Rep. Jamie Raskin accused FBI Director Kash Patel of authorizing more than $1 million in taxpayer-funded bonus payments to a small circle of loyalist agents, and asked the bureau to turn over records showing why the money was paid. In a 15 June letter, Raskin said the payments appeared to have gone to agents who were simply doing their jobs.
He said some agents received nearly $8,000 every two weeks, and that at least five such payments in consecutive pay periods could amount to close to $40,000 per person. The House judiciary minority committee said FBI reserve accounts set aside for bonus payments were drained, with some payments allegedly bouncing back after the funds were exhausted.
Raskin said the main beneficiaries were agents on Patel’s Director’s Advisory Team, a unit created in 2025 to review internal documents and government materials in ways Democrats have said were meant to expose and discredit federal law enforcement officials who investigated Trump and his allies. He also raised the possibility that payments to agents on Patel’s security detail were meant to keep witnesses silent about Patel’s private conduct.
The letter cited Atlantic reporting that Patel had shown erratic behavior and excessive drinking, allegations he has denied. Patel has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick, and in May told Democratic senators, “I can tell you unequivocally this FBI is targeting and investigating no journalists.”
That leaves the central question untouched: whether the payments were authorized for legitimate work, for political loyalty, or for some other purpose the FBI has not yet explained. Raskin asked for documents tied to the bonuses, but as of the latest reporting the FBI had not responded.
