Politics
Kash Patel Arrests FBI Agent In Stunning Sting
An FBI agent was dismissed by his own director, Kash Patel, after being found guilty of soliciting prostitutes while out in the field on assignment, the FBI announced.
The special agent held a position of authority over other agents at the Bureau and rendezvoused with prostitutes during foreign and domestic operations, according to a watchdog within the FBI who said an agency-issued device was used to pay for the encounters.
In doing so, he exposed himself to the potential for extortion, a one-page summary adds.
The findings by the FBI’s Office of the Inspector General are a damning rebuke of the culture that Patel inherited, which President Donald Trump has railed against since his first administration. Contained in a full report are other instances of agents soliciting sex from prostitutes while stationed overseas or traveling for work.
A one-page summary by the watchdog states that the agent “solicited and used prostitutes on numerous occasions” and misused a government phone, all in violation of policies by the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice. The special agent also failed to report interactions with foreigners they were dating and paid for sex, another violation.
The author wrote that “criminal prosecution was declined” for now, with no reason provided, the Washington Post reports.
Neither a location nor a timeframe was given that may help identify the individual, who is described in the report as a “then-FBI Supervisory Special Agent.”
Representatives for the FBI and Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the inspector general’s report.
It is the latest chapter in a chronicling of the FBI’s sordid culture and builds on a report made public last year when the New York Times filed a lawsuit after reporting on FBI agents partying with prostitutes while on assignment in Cambodia, the Philippines, and Thailand between 2009 and 2018.
An initial summary of Wednesday’s report was released by the Office of the Inspector General in 2021, which outlined four FBI agents who paid for sex while abroad and a fifth who solicited sex. A sixth individual violated policy by failing to report the misconduct, the summary stated.
In one instance, an FBI agent handed another “a package containing approximately 100 white pills to deliver to a foreign law enforcement officer.”
This week’s release of information on the cases follows the Justice Department’s previous refusal to share further details about the internal investigation, arguing that doing so would violate the personnel records of FBI employees.
According to the NYT, one FBI agent solicited a Bangkok prostitute in 2017. The following year, agents accepted the company of several prostitutes provided and paid for by a law enforcement organization in Manila.
Some of the activity took place in the presence of other FBI employees and in one case a supervisor, the outlet previously reported.
Later in 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported that agents in Asia had been recalled home while the inspector general’s report was nearing completion.
Eric Holder, who served as U.S. attorney general under former President Barack Obama, wrote in 2015 that Justice Department employees engaging in solicitation “threatens the core mission of the Department, not simply because it invites extortion, blackmail, and leaks of sensitive or classified information, but also because it undermines the Department’s efforts to eradicate the scourge of human trafficking.”
Patel, as well as Attorney General Pam Bondi, have indicated that they plan to make sex trafficking a top priority in the second Trump administration. Transparency has also been a hallmark of their public statements, where both have suggested a full release of documents in high-profile investigations, such as Crossfire Hurricane and the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, will be forthcoming.
