Former senior FBI official Christopher O'Leary says Patel is dismantling decades of statistical integrity in FBI arrest counts
Christopher O'LearyFormer senior FBI official and MS NOW contributor
O'Leary says Patel is dismantling decades of statistical integrity to feed a political narrative and that the FBI is poaching credit for arrests made by other agencies.
Responding to
The FBI's count of violent crime arrests under Kash Patel includes arrests made by state and local police and other federal agencies when an FBI employee was present, which the bureau did not count as its own before.
“Kash Patel is actively dismantling decades of statistical integrity just to feed a political narrative”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
MS NOW says the FBI's arrest count under Kash Patel includes arrests made by local police; the FBI says its counting has not changed
The FBI and Director Kash Patel say the bureau has made about 54,000 violent crime arrests since Patel took office in February 2025, up roughly 90 percent. An MS NOW analysis published on October 14, 2026 reports that the count includes arrests made by state and local police and other federal agencies when an FBI employee was present, and that the FBI referred 15 percent fewer criminal cases for federal prosecution than in the same period of the Biden administration. The FBI says it has always counted violent crime arrests where it has equity in the case and investigation. Former FBI officials quoted by MS NOW say the bureau did not count other agencies' arrests before.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
MS NOW analysis of Justice Department case data shared by Justice Connection, a group of former DOJ and FBI employees. It reports that Patel's count of 54,000 violent crime arrests includes arrests made by state and local police and other federal agencies when an FBI employee was present, and that the FBI referred 15 percent fewer criminal cases for federal prosecution than in the same period of the Biden administration. It carries the FBI's statements in response and comments from former FBI officials and crime researchers.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
MS NOW reports that immigration cases made up 59.3 percent of all federal criminal cases filed by the Justice Department from February 2025 through July 2026.
After the quotation
O'Leary says the FBI is poaching credit for arrests made by other law enforcement agencies and calls the inflated figures a smoke screen meant to mask internal chaos and the departure of experienced staff.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case asks whether the FBI's arrest figures under Patel count arrests made by other agencies. O'Leary says the bureau is taking credit for other agencies' arrests and criticizes Patel for it, so we used condemns.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Kash Patel
More from this case
Read the full caseFormer FBI agent Michael Feinberg says Patel is taking credit for other agencies' efforts
“He's taking credit for other agencies' efforts”Read statement
FBI says it has always counted violent crime arrests where it has equity in the case
Federal Bureau of Investigation
“violent crime arrests where the FBI has equity in the case and investigation”Read statement
FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson disputes that the bureau counted arrests improperly
“The contentions here seeking to discredit law enforcement are false and just the latest attempt to detract from this FBI's and this administration's year of the most prolific reduction in crime in United States history.”Read statement
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- Former senior FBI official Christopher O'Leary says Patel is dismantling decades of statistical integrity in FBI arrest counts
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The Dispute Index. "Former senior FBI official Christopher O'Leary says Patel is dismantling decades of statistical integrity in FBI arrest counts". First published: 2026-10-22. Last updated: 2026-10-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/6505-o-leary-says-patel-is-dismantling-decades-of