The FBI has placed analyst Brian Auten on administrative leave, according to a report Friday, following his inclusion on what Director Kash Patel has called his “enemies list.”
The New York Times reported Auten’s suspension came after disciplinary action over errors in surveillance warrant applications involving a former Trump campaign adviser. Auten had worked on two high-profile cases that angered Trump and Patel: the 2016 Russian interference probe and the analysis of Hunter Biden’s laptop. The latter, initially dismissed as Russian disinformation, was later verified, but the FBI did not act. In related news, a DHS intelligence group tied to denying the laptop story was shut down after a lawsuit claimed it violated federal law by lacking political balance and favoring Biden allies, some of whom signed a letter dismissing the laptop’s authenticity.
