Meet The Past Fbi Directors Who Make Kash Patel’s Problems Look Like Child’s Play

Since Kash Patel became FBI head a twelvemonth ago, he’s been dogged by controversies complete his activity style, norm-busting reforms and questionable usage of payer dollars.

Patel, a 46-year-old erstwhile nationalist defender and Trump adjutant pinch a penchant for self-promotion, has purged agency staffers seen arsenic disloyal to nan president. He’s been bullied for prematurely publicizing specifications of high-profile investigations connected societal media and for “cosplay” successful tactical gear, drafting comparisons to Kristi Noem, nan fired “ICE Barbie” Homeland Security chief.

Eyebrows person besides been raised complete Patel's usage of government jets for individual trips — including to a Texas ranch and Scottish edifice — positive his determination to supply his state euphony prima woman pinch a SWAT squad information detail.

His behaviour has faced dense scrutiny from Democrats, immoderate of whom person called for him to beryllium fired. Last month, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, accused Patel of “beyond nan pale” misconduct. A number of existent and erstwhile FBI unit person besides said he is “in complete his head” and has near nan bureau “rudderless.”

An FBI spokesperson refuted allegations against Patel to The Independent. The head has defended himself connected societal media, calling nan disapproval “baseless” and vowing to enactment “laser-focused” connected “rebuilding this Bureau from nan crushed up.”

Yet, he is hardly nan first FBI head to look aggravated scrutiny — and demands for his dismissal. Over nan past century, galore successful nan apical rule enforcement domiciled person weathered charges of overt partisanship, blatant corruption, civilian liberties abuses and different superior missteps. Here’s a look backmost astatine immoderate of nan FBI’s astir arguable directors.

Alexander B. Bielaski: 1912 - 1919

In 1912, Alexander Bielaski took nan helm of nan Bureau of Investigation, which was established by President Theodore Roosevelt 4 years earlier successful bid to combat rampant corruption during America's accelerated industrialization.

Bielaski, who began arsenic a typical examiner successful Oklahoma and worked his measurement up nan ladder to nan apical job, presided complete a seven-year era of “mass civilian liberty violations,” Douglas M. Charles, a Penn State history professor who has published respective books connected nan FBI, told The Independent.

When World War I collapsed out, nan agency carried retired “Slacker Raids” aimed astatine rooting retired draught dodgers. The bureau, past only staffed by a fistful of people, relied connected volunteers pinch clone badges to harass and detain Americans without draught cards. Bielaski wasn’t needfully corrupt, Charles noted, but nan agency lacked civilian oversight, and things easy sewage retired of control.

“Congress started to push back, and Bielaski resigned astatine nan extremity of nan warfare perchance complete unit from this,” Charles said.

William J. Flynn: 1919 - 1921

William J. Flynn, a New Yorker and erstwhile Secret Service agent, took complete from Bielaski.

At nan time, nan bureau’s head was appointed by nan lawyer general, not nominated by nan president. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer praised his appointee arsenic “an rebel chaser.”

America successful nan early 1920s was experiencing its first activity of nan “Red Scare” — a play of heightened worry astir communism — and wide labour strikes fueled fears of a gyration among firm barons. In response, Flynn’s FBI began rounding up for foreigners to deport them.

“Flynn was fixed free reign to execute this arsenic he saw fit,” Charles said. “He and Palmer created a ‘Radical division’ successful nan FBI headed by J. Edgar Hoover. And they each wantonly violated people’s authorities successful their anti-anarchist work.”

In 1921, Flynn resigned, citing backstage business matters that needed attention.

“Certainly by that constituent Americans were seeing nan Red Scare abuses,” Charles said.

William J. Burns: 1921 - 1924

In 1921, William Burns — a backstage detective dubbed "American Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Conan Doyle — assumed office. Before taking complete nan agency, he was celebrated from publishing "true" crime tales successful magazines and being a fixture of nine rumors columns.

Though an inveterate self-promoter, Burns proved a tin leader who modernized nan early FBI, introducing exertion for illustration fingerprinting, targeting nan Ku Klux Klan, probing Native American murders, and hiring nan bureau's first female and Black agents.

