In a shocking turn of events, a 27-year veteran of the FBI has been abruptly fired, sparking outrage and raising serious questions about leadership and accountability within the bureau. But here’s where it gets controversial: the dismissal comes on the heels of a public scandal involving FBI Director Kash Patel’s use of a government jet for a personal trip to see his girlfriend perform the national anthem at a wrestling event. And this is the part most people miss: the official who lost his job, Steven Palmer, was the head of the FBI’s critical incident response group—a role responsible for handling major security threats and overseeing the agency’s fleet of jets. So, was this a justified move or a retaliatory strike? Let’s dive in.
Steven Palmer, who joined the FBI in 1998, was unceremoniously removed from his position as the third leader of the critical incident response group to be ousted since Patel took office in February. The catalyst? Patel’s fury over media reports highlighting his use of an FBI jet to attend a personal event. According to Bloomberg Law, which broke the story, three unnamed sources expressed disbelief at Palmer’s firing, noting that Patel’s flight schedules were publicly available and trackable online. Ironically, Patel himself had shared photos on social media of him with his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, just a day after her performance.
Flight logs from Flight Aware reveal that Patel’s jet, N708JH, landed near Penn State on October 25, the same evening Wilkins performed at a wrestling event. The plane later flew to Nashville. However, as of Sunday, tracking for the jet was blocked, with a message stating it was ‘not available for public tracking per request from the owner/operator.’ Patel’s spokesman, Ben Williamson, dismissed criticism of the director’s travel as ‘disingenuous and dumb,’ claiming Patel had ‘significantly limited’ personal travel compared to his predecessors. But here’s the kicker: Patel had previously slammed former FBI Director Chris Wray for similar behavior, labeling him a ‘#GovernmentGangster’ for using taxpayer funds for personal travel.
Is this a case of hypocrisy, or is there more to the story? Palmer’s dismissal follows a pattern under Patel’s leadership. Two other heads of the critical incident response group, Wes Wheeler and Brian Driscoll, were fired in March and August, respectively. Driscoll is now suing the Trump administration for unfair dismissal, alleging he was targeted for perceived disloyalty. Meanwhile, Patel’s jet controversy was first flagged by Kyle Seraphin, a former FBI agent and vocal critic of the Trump administration, who questioned the director’s priorities during a government shutdown. ‘We’re in the middle of a shutdown, and this guy is jetting off to Nashville on our dime?’ Seraphin asked on his podcast.
Adding to Patel’s troubles, a defense lawyer in Michigan has pushed back against his recent claims that five young men were arrested for planning a Halloween terror attack. Amir Makled, representing one of the individuals, called the allegations ‘hysteria and fearmongering,’ stating that the group—aged 16 to 20 and all U.S. citizens—were simply gamers with no illegal intentions. Does this paint a picture of a director overstepping boundaries, or is he being unfairly targeted?
This saga raises critical questions about transparency, accountability, and leadership within the FBI. Was Palmer’s firing justified, or is it a symptom of deeper issues? And what does this mean for the bureau’s credibility moving forward? What do you think? Is Patel’s use of the jet a minor oversight, or a major breach of trust? Let us know in the comments—this is one debate you won’t want to miss.
