The FBI has given its workforce a classified document examining chapters of the bureau's history where, in its own words, “this institution fell short.” The document, known internally as the Patel Report, arrives at a moment when Director Kash Patel has been openly critical of his predecessors and has pushed to remove employees he believes politicized the agency.
According to wtop.com, it remains unclear whether the report makes specific recommendations or demands any action, and the FBI declined to comment on its contents when asked. The outlet reported that the report was described in a memo to the workforce signed by the FBI's co-deputy directors, Christopher Raia and Andrew Bailey.
Bailey's name on that memo carries its own significance. He announced his resignation earlier this week, and per the same wtop.com account, Friday was his last day at the bureau. CBS News reported that his resignation formally took effect on October 2, 2026, and that Patel thanked Bailey for “his fantastic contribution instituting critical reforms.”
A Pattern of Scrutiny Under Patel
The Patel Report does not exist in isolation. The Virginian-Pilot, which published the original wire account of this story, noted that it lands amid Patel's frequent criticism of the leaders who preceded him and his stated determination to rid the FBI of agents and other employees he contends have politicized the bureau in the past.
Patel has also encouraged investigations of former senior officials and presided over waves of terminations, the same reporting states. Those terminations reportedly included employees who participated in years-old investigations of President Donald Trump, employees photographed taking a knee during a 2020 racial justice protest, and employees who contributed to a disputed analytical memo about Catholic extremism.
Some of those personnel actions have drawn independent scrutiny. The Associated Press has reported that the FBI fired agents who were photographed kneeling during a racial justice protest in Washington that followed the 2020 death of George Floyd, citing sources familiar with the matter. Separately, the wire service has reported that several FBI analysts tied to the creation of a 2023 memo warning of a potential threat from Catholic “violent extremists” were fired, according to their lawyer.
Confirmation Pledge Versus Current Practice
The contrast with Patel's own earlier statements has not gone unnoticed. As tribtown.com reported, Patel pledged at his confirmation hearing last year that he would not look “backward,” yet he has since encouraged investigation of former senior officials and presided over waves of terminations.
Critics of the director have accused him of politicizing the FBI even as he works to root out what he describes as politicization by others. Those critics have said that punishment of agents involved in investigations of Donald Trump, and politically charged investigations into perceived Trump adversaries, have eroded public faith in the bureau.
For now, the substance of the Patel Report itself remains largely out of public view. What is known is limited to its existence, its classification, and the memo that accompanied it to FBI staff, signed by Raia and Bailey as Bailey's own tenure at the bureau came to a close.
