Kash Patel's Ex-Staffers Reveal His 'Childish' Social Media Obsession

Former staff and colleagues of embattled FBI Director Kash Patel have raised serious alarms regarding what they describe as his "insatiable thirst" for and obsession with social media.

These concerns, detailed in investigative reports by The Atlantic and The New York Times, suggest that Patel's focus on personal branding and online optics has compromised the bureau's operations and national security.

FBI agents reportedly stated they were instructed to take pictures for social media during active raids and arrests, a practice they felt compromised operational security and their personal safety.

In an episode of The New York Times’ podcast "The Daily," entitled "Inside Kash Patel’s FBI,” former FBI senior executive John Sullivan criticized Patel for filming social media videos — including one in Rambo cosplay featuring explosions and rappelling —that were described as "childish" and a waste of bureau resources.

Sullivan blasted the FBI director for wasting “resources and time and money and energy” to make himself appear “tough.”

“To many people, those videos, myself included, looked completely childish,” Sullivan said. “The director, the leader of the FBI, is representing the organization in a juvenile manner. And the work that we do and did was supremely serious.

Patel reportedly planned to post a group photograph on social media with King Charles that included undercover intelligence personnel whose identities were meant to remain secret, despite explicit instructions not to share it for security reasons.

“But Kash Patel is apparently determined to put this photo out on his social media,” "The Daily" reporter Rachel Posner said.

“And so it creates this minor international incident where the British are saying ‘Please don’t post that photo. You really can’t’. And his team is pushing back — ‘No, we want to put it out.'"

While the photo did not get released, Posner added, “It’s just an example of the kind of thing that everyone started to have to deal with when Patel was so focused on optics and social media.”

FBI spokesman Ben Williamson blasted "The Daily’s" reporting as “a regurgitation of fake narratives, conjecture, and speculation from anonymous sources who are disconnected from reality.”

Colleagues alleged that Patel and his former deputy, Dan Bongino, routinely posted updates about active investigations on X before informing relevant personnel, a violation of standard protocol.

Sullivan said Patel and Bongino were “really doing everything possible to make us less safe and please Donald Trump.”

The focus on social media is part of a wider array of allegations of erratic behavior reported by Patel’s colleagues and critics.

Over two dozen sources described Patel's conduct, including "conspicuous inebriation" and "unexplained absences," as a direct threat to public safety and national security.

Insiders have described his leadership as "chaos," citing his frequent presence at nightclubs and high-profile sporting events in Milan, D.C., and Las Vegas rather than in the office.

Reports described a "freak-out" where Patel allegedly became convinced he was being fired after experiencing a routine computer login issue.

The FBI director has vigorously denied these reports, calling them "hit piece lies" and "fake news." He has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick, asserting that he has "never been intoxicated on the job" and that the claims of his behavior are absolute lies. The Atlantic and its editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, have stated they stand by their reporting.

The lawsuit came as news broke of Patel’s interference in a February 28 New York Times exposé on his country singer girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, in which the FBI reportedly investigated reporter Elizabeth Williamson. The article detailed how Patel allegedly assigned federal agents to provide full-time security and transportation for his girlfriend.

While nothing came of the FBI’s probe, the Times blasted it for criminalizing routine reporting and violating a journalist’s First Amendment rights.