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An FBI spokesman tore into the media on Wednesday for claiming a string of recent firings at the bureau were detrimental to its work on Iran, alleging the reports were poorly sourced and “total BS.”
Ben Williamson, FBI assistant director of public affairs, excoriated CBS News and MS Now on social media after their reporting raised alarm about FBI Director Kash Patel’s recent decision to fire about a dozen employees for allegedly violating their ethics and the bureau’s mission.
The spokesman accused the media of attempting to stir up worries that the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency was ill-prepared to combat threats Iran posed to the United States in the wake of President Donald Trump launching a war against the country on Saturday.
“I can play the ‘sources’ game too – the difference is mine know what they’re talking about,” Williamson wrote, saying he spoke with several FBI executives and supervisors who confirmed that “only 3” of those fired worked on Iran matters.
His remark came in response to a CBS News report that a source called the firings “‘devastating’ to the FBI’s Iran program and said that these agents have confidential informants in the U.S.-Iranian community who are not replaceable.”
Williamson said that characterization was “total BS,” adding the FBI “surges resources and personnel from all over the country to prepare for these things.”
The firings occurred last week after Patel revealed that his and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles’ phone records were subpoenaed as part of the Biden Department of Justice’s sweeping investigations into President Donald Trump and his allies. While the subpoena documents have not been made public, Patel and Wiles were private citizens at the time and known witnesses in the Department of Justice’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents.
The Biden FBI also recorded a phone call between Wiles and her lawyer in 2023 with her lawyer’s permission, unbeknownst to Wiles, two law enforcement sources said. A lawyer representing Wiles at the time disputed that claim, telling Axios he was unaware of a call with his client being recorded.
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Most of those Patel fired worked on the classified documents probe and the majority worked in counterintelligence, a source familiar with the firings told Fox News Digital.
Williamson wrote on X that ahead of the terminations, the FBI had a “record year” in counterintelligence in 2024, notching 35% more arrests than the prior year and capturing six fugitives on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” list. The spokesman said the operations were “not something run by three people out of one unit” and that the media reports were a “transparent spin job by people mad about firings.”
Asked for comment, Williamson pointed to his public remarks.
Fox News Digital reached out to MS Now and CBS News for comment on Wednesday, but did not immediately receive replies.
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Patel’s firings have drawn praise from some in Trump’s base who say the Biden DOJ and FBI abused their authority to target Trump while he was running for president and that the terminations represent overdue accountability.
The firings, however, have also drawn condemnation from critics, including the FBI Agents Association (FBIAA), which represents thousands of employees and has maintained that agents’ actions are typically the result of following orders within a chain of command.
“The FBIAA condemns [the Feb. 25] unlawful termination of FBI Special Agents, which—like other firings by Director Patel—violates the due process rights of those who risk their lives to protect our country,” the FBIAA said. “These actions weaken the Bureau by stripping away critical expertise and destabilizing the workforce, undermining trust in leadership and jeopardizing the Bureau’s ability to meet its recruitment goals—ultimately putting the nation at greater risk.”
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