FBI Director Kash Patel attends a House Intelligence Committee hearing about worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 26, 2025. REUTERS/Leah Millis
FBI head Kash Patel vowed there would be "no politicization at the FBI" and "no retributive actions" taken by the bureau during his confirmation hearing — but the agency reportedly suspended an employee who was on Patel's so-called enemies list.
The New York Times reported Friday that the FBI suspended an analyst who was also on that list, placing Brian Auten on administrative leave last week. The reasoning behind the suspension wasn't immediately clear.
Auten was previously disciplined and questioned in a criminal probe, according to the report. he worked on two major investigations that earned Trump and Patel's ire, including into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He was also involved in reviewing information on Hunter Biden’s laptop.
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Patel told senators during his confirmation he had no enemies list..
“It’s a total mischaracterization,” he said.
Patel also vowed: “There will be no politicization at the F.B.I. There will be no retributive actions taken by any F.B.I., should I be confirmed as F.B.I. director.”
Auten and others were punished after serious mistakes were found in the FBI's applications for a secret surveillance warrant involving a former Trump campaign adviser, the Times noted. Auten also played an outsized role in identifying the primary source behind an incendiary and baseless dossier about Trump.
“Yet just like his superiors, Auten has faced no real accountability in light of these findings,” Patel wrote in his book. “The fact that Auten was not fired from the F.B.I. and prosecuted for his part in the Russia Gate conspiracy is a national embarrassment.”