(Headline USA) The veteran FBI agent tapped to serve as acting director following the departure of Christopher Wray and his deputy director, Paul Abbate, was the commanding officer responsible for the raid on Mar-a-Lago, according to deep-state whistleblower Kyle Seraphin.
So the new Acting Director of the @FBI Brian Driscoll was the Commander/Section Chief of the Hostage Rescue Team that raided Mar-a-Lago in August of 2022. That checks. https://t.co/y5HPOdPayJ pic.twitter.com/wvGZDy1ykp
— Kyle Seraphin (@KyleSeraphin) January 20, 2025
Brian Driscoll was tapped to lead the FBI pending the Senate confirmation of Kash Patel, who is President Donald Trump’s pick for director.
Patel’s is expected to be one of the more contentious confirmations. He has repeatedly criticized FBI leadership and decision-making, and has alarmed Democrats with statements that suggest he would be willing to use the FBI to hold those accountable who waged political warfare on Trump and his supporters, often using the justice system to do so.
Meanwhile, the bureau’s personnel moves called to mind the previous efforts it took to sabotage Trump at the start of his first presidential term, suggesting it may once again attempt to ‘Trump-proof’ its more sensitive operations and undermine the Republican administration from the inside.
Obama operative Sally Yates, who had been part of the secretive White House meetings about weaponizing the FBI against the incoming administration, spent the first 10 days of Trump’s presidency in 2017 as the acting attorney general before she was fired for insubordination after refusing to enforce a travel ban on terrorist countries.
By then, the damage was already done. Under Yates’s watch, FBI agents were dispatched to set a perjury trap for National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, which ultimately led to an article by Washington Post columnist (and suspected CIA plant) David Ignatius, setting in motion the Russia-collusion hoax that plagued Trump for his first three years in office.
While Trump-appointed immigration attorney James McHenry is currently serving as the acting attorney general, pending the Senate confirmation of Pam Bondi, the FBI’s play to install a potential Trump adversary who had rummaged through First Lady Melania Trump’s underwear drawer presented major red flags.
Driscoll’s appointment came hours after Abbate, who served for the last four years as Wray’s deputy and had been in line to serve as acting director, told colleagues in an email that he was retiring.
“When the Director asked me to stay on past my mandatory date for a brief time, I did so to help ensure continuity and the best transition for the FBI,” Abbate wrote in the email, which was obtained by the Associated Press. “Now, with new leadership inbound, after nearly four years in the deputy role, I am departing the FBI today.”
Abbate’s email did not identify who might succeed him, but the White House included Driscoll on a list of officials being tapped to lead agencies on an acting basis. Driscoll was named by Wray last week as special agent in charge of the Newark field office and before that had served as commander of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, which reportedly conducted the Mar-a-Lago raid.
Wray’s final day was Sunday, making Abbate acting director, though he only stayed in the role for a day.
Abbate held a variety of leadership roles in his nearly three-decade career at the FBI, including head of the bureau’s Detroit and Washington field offices and executive assistant director for the criminal, cyber, response and services branch. He was named deputy director, the No. 2 position responsible for the FBI’s investigative activities, in 2021.
“As you move forward, continue to stay true to our core values, be there for our partners, and take care of those who serve alongside you. Thank you for your service,” Abbate wrote.
Wray was named by Trump during his first term and had been director for more than seven years. Wray announced his retirement last month, more than a week after Trump said he wanted Patel to be the director.
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
