Two veteran FBI agents overseeing counterterrorism operations in the nation’s capital have been removed from their jobs and reassigned over the handling of an investigation involving Katie Miller, the conservative podcaster and wife of senior White House adviser Stephen Miller, according to two people familiar with the move.
Michael Burgwald, the special agent in charge of counterterrorism matters at the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and his deputy, Courtland Rae, were ousted from their positions by bureau leadership after investigators determined that allegedly harassing phone calls Katie Miller received from unknown individuals did not warrant further investigation, the sources said.
The field office team that reviewed the reported harassing calls determined they did not meet the threshold required for an FBI investigation, and no nexus to terrorism was identified, the sources said. This decision did not sit well with bureau leadership, and the two senior field office agents were removed from their positions, according to the sources.
Since taking office last year, FBI director Kash Patel — a fierce loyalist of President Donald Trump — has fired, demoted, or forced into retirement countless career employees who handled past investigations into Trump and his allies. Many of those forced out have filed lawsuits seeking reinstatement.
In a statement on an official FBI “Rapid Response” social media account established to tout the agency and respond to critics, Darren Cox, the senior executive who oversees the bureau’s DC office, confirmed the ousting of Burgwald and Rae, but denied the order came from Patel.
“This was a personnel decision made at the Washington field office level alone based on our constant evaluation of mission needs,” Cox said. “Any suggestion otherwise is false.”
CNN is attempting to locate contact information for Burgwald and Rae. The decision to remove them from their positions has riled many rank and file FBI employees who have been critical of personnel moves they view as highly politicized, sources said.
Burgwald graduated from the United States Military Academy West Point and was the recipient of FBI investigative awards, while Rae similarly rose through the ranks of the organization after a lengthy career in national security, sources said.
The reassignment of the two senior officials was first reported by Bloomberg Law.
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. In a statement to Bloomberg Law, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said Stephen and Katie Miller had no interaction with Burgwald or Rae, adding, “Senior leadership at the FBI determined they were stifling investigations into very serious threats and made a unilateral decision to remove them.”
Still, there is a history of the Millers expressing their displeasure at the FBI’s handling of personal incidents they viewed as threatening in nature. According to people familiar with an incident last year, the couple grew irate with FBI officials over pushback by career agents to use bureau resources to investigate paper flyers critical of Stephen Miller that were posted in the family’s neighborhood. Like several senior Trump officials, the couple later moved into military housing.
By BBC News
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