When the media learned earlier this week that Acting ATF Director Kash Patel had stepped away from that post to focus his full attention on serving as FBI director, the news media—which has not been friendly to the Trump administration—rushed to publish headlines that he had been “removed” from the ATF post.
Perhaps only Fox News got it right when it reported, quoting an unnamed source close to Patel, that his sting as acting director “was never supposed to be a long-term thing. He was happy to serve, of course, but his job is the director of the FBI.”
But a wave of reports from several major news agencies seemed intent on describing Patel’s departure in as negative a style as possible.
Reuters led its report by declaring, “FBI Director Kash Patel was removed from his role as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and replaced by Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, U.S. officials confirmed on Wednesday.”
The New York Times’ lead paragraph was just as provocative with its description, stating, “Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, has been removed as the interim head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and replaced by Daniel Driscoll, the Army secretary, four people with knowledge of the switch said on Wednesday. The highly unusual move places a civilian military leader in charge of a domestic law enforcement entity.”
The Washington Post said Patel had been removed in its headline.
The Hill was equally dramatic in reporting “FBI Director Kash Patel was removed as the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) by President Trump’s administration and replaced with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, two sources familiar with the matter told The Hill.”
Newsweek was yet another news agency which used the term “removed,” as though Patel had been fired.
“FBI Director Kash Patel has been removed from his role as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF),” Newsweek reported.
At least Newsweek added a few lines later, quoting an unidentified Justice Department official, who “did not say why the FBI chief was removed, but said it had nothing to do with his job performance.”
The bias was clearly evident, in that the word “removed” has the connotation that someone has been fired, when that simply was not the case.
In a statement released by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Chairman Alan Gottlieb put the moves into perspective.
“We all knew Patel would not be staying long at ATF,” Gottlieb noted, “but he made the most of his time while there. Now he can focus his full attention on running the FBI.”
Gottlieb referred to Driscoll’s appointment to replace Patel as indicative of President Trump’s resolve “to protect Second Amendment rights and bring much needed reform to the ATF. Mr. Patel has his hands full heading the FBI, and we’re delighted to see the president take the additional load off his shoulders and at the same time put another well-qualified individual into that position.”
