❓WHAT HAPPENED: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel announced that the bureau is cutting ties with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a relationship forged under indicted former FBI Director James Comey.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: FBI Director Kash Patel, former FBI Director James Comey, the Anti-Defamation League, Elon Musk, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), and the late Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA (TPUSA) organization.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The announcement follows recent backlash against the ADL for its controversial glossary of “extremist” groups, which included TPUSA.
💬KEY QUOTE: “James Comey disgraced the FBI by writing ‘love letters’ to the ADL and embedding agents with an extreme group functioning like a terrorist organization and the disgraceful operation they ran spying on Americans. That was not law enforcement, it was activism dressed up as counterterrorism, and it put Americans in danger,” said Patel.
🎯IMPACT: The FBI’s decision marks a significant shift in policy, distancing itself from the ADL amid widespread criticism of its bias against conservatives.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel has announced that the bureau will sever ties with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a relationship established under former FBI Director James Comey. Patel criticized Comey’s tenure, stating, “James Comey disgraced the FBI by writing ‘love letters’ to the ADL and embedding agents with an extreme group functioning like a terrorist organization and the disgraceful operation they ran spying on Americans.”
Comey had previously declared his “love” for the ADL during a 2017 speech at the organization’s National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., where he referred to a 2014 address as a “love letter to the ADL” and reaffirmed that the FBI was “still in love” with the group. He praised the ADL for its advocacy and partnership with the FBI, concluding the speech with the words, “Love, the FBI.”
The ADL has recently faced significant backlash for its controversial “Glossary of Extremism and Hate,” which included conservative organizations like Turning Point USA (TPUSA), founded and led by assassinated conservative organizer Charlie Kirk. Meanwhile, the ADL defended Antifa, recently designated as a domestic terrorist organization, insisting violence was not “the norm” for the movement.
Following criticism from figures such as Elon Musk and Republican lawmakers, the ADL removed the glossary, citing outdated entries and claiming they were victims of misrepresentation.
Elon Musk called the ADL “a hate group” in response to its classification of TPUSA, while Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) questioned the organization’s motives, stating, “Seems to me like if they don’t agree with you, they will label you a ‘hate group.’”
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