Bulwark Takes: "Lawsuit Exposes an FBI in Crisis"

Host: Tim Miller (and team)
Date: September 11, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Tim Miller delivers a rapid-fire, incisive breakdown of a blockbuster lawsuit filed by three former FBI officials against the Bureau, singling out Cash Patel and Dan Bongino for wrongful termination and incompetence. The episode is framed by a larger context: recent high-profile FBI failures—most notably, the response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk and a botched investigation in Utah—highlighting a Federal Bureau of Investigation in disarray and under partisan siege.

Through detailed reporting and first-hand quotes, Miller lays out the lawsuit’s depiction of a politicized, demoralized FBI, where expertise is purged in favor of political loyalty, social media engagement is prioritized over national security, and agents are subject to intimidation and retribution for their perceived lack of fealty to Trump-aligned leadership.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Recent Crisis and FBI Incompetence

• Contextual Backdrop:
  • The episode begins with the Kirk assassination fallout and the FBI’s embarrassing back-and-forth on a Utah suspect, highlighting operational mishaps under current leadership (00:01–01:57).
    • “At minimum, Cash Patel has absolutely bungled that. Publicly posting about having a suspect, then having to post again about how they had released the suspect. Humiliating.” — Tim Miller [00:36]
  • Ominous note about the firing of Utah’s regional FBI agent, possibly linked to anti-DEI motives (01:20).
  • Sets up the lawsuit as a critical window into deeper, institutionalized failures.

2. The Lawsuit: Who, What, and Why

• Lawsuit Details:

  • Filed by Brian Driscoll (“The Drizz”), Steven Jensen, and Spencer Evans, all respected, career Bureau officials ousted in a wave of politically-motivated purges (03:16–04:07).
  • Cash Patel named as central antagonist, with Dan Bongino implicated for self-serving, performative leadership.
  • The suit’s core allegation: replacing experience and nonpartisanship with “political loyalty tests” and social media-obsessed figureheads has endangered U.S. security (04:25–05:38).

• A Culture of Retribution:

  • Driscoll’s crime? Maintaining a personal friendship with Peter Strzok, leading to his effective expulsion (02:29–03:16).
  • “It’s not exactly the stuff of a deep state conspiracy.” — Mike Feinberg [02:53]

3. Political Loyalty Supplanting Professionalism

• Political Purges:

  • White House pressure, especially from Stephen Miller and DOJ transition point-man Paul Ingrassia, to replace seasoned staff with Trump loyalists—often grossly unqualified (06:48–08:03).
    • “A political loyalty test in order to have a job protecting Americans.” — Tim Miller [07:25]

• Perverse Vetting Criteria:

  • Prospective top officials asked if they had “donated to the Democratic Party,” “voted for Kamala Harris in 2024,” or maintained a low profile on social media. These now serve as employment litmus tests (07:25).

• Summary Firings and Lists:

  • Emil Bove and Stephen Miller pressing for lists of all agents who investigated the January 6th attack—“not even political opponents, just people who were doing their job that day” (09:00–09:24).

4. Culture of Insecurity and Pettiness

• Bureaucratic Drama:

  • White House mishap makes Driscoll acting director “by accident,” then subjected to relentless pressure to fire staff without due cause (08:58–09:46).
  • Frivolous grievances like a parody video (Batman vs Bane) cited as grounds for professional vendettas (09:00–10:12).
    • “These guys are also babies at Sport Nau… Driscoll is like, dude, I have a real fucking job to do, all right? I didn’t make the video.” — Tim Miller [09:49–10:09]

• Social Media Obsession:

  • Dan Bongino, as Deputy FBI Director, is portrayed as more focused on cultivating his online persona than protecting national security (10:12–11:20).

5. Collateral Damage: Purged Agents and Eroded Professionalism

• Casualties of MAGA Purge:

  • Decorated agents like Walter Giardina and Chris Meyer are hounded by online trolls, targeted for removal by unqualified White House aides (11:35–12:26).
    • “They weren’t frequent guests on Bannon’s war room. Like, these are people that actually serve the country and want to protect the country… pushed out because some fucking trolls on the Internet thought that they might not be fully supportive of Mr. Trump’s authoritarian takeover.” — Tim Miller [12:07–12:22]

• Leadership’s Callousness Revealed:

  • Giardina, caring for his dying wife, dismissed after a cold, performative gesture from Cash Patel (13:02–13:09).
    • “Cash’s response: handed him a challenge coin with the S replaced by a money sign, and three cigars… ‘you’re crushing it, you can get out of here.’ Fired Giardina right after.” — Tim Miller [13:02]

6. Concluding Rebuke & Stakes

• Grave Warnings:
  • The episode ends with a call to recognize the peril in exchanging professionalism for political loyalty throughout the nation’s most crucial law enforcement agency.
    • “It is sick what these people are doing at the FBI. It is absolutely sick. And it is going to lead to a more dangerous country… People should be outraged by the way that our federal police force is being run right now.” — Tim Miller [13:41–13:52]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Operational Failure:
  “At minimum, Cash Patel has absolutely bungled that… Humiliating.” — Tim Miller [00:36]
• On Internal Purges:
  “That is the key point here. The FBI is not a place where you put in your partisan friends. It’s not a spoil system part of the federal government.” — Tim Miller [04:25]
• On the New Vetting Reality:
  “You have to pass a political loyalty test in order to have a job protecting Americans.” — Tim Miller [07:25]
• On Social Media Over Policing:
  “Bongino was spending more time creating content for his social media pages than on actual FBI investigations.” — Tim Miller [10:12]
• On the Personal Toll:
  “[Giardina was] caring for his dying wife, and [Cash Patel] fired him right after.” — Tim Miller [13:02]
• On the Broader Consequence:
  “What they’re doing is targeting and snuffing out people who do care about the country… because they’re perceived foes of the MAGA agenda, because they were doing their job investigating criminals on January 6.” — Tim Miller [13:15]

Important Segment Timestamps

• FBI bungles response to Kirk assassination, Utah shooting: [00:01–01:57]
• Lawsuit context and details, Driscoll's story: [02:02–03:16]
• Political loyalty tests and internal purges: [04:07–07:56]
• Summary firings, vetting by partisan loyalty: [08:58–09:46]
• Bongino’s focus on social media over investigations: [10:12–11:22]
• Giardina and Meyer targeted, White House interference in staffing: [11:35–12:26]
• Callous firing of Giardina by Cash Patel: [13:02–13:09]
• Final warnings and outrage: [13:41–14:01]

Tone & Style

Tim Miller delivers his analysis with characteristic urgency and bluntness, punctuating legal and political details with pointed humor and exasperation. The language is unfiltered (“It is sick what these people are doing…”), sometimes profane, and always direct, capturing the Bulwark’s signature no-nonsense, center-right critique of MAGA-era excess.

For listeners seeking a sober account of how institutional expertise is being chipped away within America’s top law enforcement agency—and why it matters for democracy—this episode is essential, provocative listening.