FBI Under Kash Patel Tests Agents' Trump Loyalty Using Lie Detectors: Report

Last Updated:July 12, 2025, 10:01 IST

Some FBI employees have been pushed out or placed on administrative leave due to earlier investigations that ran afoul of conservatives.

FBI Director Kash Patel

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has significantly expanded its use of polygraph tests—not just for national security, but also to root out internal dissent, reported the New York Times.

Several senior employees were reportedly asked if hey had spoken negatively about FBI director Kash Patel himself, raising alarms over potential misuse of internal vetting to silence criticism.

The FBI has gone through several changes ever since the new administration took charge, particularly under President Trump’s appointees.

Key political figures including Kash Patel and Dan Bongino have played a major role in reshaping the agency, leading to the removal or sidelining of several senior officials, said the NYT report.

Some FBI employees have been pushed out or placed on administrative leave due to earlier investigations that ran afoul of conservatives and a belief that the bureau had been politicised. Many agents have chosen to leave the bureau voluntarily because they fear retaliation from Patel or Bongino, particularly for their involvement in investigations Trump or his allies disapproved of, reported NYT.

This crackdown on leaks appears to be part of a wider effort within the FBI to control internal dissent and prevent negative information from reaching the media.

The nature of the questions suggests that Kash Patel, now heading the FBI, is very sensitive to how he is perceived publicly. So, the internal investigations and polygraph tests may be aimed at identifying and silencing critics within the agency to protect his image.

“An FBI employee’s loyalty is to the Constitution, not to the director or deputy director," James Davidson, a former agent who spent 23 years in the bureau, told the NYT.

“It says everything about Patel’s weak constitution that this is even on his radar," Davidson added.

According to The New York Times, top agents in nearly 40% of FBI field offices have either retired, been removed, or reassigned since the new administration took over. Former Norfolk agent Michael Feinberg said he was threatened with a polygraph over his ties to Peter Strzok, the ex-FBI official involved in the Trump-Russia probe. Feinberg resigned before taking the test.

In Lawfare, he wrote,"Under Patel and Bongino, subject matter expertise and operational competence are readily sacrificed for ideological purity and the ceaseless politicization of the work force (sic)."

Location :

United States of America (USA)

First Published:

News world FBI Under Kash Patel Tests Agents' Trump Loyalty Using Lie Detectors: Report