Kash Patel Ends FBI Partnership With ADL

FBI Director Kash Patel announced the bureau will end its longstanding partnership with the Anti‑Defamation League, accusing the ADL — and former FBI director James Comey, who praised the group — of embedding agents and conducting “disgraceful ops” that Patel said amounted to activism rather than law enforcement. Patel framed the severing of ties as ending an era of partnerships with “political fronts masquerading as watchdogs” and accused the ADL of improperly influencing FBI priorities and investigations. The move followed intense conservative backlash after the ADL included Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA in its “Glossary of Extremism” (a listing criticized by Elon Musk and others) and the ADL’s subsequent deletion of the glossary. The ADL said it “has deep respect” for the FBI, said it retired the glossary because many entries were outdated, misused or superseded by more comprehensive resources, and defended its training for law enforcement on hate crimes and extremism. The dispute has intensified debate over how law enforcement and advocacy groups cooperate on counter‑extremism and whether such partnerships are being politicized.