Krash Patel, The FBI In Its Trash Era, and National Security by Temu

Apr 21, 2026 The Lincoln Project Podcast

Rick Wilson sits down with Andrew McCabe to unpack the stunning politicization of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under Kash Patel, the firing of 12 counterintelligence agents tied to the Mar-a-Lago documents case, and the staggering national security consequences of purging Iran specialists as conflict escalates. Drawing from McCabe’s new CNN series Standoff: The FBI, Power and Paranoia, Rick and McCabe expose how paranoia, incompetence, and political loyalty tests are corroding America’s premier law enforcement institution from the inside. This is a conversation about weaponized government, self-inflicted chaos, and what happens when you fire the people who know where the threats are—right as those threats become real