FBI Director Kash Patel dispelled the CNN-created myth of a "major cutback" of agents at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Fox News reported. Patel was forced to issue a memo after the network published a report Saturday with the erroneous information.
The report claimed that Patel "had outlined plans to move as many as 1,000 ATF agents to the FBI" and that he would be "cutting ATF’s agents by more than a third." CNN claimed it had three unnamed sources that shared this information.
The left-leaning network explained that the ATF is unpopular with Second Amendment advocates and has been in the "crosshairs of gun rights groups" for some time. "The ATF has about 2,600 agents and more than 5,000 employees, a number that has remained largely unchanged for years," the report said.
CNN later added that it was forced to roll back the information after "pushback," which is also known as the truth. "After the publication of this story and resulting pushback including from Republican allies, FBI officials began to back off aspects of their plan, according to a US official familiar with the matter," CNN's report clarified.
Patel issued the memo to ATF personnel that was later shared with Fox News Digital. "I want to address a report from this weekend speculating about the intentions of FBI leadership with personnel decisions at the ATF," Patel wrote.
"This weekend, CNN reported news of a plan on the part of our leadership to ‘cut as many as one third’ of ATF agents and reallocate 1,000 agents over to the FBI. The report even suggested our leadership team altered course after reading a news report, and ultimately backed off certain aspects of changes," the memo went on.
"This ‘report’ is entirely false," he added. "The fake news will NEVER be responsible for operational command authority over the ATF, we are," Patel continued.
"The brave men and women of the ATF who courageously dedicate themselves to protecting the American public will not have their security jeopardized by the media’s disinformation campaigns. When we make decisions, they will be final, regardless of the input of CNN or any other news organization," Patel added.
This news comes a month after President Donald Trump charged Patel with fixing the problems at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He's also serving as the acting director of the ATF and would be within his rights to make personnel changes to the agency, though it appears it was never true.
Patel has infamously sparred with the media as he fearlessly defended himself against their attacks. He was sworn in as FBI director on Feb. 21 and had strong words for his detractors in the press.
"You have written everything you possibly can about me that's fake, malicious, slanderous and defamatory. Keep it coming," Patel said at the time.
"Bring it on, but leave the men and women of the FBI out of it. They deserve better," Patel challenged the media. The clip was shared widely on X, formerly Twitter, including by conservative commentator Benny Johnson.
🔥BANG! Kash Patel sends DIRECT message to the Fake News:
“You've written EVERYTHING you possibly can about me that's fake, malicious, slanderous, and defamatory. Keep it coming. Bring it on. But leave the men and women of the FBI out of it.”
pic.twitter.com/UoC1n79AzD— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 21, 2025
The media is in full attack mode with Trump once again in the White House. Wherever this information about cuts at the ATF came from for CNN, it's clear they're unreliable and willing to believe whatever best suits their narrative whether it's true or not.
