By Steve Neavling
The FBI has pushed out or reassigned three senior agents, raising new concerns about political retaliation under Director Kash Patel, a Trump ally who has vowed to reshape the bureau, The New York Times reports.
Among those targeted are Spencer Evans and Stanley Meador, who led field offices in Las Vegas and Richmond, Virginia, and Michael Feinberg, a top deputy in Norfolk. Sources familiar with the matter say the decisions appear politically motivated, driven by ties to critics of the Trump administration or past decisions that angered conservatives.
Feinberg, who resigned in late May, said he was told he would be demoted for maintaining a friendship with Peter Strzok, the former counterintelligence agent fired in 2018 over anti-Trump texts.
“I was informed that… I should actually steel myself to be demoted,” Feinberg wrote in a public statement. The FBI also intended to subject him to a polygraph over the relationship, which he said was strictly personal.
He said the agency offered no explanation of what policy he had violated, adding that remaining with the FBI was “no longer tenable.”
Meador came under fire last year after his office issued a memo warning of potential threats from “radical-traditionalist” Catholics. A Justice Department review found the memo violated standards but showed no “malicious intent.” Nonetheless, Meador was placed on leave and is expected to retire.
Evans, a former deputy assistant director for human resources, was accused of denying COVID vaccine religious exemptions, drawing criticism from conservative former agents. Though he initially kept his position after Patel took over, he has since been forced to relocate to Huntsville, Ala., against his will.
The FBI declined to comment.
Critics say the changes under Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, reflect the same politicization the pair long decried. Former and current agents say experienced officials are being sidelined for political reasons and that the bureau’s leadership is targeting perceived enemies to appease Trump loyalists.
