US Senate Democrat questions FBI on domestic terrorism staff reassignments

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By Andrew Goudsward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A top U.S. Senate Democrat pressed the FBI on Tuesday to explain why it reassigned staff from domestic terrorism investigations, accusing Republican President Donald Trump’s administration of imperiling efforts to confront violent extremists in the U.S.

Reuters reported last month that the FBI transferred about 16 agents and intelligence analysts from its Domestic Terrorism Operations Section, which supports investigations run by the FBI’s 55 field offices and provides information on domestic threats.

The letter from Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked the FBI how many personnel remain in the section and how the agency is managing investigations previously assigned to its staff.

“I strongly urge you to put the safety of the American people first, reverse these resource reallocations, and reaffirm the Administration’s commitment to tackling domestic violent extremism with the full force and attention this significant threat demands,” Durbin of Illinois wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The move raised fears that investigations into violence fueled by white supremacist and anti-government ideologies may be a lower priority under Patel, who has criticized the FBI’s past work on domestic terrorism.

An FBI spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Patel told the House Intelligence Committee last month that FBI counterterrorism staff “move all the time” and he was focused on reprioritizing the FBI to combat violent crime and national security threats.

Federal authorities have recently said they will treat arson attacks targeting Tesla as domestic terrorism. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is championing Trump’s overhaul of the federal government. 

Durbin also asked for an explanation of Department of Homeland Security moves recently reported by the media. The Washington Post reported DHS has stopped funding a national database on domestic terrorism and hate crimes, and the investigative news outlet ProPublica reported that grants for violence prevention programs had been cut or frozen.

A spokesperson for DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Taken together, these moves represent a broad institutional pullback from confronting the full scope of domestic terrorism threats,” Durbin wrote in the letter.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia Osterman)