Two veteran FBI counterterrorism supervisors have been removed from their jobs after a disagreement over an investigation involving alleged harassing phone calls made to the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, multiple people familiar with the matter told MS NOW.
The FBI on Saturday confirmed the demotions.
The special agent in charge of counterterrorism in the FBI’s Washington field office, Michael Burgwald, and his deputy, Courtland Rae, each have deep national security experience.
Burgwald is a West Point graduate who won an award for his role in a counterterrorism case in 2016. Rae worked on the Boston Marathon bombing case. Both were involved in investigating the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The sources, including former FBI officials briefed on the matter, said Burgwald had already drawn the ire of FBI Director Kash Patel over a series of disagreements. But those sources, who were granted anonymity to speak about sensitive matters, said the final straw came after the Washington field office’s counterterrorism section was asked to conduct a threat assessment on a person believed to have been making harassing phone calls to Miller’s wife, conservative podcaster Katie Miller.
The unusual request was greeted with disdain inside the FBI, the sources said. “Harassing phone calls aren’t even in the ballpark of terrorism unless an actual terrorist is doing the dialing,” said one former FBI official briefed on the matter.
Darren Cox, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, insisted the decision to demote the two seasoned FBI agents did not come from the top.
“Director Patel did not order this decision. 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.”
Miller and Patel were displeased after Burgwald and Rae questioned the legality and legitimacy of the request, the sources said. Darren Cox, the head of the Washington field office, then ordered the removal of the two men from their jobs, the sources said. They have been demoted and transferred back to headquarters, the sources added.
The demotions were first reported by Bloomberg News. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The actions are the latest examples of experienced counterterrorism agents being sidelined or pushed out of the bureau entirely, leading FBI veterans to question whether the bureau’s capabilities to prevent terrorism have been significantly weakened. Many other experienced agents have retired earlier than planned, saying they could not work at an FBI that has been politicized.
The Millers moved last fall from an Arlington home to military housing amid an investigation into alleged threats made against them.
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