By Alanna Durkin Richer and Lolita C. Baldor
Washington (AP) – FBI director Kash Patel was discreetly removed weeks ago as an acting chief from the alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives and was replaced by the army secretary, three people familiar with the case said on Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear why Patel had been replaced by the army secretary Daniel Driscoll to lead the agency of the Ministry of Justice responsible for the application of the country’s firearms. A person familiar with the question, who spoke under the guise of anonymity to discuss a staff move, said that Patel had been removed at the end of February, just a few days after having sworn.
But this has never been announced publicly. Patel remains on the agency’s website and was identified as the acting director in a press release on April 7. The senior ATF officials were not informed until Wednesday of the change, according to another person familiar with the question that spoke under the guise of anonymity to discuss this decision.
Driscoll will remain secretary of the army, according to a defense official. Driscoll, 38, from Caroline du Nord, had been advisor to vice-president JD Vance, whom he met when the two frequented the Yale Law School. He served in the army for less than four years and went to the rank of the first lieutenant.
He ran without success in the Republican primary for a siege of the North Carolina Congress in 2020, obtaining approximately 8% of the votes in a crowded area of the candidates.
Patel was appointed interim director of ATF in an unusual arrangement in February just a few days after having sworn to direct the FBI, the charge of two separate and sprawling agencies of the Ministry of Justice.
Officials of the Ministry of Justice have planned a plan to combine ATF and the Drug Enforcement Administration in a single agency. The two agencies often work together, with the FBI, but are both led by distinct directors and are responsible for distinctly different missions.
The plan is designed to “carry out efficiency gains in resources, case deconfliction and regulatory efforts”, according to a recent Memo of the Deputy Prosecutor General Todd Blanche.
ATF is investigating things such as violent crimes, firearm trafficking, criminal fire and bombing. It also provides technical expertise in tracing weapons used in crimes and intelligence analysis in shooting surveys. DEA, on the other hand, is responsible for enforcing the laws of the country around drugs. His agents are focused on the fight against criminal drug networks and to stem the illicit flow of fentanyl and other street drugs.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
