KQED's Forum With Rare Candor, FBI Employees Sound Alarms about Kash Patel’s Leadership
Jan 26, 2026
Jill Fields, former FBI supervisory intelligence analyst from Los Angeles who resigned over internal shifts. Emily Bazelon, New York Times Magazine writer and investigative reporter. They discuss a radical change in bureau priorities, reassignment and silencing of analysts, politicized investigations, halted civil rights probes, and risks to civil liberties and institutional independence.
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Analyst Resigns Over Protest Investigations
- Jill Fields described being ordered to open an investigation into anti-ICE protesters despite a field finding the activity was First Amendment protected.
- She refused, was sidelined, and ultimately resigned rather than comply with what she saw as unconstitutional work.
Diversion From Complex Investigations
- Emily Bazelon reports FBI staff were pulled from complex investigations into short-term immigration work, reducing specialized capabilities.
- Redirecting experts to immigration stops undermines long-running counterterrorism, cyber, and cartel cases.
Investigation Halted, Agents Resign
- Bazelon described Minneapolis investigators having a civil rights search warrant halted after leadership framed it as inappropriate to pursue.
- That directive prompted resignations and deep distrust about the fairness of the probe into Renee Good's death.