FBI assures Congress it is investigating leakers inside the bureau

FBI leadership has informed a key House leader in a letter dated Tuesday and sent Wednesday that the bureau is investigating leaks within the FBI, vowing that “there will be consequences” if the bureau unearths any misconduct.

Just the News has learned that a senior FBI official assured Congressman Clay Higgins, R-La., in the letter that FBI Director Kash Patel has made it clear that “leaks will not be tolerated.” This comes after Just the News reported early this week that the FBI has launched an investigation into “dishonest leakers” inside the bureau who have recently pushed “false information” to the media. 

Higgins is the chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement, and urged the FBI and other federal agencies in late February to hold “deep-state leakers” accountable. Just the News was allowed to read the letter, but at the source's request they remain unnamed and the letter itself will remain out of public view.

The FBI letter to Higgins informed the congressman that “the FBI shares your concern about the risk associated with any leaks of law enforcement sensitive information” and that “the FBI has launched an investigation into ‘leakers’ inside the Bureau” because “leaks undermine the FBI's mission as the nation's premiere law enforcement institution in the nation and put our brave agents at risk.”

Leaks may be putting ICE actions in danger

FBI spokesman Ben Williamson declined to elaborate further on investigative details, but told Just the News that “we will continue to hold individuals spreading false information and undermining the FBI’s mission accountable, and we will work with Congress on these efforts.”

Higgins had sent a letter to Patel in late February informing him that his subcommittee “is investigating leaks of law enforcement sensitive information about complex targeted immigration enforcement actions” conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with assistance from the FBI and other agencies. Higgins added that “the leaked plans tipped off dangerous criminals about imminent law enforcement actions, enabling them to evade apprehension and perpetuate the threat they pose to national security and the American public.”

Border Czar Tom Homan has confirmed that planned ICE operations have been leaked to targets of criminal deportation, including the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, which was designated a terrorist organization by the Trump administration. Homan said on Fox News that he believes some of the leaks came from within the FBI. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recently announced that the Department of Homeland Security has identified staffers who leaked information about ICE raids.

The FBI’s latest letter to Higgins promised that “we will continue to aggressively pursue allegations of misconduct regarding FBI employees” and that “whenever the FBI uncovers any evidence of employee misconduct, there will be consequences.”

“The FBI is working with the Department of Justice to determine if there is any information relevant to the subject of your letter,” the senior FBI official assured Higgins. “The FBI will continue to comply with any requests for further information from the Department of Justice on this subject.”

Targeting leaks to media

FBI sources told Just the News earlier this week that its investigation of media leaks will be wide in scope and aggressive in finding those who have or will share what the sources characterized as misleading and inaccurate information with the press, with the sources saying the probe could include the seizure of phones, polygraph tests and criminal referrals.

Using law enforcement to investigate media leaks is almost an Oval Office tradition. President John F. Kennedy had the CIA tap a New York Times reporter's phone in 1963 and Richard Nixon infamously had the FBI surveil a London Sunday Times reporter in 1970. In 2018 the Associated Press reported that President Obama "[U]sed the 1917 Espionage Act with unprecedented vigor, prosecuting more people under that law for leaking sensitive information to the public than all previous administrations combined." 

The Wall Street Journal published an article in late February titled “Kash Patel’s Whirlwind Start at the FBI.” Patel was confirmed last month to run the FBI in a 51-to-49 vote by the Senate. The FBI this week cancelled its subscription to the Wall Street Journal, which had published a number of recent articles about the bureau based on anonymous sources. The WSJ published another story citing “people familiar” with the matter saying Patel asked for a secure land line to bypass Attorney General Pam Bondi and connect directly with Trump’s Oval Office. Williamson called this “BS.”

Use of unnamed sources stirs the pot

The outlet also reported that “people familiar” told the outlet that “Patel has inquired about hiring his own private security detail. The director already gets a retinue of FBI agents tasked with ensuring his safety, but Patel asked about having a separate detail, in an apparent suggestion that he didn’t fully trust the FBI agents.” The FBI's Williamson told Just the News that this claim was simply not true.

The Wall Street Journal, again citing “people familiar” with the matter, also wrote on Friday that “in briefings, senior Justice Department officials have focused on immigration and gang violence, top Trump priorities, and have fewer questions about the threats from China and Russia that used to dominate the meetings.” The outlet did not respond to a request for comment from Just the News.

Williamson again said that claim was “absolutely false” as well.