FBI Director Kash Patel instructed staff to “continuously” push back against online criticism of the Department of Justice’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files — including posts that appeared to come from troll accounts.
The unusual exchange surfaced this week in a cache of published FBI documents and internal communications obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and reviewed by Our News Outlet.
The records offer new details about a February conversation inside the bureau.
Patel, who has shown a keen focus on the FBI’s public image, directed senior communications aides to answer a critical social media post about the bureau — even after a top official in his office quickly flagged the source, “R*tardFinder,” as a troll account and recommended letting it go.
“This is an ‘Epstein didn’t kill himself’ bot account,” the official, Ben Williamson, told Patel.
Patel was not persuaded that the post should be ignored. He pointed to what he described as “277k responses” to the post from “R*tardFinder,” an account known for inflammatory posts and for mocking news events and public figures.
He then pressed the FBI communications team on whether it had been forcefully promoting the bureau’s accomplishments and rebutting negative commentary online, including the post at issue.
“What I asked you and your team to do is find them, and post our record year results back at them all, continuously,” Patel said. “Have they been doing that?”
Images of an exchange between FBI Director Kash Patel and a senior aide, obtained through a FOIA request, appear to show Patel telling staff to identify accounts criticizing the bureau and respond online
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche listens as Patel speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, DC
The FBI director and his girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, arrive at the White House ahead of the UFC Freedom 250 event in June
Patel delivers remarks at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, in December
Williamson then corrected Patel to explain that the 277,000 number in question represented views of the media post, rather than replies.
‘That’s views – it’s 400 responses,’ he said, adding that a ‘real visible tweet gets 5x that.’
We’re ‘not responding’ to the post from the troll, whose name contains the slur against disabled individuals, Williamson told Patel. ‘That would look bad on you.’
‘It’s not about them, it’s about the number of views, because people see it and need to be seeing our stats,’ Patel wrote.
The exchange in question offers a fresh, behind-the-scenes look at how Patel has sought to play up the FBI’s wins during Trump’s second term in the media, particularly through heavy usage of social media.
Neither the DOJ nor FBI immediately responded to Our News Outlet’s request for comment on the exchange.
It also comes as the Justice Department continues to face ongoing scrutiny over its handling of the Epstein files – prompting fresh FOIA requests from the Democracy Defenders Fund, an advocacy group.
The group previously urged DOJ’s Office of Inspector General to open an audit into the department’s failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which it did in April of this year.
Still, the group called for more action.
The new documents released this week ‘expose critical gaps in the DOJ’s official Epstein library release and raise serious questions about whether top officials coordinated to keep sensitive communications out of public view,’ Virginia Canter, chief counsel and ethics director at the Democracy Defenders Fund, said in a statement.
‘We have provided these missing records to the Inspector General for their ongoing audit to ensure the American public obtains the answers and accountability they deserve.”
To date, DOJ has only released 3.5 million pages of the purported six million pages it reviewed, DDF said, prompting the advocacy group to call for action.
The newly released trove of communications comes as Patel is slated to testify next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of an annual FBI oversight hearing.
Democrats on the panel have suggested they will use their time to grill Patel over a number of hot-button issues – including its handling of the Epstein files.
