WASHINGTON, D.C. — FBI Director Kash Patel, issued a forceful internal memo Monday rejecting a CNN report that alleged the agency planned to reassign up to one-third of its agents to the FBI.
The message, distributed to ATF personnel, was in response to a CNN article claiming that more than 1,000 ATF special agents could be transferred and that the leadership shifted direction after media coverage. Patel called the report “entirely false.”
Key Points
- CNN reported ATF leadership planned to reassign up to one-third of its agents to the FBI.
- ATF Acting Director Kash Patel dismissed the claim, calling it “entirely false.”
- Patel emphasized operational decisions are made internally, not influenced by media reports.
“The fake news will NEVER be responsible for operational command authority over the ATF, we are,” Patel wrote. He affirmed the agency’s mission to restore trust in federal law enforcement and said all decisions are made with security and constitutional rights in mind.
Patel emphasized that decisions regarding ATF personnel would not be influenced by “CNN or any other news organization.”
He concluded by pledging continued internal reform and a commitment to rooting out corruption, calling the ATF workforce “a critical part of that mission.”