 60 government officials marked for investigation, his pledge to prosecute journalists, his labeling of gender identity as a ‘perversion,’ and his embrace of conspiracy theories and wellness scams, Patel embodies a blurred vision of justice. In Kash Patel, Trump has found a loyal servant, true believer and enthusiastic enforcer ready to remake American justice in Trump’s image.
