Elevator Pitch

Senior FBI officials, including Deputy Director Dan Bongino, received waivers exempting them from mandatory polygraph exams, raising unprecedented security and political concerns within the bureau.

Key Takeaways

• FBI Director Kash Patel granted polygraph waivers to Bongino and other top appointees, bypassing established security protocols.
• The waivers allowed individuals without prior FBI experience and with controversial backgrounds to access highly sensitive intelligence.
• The policy break sparked internal complaints and scrutiny from Congress, amid broader purges of career FBI staff under the current administration.

Most Memorable Quotes

• “How did they survive? They survived because of a personal waiver by either the director or the attorney general to remain employed by the bureau.”
• “It is false that the individuals you referenced failed polygraphs,” wrote spokesperson Ben Williamson.
• “If somebody would fail those polygraphs in my time, most likely they would be removed out of the classified environment until that could get cleared.”