Inside the Leaked FBI Dossier That Rocked Washington

 

 

A Bureau in Turmoil: Inside the Leaked FBI Dossier That Rocked Washington

WASHINGTON [IFS] — The leak hit like a thunderclap.  A 115-page internal report — a blistering, profanity-laced indictment of FBI leadership under Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino — quietly surfaced in the inbox of New York Post columnist Miranda Devine, a Trump-aligned media figure. Within hours, its contents were national news, igniting political tempers, congressional fury, internal anxiety, and a fresh round of speculation about the stability of America’s top law-enforcement agency.

And while the targeting of a Trump-friendly journalist instantly fueled whispers that the leak was orchestrated from the top, there is no evidence that Donald Trump himself engineered the document’s release or sought to weaponize it to remove Patel.

Instead, what the report reveals is something both simpler and more combustible: a bureau fragmenting under its own leadership.

A Scathing Dossier From Within

Compiled for ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, the dossier draws on testimony from 24 anonymous current and former FBI agents. Their accounts describe an agency “all f--ked up,” a “rudderless ship,” and a leadership team preoccupied with “personal résumés” and social-media celebrity over institutional competence.

The agents paint a picture of a top floor with thin experience and thinner patience, a place where strategic direction has evaporated while public posturing — including podcast appearances and online engagement — has quietly filled the vacuum.

The dossier’s unmistakable conclusion: the crisis begins at the top.

A Leak With Intent — or Just a Leak?

Miranda Devine, known for her conservative commentary and for hosting the Trump-world-friendly podcast “Pod Force One,” was the first to publish the report’s contents. The leak’s destination — a journalist trusted inside Trump’s circle — instantly raised eyebrows across Washington.

If the dossier was meant to exert pressure, Devine was a precise and unmistakable choice.

But despite the chatter, officials and sources have offered no confirmation about who handed the report to her or why. Investigators and congressional staff say the most plausible explanation remains the simplest: dissatisfied insiders within the FBI wanted the world — and Congress — to know just how dire things had become.

Congress Responds With Fury

The leak’s timing only sharpened its political edge.

The dossier was finalized just as Patel and Bongino faced intensifying oversight from both judiciary committees. Its conclusion was direct and unusually blunt for an internal review: it “effectively demands Patel’s firing before he appears again before the Congressional Judiciary Committees for questioning.”

Lawmakers who received the report privately acknowledged its impact. Several staffers described the leak as “explosive,” “destabilizing,” and “impossible to ignore.” Whether by design or by fate, its release forced Congress to confront the bureau’s internal fractures in full public view.

The White House Pushes Back — Hard

If the leak was intended to trigger a high-profile firing, the White House sprinted to shut down that narrative.

Within hours of the story spreading, administration spokespeople issued categorical denials. Patel was not being removed, they insisted. The rumors were “totally false.” Patel, they repeated, is a “critical member” of the administration who is “doing an excellent job.”

Trump himself — facing questions about whether he desired Patel’s ouster — took a public stance backing his FBI director. Patel is a loyalist, and the president made clear he intended to keep him.

The messaging was unmistakable: despite the leak, despite the uproar, there would be no firing.

Patel, Bongino, and the Shadow of Prior Controversy

This is not the first time leadership changes involving Patel have triggered a frenzy.

In April 2025, Patel was briefly and without announcement removed from his temporary post as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The White House insisted the shift was a routine, short-term reassignment — but the episode sparked speculation about instability within Trump-era federal law-enforcement leadership.

Now, Patel holds the confirmed directorship of the FBI, with Bongino serving as his deputy — and both are under more scrutiny than ever.

Trump Did Not Orchestrate the Leak

Despite the swirl of suspicion, no factual evidence supports the claim that Trump personally used a “podcaster of choice” to launch a targeted leak campaign aimed at firing Patel.

The information inside the leaked dossier originated from agents themselves — insiders dissatisfied with the bureau’s direction and seeking to expose the problem.

Multiple reports also highlight the fact that the White House actively worked against any narrative that Trump sought Patel’s removal, going to unusual lengths to emphasize the director’s job security.

In Washington, leaks often come with agendas. This one may well have — but not a presidential one.

A Crisis Still Unfolding

The leak has done precisely what leaks so often do: erode trust, heighten tensions, and expose previously hidden fractures inside the federal government’s most sensitive institution. Whether Patel and Bongino can steady a bureau that some inside describe as broken remains unclear.

What is clear is that Washington will not forget this leak anytime soon — nor the portrait it painted of an FBI struggling under pressure, navigating internal revolt, political suspicion, and a storm of public scrutiny.

The dossier is out. The questions are multiplying. And the leadership of the FBI now faces its toughest test yet.

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