Exclusive | Whistleblower Steve Friend fired from FBI after veiled threat to Director Kash Patel
WASHINGTON — A former FBI agent who was suspended under the Biden administration and was reinstated under President Trump to much fanfare has been ousted again, The Post has learned.FBI whistleblower Steve Friend issued what was deemed to be a threat against Director Kash Patel on a podcast hosted by ex-FBI agent Kyle Seraphin last week and that outburst cost him his job on Saturday, bureau insiders told the Post.Friend gained fame for claiming he was wrongly placed on leave by ex-FBI Director Chris Wray for exposing problems with the Jan.6 investigation that saw roughly 1,600 defendants prosecuted for the 2021 attack on the Capitol.
He went on to become an author, media commentator — and onetime ally of Patel.Suspended in August 2022 and having resigned in February 2023, Friend returned to the FBI’s payroll on October 10.However, he hadn’t been performing duties at the FBI in Jacksonville, as he had not yet been cleared for a background check, an issue that can arise in whistleblower cases.While pedaling a conspiracy theory that Patel falsely arrested alleged DC pipe bomber Brian Cole Jr.
as part of an elaborate “cover up,” Friend made disturbing remarks about bringing “God’s wrath” to punish him.“You better pray to Gaia or Vishnu or whatever your maker is, that real Steve Friend is never in a position to be an instrument of God’s wrath, because I will be merciful: I won’t give you a trial and a hanging,” he told The Kyle Seraphin Show on Dec.5.
“I’ll allow you to breathe every breath that your body will have for the rest of its natural life inside of a box, and then when it ultimately fades to black, that’s when real wrath begins.”While Friend did not mention Patel by name, he alluded to the FBI director as the person who allegedly concocted the bogus coverup — noting the person may have been in “executive leadership” and made references to Hindu god Vishnu, a likely nod to Patel being raised Hindi.The video, clippe...