EXCLUSIVE – Andrew Bailey is heading home to Missouri, and the outgoing FBI co-deputy director has a blunt message for anyone suggesting turmoil at the bureau pushed him out."This was 100% about my need to get home and raise my four small children," Bailey told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview."I love my kids."Bailey, who announced Monday that he is leaving the FBI after just over a year, rejected suggestions that problems at the bureau played a part in his decision.
"My decision to go home is based solely upon my need to be a parent to my four children," he said.He accused some news outlets of spreading "lies" about the reason for his departure and offered a forceful defense of FBI Director Kash Patel amid scrutiny of the bureau's leadership.KASH PATEL TO TOUT 'LARGEST' YEAR-TO-YEAR VIOLENT CRIME DROP IN US HISTORYFBI Co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey addresses the media during a press conference at the St.Louis FBI office on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, about results from the St.
Louis-area surge of Operation VIPER.(David Carson/St.
Louis Post-Dispatch via Getty Images)"Any accusation that Director Patel has focused on anything other than fulfilling the president's promise to make America safe again are bold-faced lies," Bailey said."We wake up every day and work early every morning and stay up late, oftentimes without sleep, to ensure mission accomplishment."‘WORSE THAN WATERGATE’ NEW FBI FILES DETAIL AGENT’S PUSH TO JOIN TRUMP PROBE, INVESTIGATE ELON MUSKPatel, in his own statement Monday, said Bailey was leaving to return to his family in Missouri and praised his role in the FBI's overhaul."Andrew's leadership at the FBI will be missed but we are grateful he answered the call to serve!" Patel wrote.
He said Bailey had helped institute "critical reforms" and thanked him for his dedication to the bureau's mission.EXCLUSIVE: FBI EXTRADITIONS SOAR AS PATEL RAMPS UP FOREIGN OUTREACH, VOWS 'NO SANCTUARY'Bailey had left his post as Missouri attorney gen...