FBI director Kash Patel may have just done what few have managed: dragged Donald Trump closer to sitting for a sworn deposition.
According to a lawsuit filed by three senior FBI agents—Brian Driscoll, Steven Jensen, and Spencer Evans—Patel, who served as FBI Director under Trump, not only led a politically charged purge inside the Bureau but also openly admitted to it. National security journalist Marcy Wheeler, known for her in-depth legal analysis, unpacked the lawsuit on Thursday and highlighted exactly how bad things could get for Trump because of it.
The lawsuit is packed with damning allegations: Patel allegedly told agents they couldn’t have voted for Kamala Harris if they wanted to stay employed, punished those who showed basic human decency to colleagues, and systematically removed anyone involved in investigations touching Trump. But the most explosive part isn’t what Patel did—it’s what he said out loud.
Wheeler pointed to a key detail: “Patel was constantly making damning statements about himself,” including one where “he knew the nature of the summary firings were likely illegal and that he could be sued and later deposed.”
One specific quote stands out, and it could end up having massive legal consequences.
The lawsuit claims that on August 5, 2025, Patel told Driscoll point-blank why he fired certain FBI employees. Patel allegedly said his superiors—which Driscoll understood to include the Department of Justice and the White House—ordered him to fire agents who had worked on criminal investigations into Trump. And Patel admitted that he had no choice if he wanted to keep his own job. His words?
“The FBI tried to put the President in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it.”
That single sentence could open the floodgates.
“Normally, it actually is hard to demand that FBI Directors and their Deputies sit for a deposition,” Wheeler noted, citing the long legal battles others have had just to get top officials under oath. Even in Peter Strzok’s lawsuit, it took years to even approach the idea of deposing someone like Trump. But what Patel allegedly admitted to? That changes the calculus entirely.
Wheeler didn’t hold back: “Kash, because he ran his mouth, may have made it easier to demand a deposition of President Trump in this case.”
If what’s in this lawsuit holds up, Trump could be forced to sit for sworn testimony—because his own guy couldn’t keep quiet. And if you’re Trump, that’s a new kind of headache you definitely didn’t see coming.