But he besides liberally utilized wiretaps, precocious nan interests of his boss, Attorney General Harry Daugherty, and prosecuted senators investigating nan Teapot Dome Scandal — a headline-grabbing bribery lawsuit — to intimidate them.

“Burns was rightly fired, he was corrupt moreover if his bequest is mixed,” Charles said.

J. Edgar Hoover: 1924 - 1972

Perhaps nan astir notorious FBI head - whose sanction unsocial is practically synonymous pinch nan accumulation and maltreatment of powerfulness - was J. Edgar Hoover.

“The evident and #1 answer, of course, is Hoover,” Charles said, erstwhile asked which head was nan astir controversial.

When Hoover became director, nan bureau still had a humble domiciled successful national rule enforcement. But upon President Franklin Roosevelt’s inauguration successful 1933, everything changed. A number of caller criminal laws were passed, expanding nan scope of nan FBI, including permitting agents to make arrests and transportation guns.

In 1936, Roosevelt beseeched Hoover to covertly analyse communism and fascism — and he ran pinch this directive.

Over nan pursuing decades, he secretly gathered accusation connected a wide swath of American society. Deploying agents to behaviour wiretaps and break-ins, Hoover targeted civilian authorities and anti-war groups, leftists, and cheery people, moreover compiling dossiers connected politicians and celebrities for blackmail, including John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lennon.

Hoover led nan agency for astir half a century, serving 8 presidents, respective of whom contemplated removing him. But he yet near agency connected his ain terms: his decease successful 1972.

L. Patrick Gray: 1972 - 1973

In 1972, President Richard Nixon designated L. Patrick Gray, a Missouri-born lawyer and Naval Academy graduate, arsenic nan bureau’s acting director, a position he held for little than a year.

“When Hoover died successful 1972, [Nixon] saw an opportunity to instal a governmental toady arsenic director. That was Gray, Nixon’s friend and long-time loyalist,” Charles said.

Gray infamously tried to put a lid connected nan FBI’s Watergate investigation and moreover burned nan contents of a Watergate conspirator’s safe. He besides fired those who resisted his leadership, starring FBI officials to decry it arsenic a purge.

“Gray tried to power nan FBI and move it to Nixon’s interests, but he butted up against 48 years of Hoover civilization astatine nan FBI,” Charles said. He yet resigned owed to heavy soul guidance and admitted to destroying documents. In 1978, he was indicted for allegedly signing disconnected connected warrantless break-ins, but charges were dismissed nan pursuing year.

James Comey: 2013 - 2017

More caller board person besides stirred contention including James Comey, who helmed nan agency from 2013 to 2017.

Comey, a erstwhile U.S. lawyer for nan Southern District of New York, came nether occurrence for announcing he was reopening a probe into Hillary Clinton’s emails, 11 days earlier nan 2016 predetermination against Donald Trump. During a property conference, he described Clinton’s handling of classified worldly connected her backstage server arsenic “extremely careless,” but said nary reasonable charismatic would bring a case. Critics said his remarks apt played a domiciled successful Trump winning nan presidency.

“In nan post-Hoover/Watergate norms, nan FBI head pointedly sought to enactment retired of politics. Comey grounded astatine that task by placing nan FBI squarely successful nan 2016 statesmanlike predetermination successful respect to Hillary Clinton,” Charles said.

Comey subsequently said he agonized complete whether aliases not to make nan investigation public. “It made maine mildly nauseous to deliberation that we mightiness person had immoderate effect connected nan election, but honestly, it wouldn’t alteration nan decision,” he told lawmakers successful 2017.

After Trump’s inauguration, Comey claimed nan caller president asked him to promise his loyalty. After Comey grounded to do so, he was fired. Trump past nominated Christopher Wray arsenic FBI director, who held nan domiciled from 2017 to 2025.

Wray “fit nan ‘norms’ model,” Charles said. “And we spot what happened pinch that norm pinch nan emergence of Patel.”