Two senior FBI agents ousted over investigation into alleged harassing calls to wife of Trump adviser Stephen Miller

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Sipa USA

Two veteran FBI agents overseeing counterterrorism operations in the nation’s capital have been removed from their jobs and reassigned over the handling of an investigation involving Katie Miller, the conservative podcaster and wife of senior White House adviser Stephen Miller, according to two people familiar with the move.

Michael Burgwald, the special agent in charge of counterterrorism matters at the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and his deputy, Courtland Rae, were ousted from their positions by bureau leadership after investigators determined that allegedly harassing phone calls Katie Miller received from unknown individuals did not warrant further investigation, the sources said.

The field office team that reviewed the reported harassing calls determined they did not meet the threshold required for an FBI investigation, and no nexus to terrorism was identified, the sources said. This decision did not sit well with bureau leadership, and the two senior field office agents were removed from their positions, according to the sources.

Since taking office last year, FBI director Kash Patel — a fierce loyalist of President Donald Trump — has fired, demoted, or forced into retirement countless career employees who handled past investigations into Trump and his allies. Many of those forced out have filed lawsuits seeking reinstatement.

In a statement on an official FBI “Rapid Response” social media account established to tout the agency and respond to critics, Darren Cox, the senior executive who oversees the bureau’s DC office, confirmed the ousting of Burgwald and Rae, but denied the order came from Patel.

“This was a personnel decision made at the Washington field office level alone based on our constant evaluation of mission needs,” Cox said. “Any suggestion otherwise is false.”

CNN is attempting to locate contact information for Burgwald and Rae. The decision to remove them from their positions has riled many rank and file FBI employees who have been critical of personnel moves they view as highly politicized, sources said.

Burgwald graduated from the United States Military Academy West Point and was the recipient of FBI investigative awards, while Rae similarly rose through the ranks of the organization after a lengthy career in national security, sources said.

The reassignment of the two senior officials was first reported by Bloomberg Law.

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment. In a statement to Bloomberg Law, White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said Stephen and Katie Miller had no interaction with Burgwald or Rae, adding, “Senior leadership at the FBI determined they were stifling investigations into very serious threats and made a unilateral decision to remove them.”

Still, there is a history of the Millers expressing their displeasure at the FBI’s handling of personal incidents they viewed as threatening in nature. According to people familiar with an incident last year, the couple grew irate with FBI officials over pushback by career agents to use bureau resources to investigate paper flyers critical of Stephen Miller that were posted in the family’s neighborhood. Like several senior Trump officials, the couple later moved into military housing.

CNN’s Aleena Fayaz contributed to this report.

Tom Williams/CQ-点名/Sipa USA

据两位知情人士透露，两名负责首都反恐行动的资深联邦调查局特工因处理涉及保守派播客主持人凯蒂·米勒（白宫高级顾问斯蒂芬·米勒的妻子）的调查不当而被免职并调离原岗位。

消息人士称，联邦调查局华盛顿外勤办事处负责反恐事务的特工迈克尔·伯格瓦尔德和他的副手考特兰·雷被局领导免职，此前调查人员认定，凯蒂·米勒接到的来自不明人士的骚扰电话不值得进一步调查。

消息人士称，负责审查所举报骚扰电话的外勤办事处小组认定，这些电话未达到启动联邦调查局调查的标准，且未发现与恐怖主义有任何关联。消息人士还透露，这一决定引起了联邦调查局领导层的不满，两名高级外勤办事处探员已被撤职。

自去年上任以来，联邦调查局局长卡什·帕特尔——唐纳德·特朗普总统的坚定拥护者——已经解雇、降职或迫使无数曾负责调查特朗普及其盟友的资深员工退休。许多被迫离职的员工已提起诉讼，要求恢复原职。

在联邦调查局官方“快速反应”社交媒体账户上发表的一份声明中，负责监督联邦调查局华盛顿特区办事处的高级主管达伦·考克斯证实了伯格瓦尔德和雷被解职的消息，但他否认该命令来自帕特尔。该账户旨在宣传联邦调查局并回应批评者。

考克斯说：“这是华盛顿外地办事处根据我们对任务需求的持续评估而做出的人事决定。任何其他说法都是不实的。”

CNN正在尝试联系伯格瓦尔德和雷。消息人士称，解除两人职务的决定激怒了许多FBI普通员工，他们一直批评这种高度政治化的人事变动。

据消息人士称，伯格瓦尔德毕业于美国西点军校，并曾获得联邦调查局的调查奖，而雷在国家安全领域工作多年后，也同样在联邦调查局步步高升。

彭博法律新闻率先报道了这两位高级官员的调任消息。

CNN已联系白宫寻求置评。白宫发言人劳伦·比斯在给彭博法律的一份声明中表示，斯蒂芬·米勒和凯蒂·米勒与伯格瓦尔德或雷没有任何接触，并补充说：“联邦调查局高层领导认定他们阻碍了对非常严重威胁的调查，并单方面决定将他们撤职。”

尽管如此，米勒夫妇曾多次对联邦调查局处理他们认为具有威胁性的个人事件的方式表示不满。据知情人士透露，去年，米勒夫妇因联邦调查局职业探员阻挠他们动用联邦调查局资源调查张贴在他们家附近的批评斯蒂芬·米勒的传单而勃然大怒。与几位特朗普政府高级官员一样，米勒夫妇后来搬进了军属住房。

CNN的Aleena Fayaz对本报道亦有贡献。