Robert Gamer: Author & Activist

Putting Kash Patel in charge of the FBI is like handing the nuclear codes to a guy who just got his learner’s permit. With zero experience in law enforcement and a résumé steeped in partisan loyalty, Patel’s appointment isn’t just unqualified—it’s dangerous.

Patel holds a certificate in international law from the Institute of Comparative Law and a JD from Pace University—but those credentials underscore, rather than obscure, the stark reality: his appointment as FBI director is a political maneuver, not one based on any relevant qualifications in law enforcement. With no experience in policing or intelligence operations, Patel now leads the nation’s principal federal law enforcement and domestic intelligence agency. The decision is akin to plucking a passenger from a commercial flight and handing over the controls of a 747. The result? A nosedive into chaos.

Patel, a loyalist placed in power to execute the will of the president, has wasted no time. According to MSNBC, the new director is already working to dismantle the traditional separation between the FBI and the White House. Reports suggest Patel has even discussed creating a direct hotline to the president—raising alarms about the erosion of the bureau’s long-standing independence.

The FBI is, by design, an apolitical agency. Its intelligence operations fall under the purview of the Director of National Intelligence, and its budget and activities are subject to oversight by multiple congressional committees. History provides cautionary tales: when then-President Donald Trump pressed acting FBI Director James Comey to show “loyalty” and to drop the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, he overstepped his authority—an act many considered impeachable, save for a later Supreme Court ruling that granted presidents sweeping immunity for official acts.

Patel has further cemented his controversial leadership by naming Dan Bongino as deputy director. A conservative commentator and former Secret Service agent, Bongino, like Patel, has no background in criminal investigations or intelligence. As WNBC reports, Bongino has labeled the FBI “irredeemably corrupt” and has proposed mass firings at a time when domestic security threats are escalating.

His rhetoric toward political opponents is no less inflammatory. He has described liberals as “pure, unadulterated evil,” and, as an election denier, has suggested that the FBI played a role in instigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

As for Patel himself, WNBC reports he has confused the basic definitions of intelligence and counterintelligence—an alarming lapse for someone tasked with managing both. In a grim twist, even the controversial legacy of J. Edgar Hoover—who notoriously wiretapped Martin Luther King Jr.—now appears to outshine Patel in terms of basic competence and institutional restraint.

With Patel at the helm, the FBI faces the threat of internal implosion. His glaring lack of qualifications suggests that even a street hustler running a shell game might inspire more public confidence in protecting national security.