FBI leadership removed two counterterrorism leaders due to dissatisfaction with their investigation of allegedly threatening phone calls made to senior White House aide Stephen Miller’s wife, said three people familiar with the matter.
The head of the FBI Washington Field Office’s counterterrorism division — which is responsible for Middle East threats — and his deputy were both demoted and sent to bureau headquarters Friday, said the individuals.
The orders from the bureau’s DC chief Darren Cox stemmed from frustration shared by the Miller family that the field office was moving slowly in probing allegedly harassing phone messages left with prominent conservative podcaster, Katie Miller, added the people, who spoke anonymously to avoid retaliation.
Several of the individuals said Director Kash Patel was also displeased with the office’s progress on the case.
Special Agent in Charge Michael Burgwald and Assistant SAC Courtland Rae, weren’t fired as was the fate of multiple other FBI officials and agents who got crosswise with Patel. Still, the reassignments represent a loss of decades of highly regarded counterterrorism experience during the war with Iran from an office critical to US efforts combatting violent extremism from that region, said former law enforcement officials.
Both Burgwald, a West Point graduate, and Rae have served in high-profile posts in which they received attorney general’s awards over the past two decades. Rae supervised the FBI’s response to the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.
It’s unclear if Cox acted on his own or at the explicit demand of Patel or the Miller family in ousting Burgwald and Rae from the Washington Field Office.
An FBI spokesman didn’t immediately provide a comment. White House spokespeople didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Attempts to reach Burgwald and Rae were unsuccessful.
The Millers and their young children moved from their Arlington home into military housing last fall while law enforcement was investigating protest activity targeting the family, which the Millers viewed as criminal threats.