FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Wednesday evening that the agency had ended its partnership with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish group that monitors antisemitism and extremism.
The decision follows criticism of the ADL for including the late conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, in a glossary on extremism.
Highlights
- FBI Director Kash Patel ended the decades-long partnership between the FBI and ADL, citing concerns over the ADL's political bias and spying allegations.
- Patel criticized former FBI Director Comey for close ties with the ADL and accused the group of running disgraceful spying operations on Americans.
- The ADL removed its glossary on extremism after backlash over including Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA, described as tied to right-wing extremists.
In a post on social media, Patel said the FBI “won’t partner with political fronts masquerading as watchdogs.”
Kash Patel announced the FBI has ended its partnership with the ADL
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
He criticized former FBI Director James Comey, who worked closely with the ADL, saying, “James Comey wrote ‘love letters’ to the ADL and embedded FBI agents with them — a group that ran disgraceful ops spying on Americans. That era is OVER.”
Last week, Comey was indicted on charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. He has declared his innocence, but if found guilty, he could face up to five years in prison.
Patel also accused the ADL of spying on conservative groups.
The ADL responded to Patel’s announcement, saying that it has “deep respect” for the FBI.
“As we prepare to observe the holiest day of the year on the Jewish calendar, we have seen the statement from FBI Director Patel regarding the FBI's relationship with ADL,” the organization wrote in a statement shared on X.
“ADL has deep respect for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and law enforcement officers at all levels across the country who work tirelessly every single day to protect all Americans regardless of their ancestry, religion, ethnicity, faith, political affiliation or any other point of difference.”
The decision comes after widespread criticism of the ADL by right-wing voices, including Elon Musk, who objected to the inclusion of Turning Point USA in the ADL’s ‘Glossary of Extremism and Hate.’
“The FBI was taking their ‘hate group’ definitions from ADL, which is why FBI was investigating Charlie Kirk [and] Turning Point, instead of his murderers,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
In a separate post, Musk said, “The ADL hates Christians, therefore it is is [sic] a hate group.”
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt responded to those statements, saying, “The idea that @ADL is anti-Christian is offensive and wrong. Many of our staff members are Christian. Many of our supporters are Christian. We are blessed to work with many Christian brothers and sisters in the shared fight against antisemitism and all forms of hate.”
The ADL, led by Jonathan Greenblatt (pictured below), was criticized for including Turning Point USA in a glossary on extremism
Image credits: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
The glossary described Turning Point USA as having ties to “a range of right-wing extremists and has generated support from anti-Muslim bigots, alt-lite activists and some corners of the white supremacist alt-right.”
Following the backlash, the ADL removed the entire glossary from its website. The organization said it had also noticed entries in the glossary were “outdated” and “intentionally misrepresented and misused.”
Kirk was shot and killed at a Utah college campus event on 10 September. He was particularly well known for his campus debates with liberal students, with his beliefs being pro-life, anti-trans, and anti-immigration.
The FBI has worked with the ADL for decades, with ADL records showing the bureau turned to the group for data and research as far back as the 1940s.
Patel’s move signals a major shift in the FBI’s relationship with the ADL, an organization he said the FBI was “in love” with.
Three years after this remark, in 2017, Comey said: “Three years later, I can say, from the perspective of the FBI, we’re still in love with you.”
Image credits: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Republican lawmaker Rep. Anna Paulina Luna agreed with Patel. “Seems to me like if they don’t agree with you, they will label you a ‘hate group,’” she wrote on X.
Patel has also ended the FBI’s training and intelligence-sharing partnership with the ADL. The organization has been conducting workshops on hate crimes and violent extremism for law enforcement agencies. They also conduct a workshop called ‘Law Enforcement and Society,’ which educates officers on the Holocaust.
Comey said in a video statement after his indictment, on September 26, “My family and I have known for years that there are costs to standing up to Donald Trump, but we couldn't imagine ourselves living any other way.
“We will not live on our knees, and you shouldn’t either. My heart is broken for the Department of Justice, but I have great confidence in the federal judicial system, and I’m innocent, so let's have a trial and keep the faith.”