The FBI director set up a bonus system that rewarded political loyalty and kept his security detail quiet about his personal life. Then the money ran out.

"Who has received these unlawful bonuses? The agents on your Director's Advisory Team, perhaps better known as the Payback Squad given their willingness to pursue political targets and overlook pesky obstacles like probable cause."

-- Rep. Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, in a June 15 letter to FBI Director Kash Patel

Representative Jamie Raskin launched an investigation on June 16 into what he described as a scheme inside the FBI to illegally direct over $1 million in taxpayer-funded bonuses to two groups: agents on Patel's "Director's Advisory Team" and members of his personal security detail. According to information received by the Judiciary Committee minority, some agents collected payments of nearly $8,000 every two weeks despite already earning at the federal salary ceiling. Multiple individuals reportedly received five consecutive payments, totaling close to $40,000 per person, pushing their compensation beyond the statutory limits set by the Office of Personnel Management.

The pace of disbursements was so aggressive that FBI reserve accounts set aside for bonus payments were drained dry. Some payments literally bounced back from exhausted funds. Raskin asked Patel to provide a full accounting by June 29, including who received the money, who authorized it, and what legal justification existed for the payments.

The FBI did not respond to requests for comment.

The Director's Advisory Team was created in early 2025 under the official mandate of examining internal documents and government materials to expose abuses of power from previous administrations. In practice, according to four sources briefed on the matter who spoke to NOTUS on the condition of anonymity, the unit functions as something else entirely.

Inside the bureau, agents refer to it as the "payback squad." Its work includes building politically motivated cases modeled on the recent criminal prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey. The team is reportedly in the process of preparing charges against former CIA Director John Brennan, with discussions underway between advisory team members and federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida. Joseph diGenova, the newly appointed "special counselor to the attorney general," has been coordinating the effort.

One current government official told NOTUS that investigators are tasked with pursuing political targets set by the Trump administration, working temporary rotations at an off-site location detached from standard FBI field offices. The squad includes former FBI agent John Eckenrode, who previously worked on the special counsel investigation led by John Durham that examined the origins of the FBI's Russia probe. A senior FBI official speaking on background denied the nickname but confirmed the unit's existence under its formal title.

Raskin's letter raised a separate concern about the second group of bonus recipients: agents assigned to Patel's personal security detail. The ranking member cited reporting from The Atlantic that Patel had displayed erratic behavior and excessive drinking, and noted that protective detail agents had accompanied him on personal outings to restaurants including the Poodle Room, Ned's, Rao's, venues on Lower Broadway, the Strip in Las Vegas, and even the Milano Cortina Olympics.

The implication was straightforward. Agents who witness their boss's indiscretions and receive substantial taxpayer-funded bonuses may have a financial incentive to keep quiet about what they've seen. Patel has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick over the drinking story. When Democratic senators grilled him at a May 12 hearing about whether FBI staff had been subjected to polygraph tests to identify who had spoken to journalists, Patel responded: "I can tell you unequivocally this FBI is targeting and investigating no journalists."

The bonus payments arrived at the same time that experienced FBI officials were being removed from their positions. Former acting director Brian Driscoll, a Medal of Valor recipient, was fired. Steven Jensen, who led the bureau's response to the January 6 attack on the Capitol, was dismissed. A dozen counterintelligence agents tracking Iranian threats were let go days before the US launched military strikes on Iran.

"The FBI's budget is not as a slush fund to reward craven loyalty and ensure that your abuses of power and indiscretions remain hidden," Raskin wrote.

The letter characterized the awards as "a gross mismanagement of funds and an abuse of authority by the Director's Office." Raskin sought internal communications related to the bonus decisions, including any assessment of their legality.

As the minority party, Democrats have no authority to compel the FBI to produce documents. If they retake the House in November's midterm elections, as several forecasts suggest is possible, they would gain that power. Until then, Raskin's investigation relies on Patel's cooperation or on information from sources willing to come forward.

The deadline passes on June 29. The bounced payments have already done the work of proving that something was off.