FBI Director Kash Patel last week fired a senior intelligence analyst who played a role in the FBI’s 2017 assessment of the motives of the gunman who attacked a House Republican softball practice, a report that drew the ire of the GOP because it did not label the incident as domestic terrorism.

Four people familiar with the matter say Deputy Assistant Director Emily Morales received a letter from Patel on Friday ending her FBI employment, after which she turned in her badge and was “walked out” by FBI security, as is standard practice.

Morales could not be reached for comment. 

It was unclear whether the letter cited her role in the 2017 assessment, but the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss a personnel matter, say her removal is widely perceived inside the bureau as the latest in a series of firings of non-partisan FBI agents who did their jobs in a way that drew disfavor from Donald Trump or Republicans.  

MS NOW reported five months ago that Tonya Ugoretz, who was the Assistant Director in charge of the Intelligence Directorate, was removed because of her role in withdrawing a thinly-sourced intelligence report alleging that China tried to flood the U.S. with fake drivers licenses in order to promote fraud in the 2020 election.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has boasted that the FBI forced out every agent who worked on the criminal investigations of Trump that resulted in indictments.  Former acting director Brian Driscoll and other former agents are suing the bureau and Patel, alleging they were fired for political reasons.  The FBI Agents Association has asserted that many of these firings were illegal.

The FBI declined to comment on personnel matters.

In June of 2017, James Hodgkinson opened fire on a Republican Congressional softball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, shooting four people, including two US Capitol Police officers and Congressman Steve Scalise.  Hodgkinson was shot and killed by police.

Although he had a history of criticizing Republicans and was carrying a list of Republican lawmakers in his pocket, the FBI initially did not label him a domestic terrorist.  An FBI official briefing Congress described what happened as “suicide by cop,” according to a report by House Republicans issued last March.

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Ken Dilanian

Ken Dilanian is the justice and intelligence correspondent for MS NOW.