FBI's Kash Patel era: Officials witness polygraph crackdowns and loyalty tests - spark controversy

Since taking over as FBI director, Kash Patel has dramatically increased the use of polygraph tests inside the bureau, not just to vet security risks, but to root out internal dissent. Under his watch, the lie detector has become a controversial tool wielded not only to enforce secrecy, but also to gauge loyalty, with employees reportedly grilled on whether they’ve criticized Patel himself, according to a report by New York Times.

Former FBI officials say the practice signals a troubling shift: from protecting national security to policing personal allegiance.

"An FBI employee's loyalty is to the Constitution, not to the director or deputy director. It says everything about Patel's weak constitution that this is even on his radar," NYT quoted saying James Davidson, a former FBI agent.

Why polygraphs are popping off at FBI?

Since taking over as FBI director, Patel has significantly increased the use of polygraph examinations within the agency, traditionally reserved for national security vetting or serious internal investigations. But under Patel’s leadership, the lie detector has reportedly been deployed more aggressively, with some tests including questions as specific as whether an employee had made negative remarks about Patel himself.

According to multiple current and former officials, the bureau has subjected dozens of employees to polygraph tests in connection with an internal effort to identify leaks to the media and to gauge internal criticism. One notable example involved attempts to trace a leak about Patel’s unusual request for a service weapon, despite not being a sworn FBI agent.

FBI has refused to comment citing "personnel matters and internal deliberations," according to NYT.

Is it Patel's Trump card?

The polygraph crackdown is just one symptom of a broader reshaping of FBI under Donald Trump’s second-term appointees. Since Patel assumed leadership, numerous officials who were involved in past investigations disfavored by conservatives have been sidelined, reassigned, or placed on administrative leave.

Nearly 40% of the FBI's field offices have seen leadership turnover, with top agents either retiring, being reassigned, or pushed out, according to NYT.

Observers say Patel, along with deputy director Dan Bongino, is executing a top-down restructuring designed to purge perceived ideological opponents and consolidate control. Bongino himself has acknowledged "dramatic personnel changes" and an “enterprise-wide reorganization,” framing them as necessary reforms.

The list of high-ranking departures includes respected veterans, such as Tonya Ugoretz, who was removed after questioning the reliability of a politically sensitive intelligence report on Chinese interference in the 2020 election. Other officials left preemptively, concerned about retaliation tied to prior investigations, such as FBI’s 2016 probe into Trump’s Russia ties.

'Ceaseless politicization of the workforce'

Beyond the reassignments and resignations, FBI under Patel has faced criticism for cultivating a workplace environment defined by distrust. Polygraph questions aimed at identifying internal critics have left many agents uneasy, especially as even casual associations, such as a friendship with a former official on Patel’s 'enemies list', can draw scrutiny.

Michael Feinberg, a former top FBI agent in Norfolk, Virginia, said he was pressured to take a polygraph test over his friendship with Peter Strzok, a key figure in the Trump-Russia investigation and a target in Patel's book "Government Gangsters." Feinberg alleged the directive came from Patel’s deputy, Bongino, and warned it reflected a broader push to prioritize loyalty over expertise within the bureau.

"Under Patel and Bongino, subject matter expertise and operational competence are readily sacrificed for ideological purity and the ceaseless politicization of the workforce," Feinberg wrote, who resigned before taking the polygraph.

He added that in order to keep the job, he was "expected to grovel, beg forgiveness and pledge loyalty as part of the FBI's cultural revolution brought about by Patel and Bongino's accession to the highest echelons of American law enforcement and intelligence."