Barbara McQuade, Columnist

Patel’s Exploits Are a Serious Risk to the FBI

May 13, 2026 at 3:08 PM UTC

Barbara McQuade is a professor at the University of Michigan Law school, a former US attorney and author of the forthcoming book, "The Fix: Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government."

I know you are, but am I?
Photographer: *Win McNamee/Getty Images North America*

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“Don’t embarrass the bureau.”

Among the unwritten rules of the FBI, upholding the reputation of the organization has been paramount since the days of J. Edgar Hoover, who is reputed to have coined the phrase. Without credibility, an institution charged with investigating crimes cannot succeed. That directive, however, is being demolished by the bureau’s own director, Kash Patel.