The FBI introduced Wednesday it’s severing its partnership with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), with Director Kash Patel issuing an uncommon assault in opposition to the group that battles antisemitism.
Patel blasted former FBI Director James Comey, referencing a speech the previous director gave to the group in 2014, which he known as a “love letter to the ADL” when he once more addressed the group in 2017. Comey has been a prime goal of President Trump and was indicted final month.
“James Comey wrote ‘love letters’ to the ADL,” Patel wrote Wednesday, including that Comey “embedded FBI agents with them.”
“That era is OVER. This FBI won’t partner with political fronts masquerading as watchdogs.”
The announcement got here the day after the ADL abruptly ended its Glossary of Extremism.
“With over 1,000 entries written over many years, the ADL Glossary of Extremism has served as a source of high-level information on a wide range of topics for years. At the same time, an increasing number of entries in the Glossary were outdated. We also saw a number of entries intentionally misrepresented and misused,” the group stated.
Although not addressed in Patel’s submit, the glossary did embody references to Turning Level USA (TPUSA), the group based by right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated at an occasion final month.
The ADL had a backgrounder on TPUSA, first written in 2019 however up to date after Kirk’s demise, that famous he promoted Christian nationalism.
“Individuals associated with TPUSA have a history of bigoted statements about the Black community, the LGBTQ community and specifically transgender people, and other minority groups,” an archived web page states.
“While TPUSA repeatedly has stated that it rejects white supremacist ideology, white nationalists openly have attended their events. Moreover, extremists and far-right conspiracy theorists have been featured at the AmericaFest conference and other TPUSA events. However, it should be noted that Kirk himself publicly condemned such groups, insisting that they did not represent TPUSA and their beliefs.”
The ADL didn’t handle Patel’s claims however reiterated its assist for the FBI.
“ADL has deep respect for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and law enforcement officers at all levels across the country who work tirelessly every single day to protect all Americans regardless of their ancestry, religion, ethnicity, faith, political affiliation or any other point of difference,” the group stated in a press release.
“In light of an unprecedented surge of antisemitism, we remain more committed than ever to our core purpose to protect the Jewish people.”
Patel’s feedback have been an uncommon criticism of the ADL amid Trump administration efforts to advertise combating antisemitism of their legislation enforcement efforts.
Nevertheless, the majority of that work has included focusing on universities for his or her method to protests over the Israel-Hamas battle.
It’s not clear what partnership the 2 organizations had. In his 2017 speech, Comey nodded to the group’s work in monitoring antisemitic incidents and hate crimes and coordinating over terror plots, praising the group for talking out in opposition to bigotry.
“We are working with the ADL to build bridges in the communities we serve. We are listening to people’s concerns and letting them know how we can help. And we are creating a sense of trust and solidarity, so they know they can call us and count on us to protect them,” Comey stated on the ADL’s nationwide summit.
“We want them to know that when we can’t prevent a hate crime, our agents and analysts will move heaven and earth to find those responsible.”
Patel’s predecessor, Christopher Wray, beforehand famous antisemitic assaults make up the majority of all hate crimes.
“The reality is that the Jewish community is uniquely targeted by pretty much every terrorist organization across the spectrum. And when you look at a group that makes up 2.4 percent, roughly, of the American population, it should be jarring to everyone that that same population accounts for something like 60 percent of all religious-based hate crimes, and so they need our help,” Wray stated throughout a 2023 look earlier than Congress, declaring antisemitism had reached “historic” ranges.
