As our Deputy Managing Editor Susie Moore and colleagues Rusty Weiss and Ward Clark reported, Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo snagged an exclusive interview with FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino on her Sunday show, “Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.” My colleagues covered aspects of this interview and revealed a great deal, but what was most cogently expressed throughout the exchange is that Director Patel and Deputy Director Bongino are working decisively and strategically to restore the FBI to a unit that fights crime and weeds out corruption. And they are laser-focused on cleaning up the department’s ranks in order to see this done.
As Moore wrote:
I’m not naive enough to think I should hold my breath until these new earth-shattering revelations are shared with the American public. But I do get the sense from Patel’s comments and demeanor that there are going to be some additional details brought to light soon that will further underscore just how dirty things had gotten at the FBI and who was behind that — and how welcome these clean-up efforts are.
Weiss also teased Patel’s surprise announcement that the Hoover Building would no longer be the FBI’s mother ship.
“I didn’t know that I was going to do this, but I’m going to announce it on your show anyway – This FBI is leaving the Hoover Building because this building is unsafe for our workforce.”
“You just gave up a big nugget there,” Bongino responds, tapping him on the arm and laughing.
“We want the American men and women to know if you’re going to come work at the premier law enforcement agency in the world, we’re going to give you a building that’s commensurate with that, and that’s not this place,” added Patel.
Patel revealed that 11,000 FBI employees live and work in a 50-mile radius around Washington D.C. Patel said, “That’s like a third of the workforce. A third of the crime doesn’t happen here. So, we’re taking 1,500 of those folks and moving ’em out. Every state is getting a plus-up.”
Sweet Home Alabama is one of those plus-up states thanks to the presence of its RedStone Arsenal facility in Huntsville. Over the balance of 2025, 500 of that 1,500 FBI personnel number will be reassigned to the 38,000-acre facility in the northern part of the state. On March 7, Rep. Dale Strong (R-AL) questioned Patel in a hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, and asked about the timeline for more personnel to be moved from D.C. to Huntsville. Patel told the committee that it would require $160 million in funding over a three-year period.
“The North Campus is largely constructed and filled. The South Campus land has been leveled, and the plots have been mapped out,” Patel said.
“In order to fill it, and in order to build buildings three and four and five as we call them and the new training facilities—that we and the appropriators have already looked into and approved—we’re going to need another $160 million to accomplish that.
“And once those buildings are built in the next three years, we will move another 1,300 maybe it’s 1,400 employees down (to) Huntsville.“
Patel lauded the long-time FBI facility not only for its state-of-the-art technology and training, but for the security of the facility.
Redstone Arsenal is one of the crown jewels of the FBI, and it’s on a military campus of 38,000 acres in Huntsville, Alabama. The FBI built five new buildings there, and a kinetic cybertraining facility, a long range facility, our terrorism explosive device center is there.
[…]
[B]ecause we have new buildings and new structures already there, We need our outdated facilities and personnel to move to Huntsville where the training has been set up for them and fill those seats, we don’t need to build new buildings elsewhere. So, a chunk of them are going there because it’s essentially, “Headquarters II” for lack of a better word.
The Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville Alabama: A state-of-the art research and development facility where the FBI has had a presence for over 50 years, developing technology to deter violent threats all over the world.
Thanks to the great team for their public service and… pic.twitter.com/dT8QV7vseH
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) April 29, 2025
Strong is also lobbying for Space Command to be relocated to Redstone Arsenal. Should this occur, the space agency coupled with a thriving FBI facility portends thousands of high-level, highly skilled jobs for the state.
This could also be the test case of how the FBI’s diaspora would look across the country. Patel further revealed what the operational decentralization of the agency would look like.
But the rest of the folks, we looked at the map and we said, “Where are the worst crime spots in America?” That’s how we’re choosing where the agents and the intels folks go. And our leaders in the field are working with state, local, and tribal leaders to say, “Hey, we’ve got a serious problem on Navajo,” or “We’ve got a big deal going on outside of Chicago.” Those agents and intel analysts are going there. At their direction, based on ground-level intelligence. You want to make your promotions, go make cases in the field and you’re getting promoted under this leadership structure. You don’t have to come to Washington.
This also removes the talent and resources drain from regions that most desperately need it. Under the new FBI, the best, brightest, and most ambitious no longer need to silo themselves in D.C. in order to pursue a future with the Bureau. Patel also divulged that the removal of “TDY” (Temporary Duty Assignment) in Washington, D.C. as a requirement for advancement is one of the ways he and Bongino were able to DOGE the department.
One of the biggest, cost-saving things we did was we ended this TDY boondoggle to D.C. that had been institutionalized by prior leadership mandating you come here. And here’s the kicker: not only do you get your salary, you get a per diem TDY for your entire 18-month tour. That’s over.
Patel and Bongino chose Bartiromo specifically for the interview because of her known record of truthful reportage. Patel made it clear, “We’re not doing a lot of media, and we’re going to continue to not do a whole lot of media.”
Bongino took to X to give a summary of what was discussed in the interview.
I haven’t done any media interviews to this point because I want to keep the attention on the work. I don’t work for myself anymore, I work for you.
But it is important to relay to you what we’re doing, and the media can be a tool for that. That’s why we chose a long-form…— Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) May 18, 2025
I haven’t done any media interviews to this point because I want to keep the attention on the work. I don’t work for myself anymore, I work for you.
But it is important to relay to you what we’re doing, and the media can be a tool for that. That’s why we chose a long-form interview with Maria Bartiromo for our first interview. I hope you saw it. If you missed it, here are some of the questions that were asked and answered:
-Yes, we are moving FBI headquarters out of the Hoover Building. The process has already begun. Stay tuned for updates on the details and timelines.
-I was asked about some of the details surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case. I have reviewed the case. Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. There’s no evidence in the case file indicating otherwise. I’m not asking you to believe me, or not. I’m telling you what exists, and what doesn’t. If new evidence surfaces I’m happy to reevaluate.
-I was challenged on “accountability.” It’s a fair question. I aggressively responded because the Director and I have been working tirelessly to uncover the bad actors. We cannot get into HR specifics, and this creates an information vacuum. Unfortunately bad actors looking to tell you “a story,” not THE story, want you to believe we haven’t taken harsh and decisive action against rogue employees. That’s absolutely false. And the bad actors know it.
-We were asked about FBI priorities. The Director and I told Maria that the President, the Attorney General, the Director, and I are absolutely committed to getting your FBI back to its roots. We will make your communities safer. Illegal immigration ops, child sex crimes investigations, 764 cases, and violent criminal fugitive apprehensions are all on our expanding radar. And while America is enjoying the summer we are already planning a massive operation to clean up your streets. The counter-terror and counter-intell missions are critical and will continue at our customary high-tempo too. This is what you pay us for.
God bless America, and all those who defend Her.
This is refreshing, as too often the agencies, departments, and individuals who are supposed to be taking action and getting things done are preoccupied with being in front of the camera.
Looking at you, Congress.
Here is the highly informative Part 2 of the Bartiromo interview.
WATCH:
Editor’s Note: The Deep State is working overtime to subvert President Trump’s agenda and the will of the people.
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