Kash Patel Paying MAGA Loyalists Through FBI ‘Slush Fund’, Democrats Claim
Key takeaways
- FBI Director Kash Patel conducts a news conference at the Department of Justice on April 27.CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Key Facts Rep.
- FBI agents have received as much as $8,000 per pay period on top of their normal salaries, Raskin alleges, which have been paid out for five pay periods so far, amounting up to some $40,000 per person in extra payments.
- The FBI has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Topline Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee told FBI Director Kash Patel on Tuesday they’ve received reports of political allies at the FBI receiving extra taxpayer-funded payments on top of their usual salaries, describing it as a “slush fund,” the latest in a string of controversies Patel has faced at the FBI.
FBI Director Kash Patel conducts a news conference at the Department of Justice on April 27.CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Key Facts Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the House Judiciary Committee’s ranking member, sent a letter to Patel on Tuesday stating the committee has received “troubling reports” of FBI employees closest to Patel receiving bonuses.
Accusing Patel of operating a “personal slush fund” for “loyalist MAGA henchmen,” Raskin said Patel has used the FBI’s fund for bonuses to make approximately $1 million in payments to members of the FBI chief’s “Director’s Advisory Team,” as well as agents on Patel’s security detail.