FBI Director Kash Patel declared on Wednesday that the agency has severed its association with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), accusing former FBI chief James Comey of “embedding” agents within the organization to monitor American citizens.
Patel’s move to end the bureau’s relationship with the ADL comes amid criticisms the group has faced for including the late founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, in its “Glossary of Extremism and Hate.”
This decision also follows last week’s grand jury indictment of Comey for allegedly providing false testimony to Congress.
“James Comey wrote ‘love letters’ to the ADL and embedded FBI agents within them – a group involved in disgraceful operations surveilling Americans,” Patel tweeted.
“That era is OVER,” he asserted. “This FBI will not align with political organizations posing as watchdogs.”
In a 2014 speech, Comey expressed his “love” for the ADL and emphasized the group’s extensive collaboration with the FBI.
“If this sounds a bit like a love letter to the ADL, it certainly is, and rightly so,” Comey said during remarks at the ADL’s National Leadership Summit in 2014.
“Your expertise in hate crime prevention and investigations is vital,” Comey noted, highlighting how ADL research has “assisted agents and analysts” with threat assessments and intelligence reports.
He continued to commend the ADL for its “leadership in tracking and exposing domestic and international terrorist threats,” calling it “invaluable.”
The former FBI chief also pointed out that the bureau “collaborates with the ADL to provide training on civil rights and hate crimes for our state and local partners,” including a mandatory “Law Enforcement and Society” curriculum for new recruits.
Comey revealed that since 2010, over 105 training sessions conducted by the ADL on extremism, terrorism, and hate crimes have involved FBI personnel across 17 states and the District of Columbia. He also noted their cooperative effort in creating a “Hate Crimes Training Manual” for law enforcement.
In 2017, Comey reiterated his enthusiasm during an ADL conference, saying, “From the FBI perspective, our affection remains steadfast.”
“We are not only educating ourselves but also collaborating with the ADL to foster connections in the communities we serve,” he concluded, stating, “With love, the FBI.”
Recent outrage from billionaire Elon Musk and conservative figures followed the ADL’s classification of Kirk’s organization in its now-retracted “Extremism and Hate” index.
The ADL accused Kirk, who was tragically killed by a sniper last month, of endorsing “Christian nationalism” and making “problematic comments.”
On Tuesday, the organization announced it would be retiring the glossary, claiming its entries were being “intentionally distorted and misused.”
“The FBI was relying on ADL’s ‘hate group’ definitions, which is why the FBI was investigating Charlie Kirk and Turning Point instead of his assailants,” Musk remarked in a post on X.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released unclassified FBI documents last month revealing that Turning Point USA was among nearly 100 Republican-aligned organizations investigated during the FBI’s “Artic Frost” operation following the 2020 election.
In response to Patel’s announcement, the ADL affirmed its “deep respect for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the law enforcement professionals at every level across the country who work tirelessly every day to safeguard all Americans, regardless of background.”
The statement concluded, “In the face of an alarming increase in antisemitism, we are more committed than ever to our fundamental mission of safeguarding the Jewish community.”
The FBI has yet to respond to The Post’s request for a statement.
