The FBI Has Established a “Payback Squad” to Target Trump Foes — Report

The FBI has reportedly established a team of agents, informally known as a “payback squad,” that is tasked with pursuing investigations (and eventually charges) against individuals perceived to be the political enemies of President Donald Trump.

NOTUS reported on the details of the so-called payback squad, citing four individuals with knowledge of its existence, including two current government officials, a former official, and another person with an understanding of how it operates.

According to the report, the agents who are part of the squad are deeply loyal, as they “know what they’re signing up for,” the publication stated.

The payback squad was formed about a year ago. The squad was assembled to pursue Trump’s political foes, similar to the way the FBI has targeted former FBI Director James Comey, who was indicted last month over accusations that he had made a threat to the president’s life.

Comey — who was fired by Trump in 2017 in what was widely perceived as political retribution — faces criminal charges based on his posting a supposedly “threatening” picture of seashells on social media last year. The shells were arranged in the numbers “86” and “47.”

86 is a commonly used restaurant term that means to “throw out” or “get rid of,” while 47 refers to Trump, the 47th U.S. president. Trump has claimed the number is used to express a desire to see another person killed.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that Comey “knowingly and willfully made a threat to take the life of, and to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States,” even though Comey immediately removed the post when people made that inference, and issued a public apology, too.

A senior FBI official denied that the group uses the “payback squad” name, but confirmed that an advisory team for FBI Director Kash Patel was formed last year to target and discredit federal officials who took part in investigations against Trump.

In addition to pursuing charges against Trump’s foes, the squad is also reportedly rehashing those past investigations themselves, including the Russian interference inquiry and the 2020 presidential race, which Trump wrongly maintains was fraudulent.

Independence at the DOJ and FBI has eroded during Trump’s second term in office, to the extent that the president doesn’t even seem to want to hide his influence over the department and agency. Indeed, last year, Trump ordered his then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after his political opponents in a publicly posted social media message. And earlier this year, the administration hung a giant banner of Trump’s portrait in front of the DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C.

After that banner was placed outside the building, several critics lambasted the administration for transforming the department into one that works primarily for Trump.

“This is a stunning confirmation of the grim reality, which is that Donald Trump has seized control of the once independent Justice Department and is using it to pursue his political objectives — including trying to punish his perceived enemies,” MS NOW Justice and Intelligence correspondent Ken Dilanian wrote at the time.