The FBI removed two veteran counterterrorism officials from their Washington assignments after they questioned an investigation into alleged harassing phone calls targeting Katie Miller, the wife of White House adviser Stephen Miller, according to reports.
Michael Burgwald, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Washington Counterterrorism Division, and his deputy, Courtland Rae, were demoted and reassigned to the bureau’s headquarters, MSNOW reported.
The personnel changes followed questions from Burgwald and Rae about a request for the counterterrorism section to conduct a threat assessment involving a person allegedly making harassing calls to Katie Miller, the outlet said.
According to the report, both officials questioned whether the investigation was legally justified and properly supported.
Darren Cox, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington field office, told Our News Outlet on Saturday night that FBI Director Kash Patel “did not order this decision.”
“This was a personnel decision made at the Washington Field Office level alone based on our constant evaluation of mission needs,” Cox said. “Any suggestion otherwise is false.”
Burgwald, a West Point graduate, received a national security-related award in 2016, which was presented by the Justice Department.
Rae previously worked on the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombing.
Two FBI agents were demoted from their Washington, DC, positions and reassigned to headquarters after questioning an investigation into alleged harassing calls directed at Stephen Miller’s wife, Katie Miller
The FBI said Saturday that bureau Director Kash Patel “did not order” the decision to demote the two veteran counterterrorism officials
The reported personnel changes came after a team concluded that the alleged calls targeting Katie Miller did not meet the threshold for an FBI investigation
FBI Co-Deputy Director Christopher Raia told Our News Outlet that the decisions “were based on a number of factors not reflected in the reporting and handled through the appropriate processes at the Washington Field Office.”
Raia also emphasized that Patel had not “directed the removal” of Burgwald or Rae from their roles.
A team that reviewed the calls allegedly made to Katie Miller determined that they did not meet the threshold for an FBI investigation, according to CNN.
However, a senior White House official told Our News Outlet on Saturday that “senior leadership at the FBI determined they were stifling investigations into very serious threats and made a unilateral decision to remove them.”
The official said the Millers “had never interacted or even met these agents.”
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The family moved from Arlington, Virginia, to military housing in the Washington, DC, area last fall.
Although protests repeatedly took place outside their former home, the senior White House official denied that the demonstrations prompted the move.
“There was an elaborate, well-documented stalking, doxing and threat campaign targeting the Millers’ residence,” the official told Our News Outlet.
Stephen Miller currently serves as the White House deputy chief of staff for policy. His wife, Katie, who was a communications director to the vice president during the first Trump administration, hosts a podcast named after her.
Other Trump administration officials have also moved into military residences.
A senior White House official told Our News Outlet that the Millers had never interacted with or met the demoted FBI experts
Darren Cox, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington field office (pictured next to Patel), said the decision was made ‘based on our constant evaluation of mission needs’
The two counterterrorism veterans’ demotion is the latest link in a string of controversies during Patel’s leadership of the FBI.
Patel previously came under fire for his alleged misuse of bureau resources, including his trip to the 2026 Milan Olympics.
At the time, he was spotted partying with the US men’s hockey team after their gold medal victory.
Patel has also been criticized for allegedly using FBI resources for the benefit of his girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins.
Wilkins had a security detail featuring FBI agents as of last November, according to MSNOW.
Patel also took a private jet belonging to the FBI to an event in which Wilkins, who is a country singer, was performing the national anthem, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The FBI has insisted that the decision to move Burgwald and Rae was not made at Patel’s direction.
Since Patel began working as FBI Director, the bureau has removed senior officials from their roles.
Patel reportedly fired or removed officials involved in investigations against Trump, according to Bloomberg Law.
