MAGA darling Katie Miller wasn’t happy with the FBI agents investigating threats against her. Now they’re being demoted.
Michael Burgwald, the FBI’s Washington field office counterterrorism chief, and his deputy, Courtland Rae, were demoted and reassigned to positions at FBI headquarters on Friday, Bloomberg Law reports.
The two veteran agents have decades of experience between them. Burgwald is a West Point graduate, while Rae oversaw the FBI’s response to the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. Both have served in high-profile posts and received attorney general’s awards over the past two decades, according to Bloomberg Law.
They also both worked on the investigation into the Jan. 6 rioters. Stephen Miller, Katie’s husband and President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff, was investigated for his role in the events surrounding Jan. 6.
Burgwald led the FBI’s Washington field office counterterrorism division—which is responsible for Middle East threats—and Rae was his deputy.
They got their marching orders on Friday, three people familiar with the situation said.
“The orders from the bureau’s D.C. chief Darren Cox stemmed from frustration shared by the Miller family that the field office was moving slowly in probing allegedly harassing phone messages,” according to Bloomberg Law.
Miller, 34, is a podcaster and MAGA booster.
The agents were tasked with investigating threatening phone calls she had been receiving, but reportedly pushed back at the request.
“Harassing phone calls aren’t even in the ballpark of terrorism unless an actual terrorist is doing the dialing,” one former FBI official briefed on the matter told MS NOW.
Several sources said FBI Director Kash Patel was also unhappy with the agents, and that the dispute over the investigation contributed to the decision.
But in a statement to Bloomberg Law, the FBI denied any involvement by Patel, who has previously meddled in investigations and been accused of firing seasoned agents without clear cause.
“This was a personnel decision made at the Washington field office level alone based on our constant evaluation of mission needs. Any suggestion otherwise is false,” Cox said. “Director Patel did not order this decision.”
FBI Co-Deputy Director Christopher Raia said reporting that Patel was involved in the demotions was false.
“These personnel decisions were based on a number of factors not reflected in the reporting and handled through the appropriate processes at the Washington Field Office—not directed by Director Patel,” Raia said. “Any implication otherwise is false.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to both The White House and Miller for comment.
White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said in a statement to Bloomberg Law that the Miller family had never interacted with or met the reassigned agents.
“Senior leadership at the FBI determined they were stifling investigations into very serious threats and made a unilateral decision to remove them,” she said.
The Millers moved into military housing last year after protests outside their home.
