Kash Patel's FBI Has a Team Called the 'Payback Squad' and They Are Coming for John Brennan Next

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) now has a special team of agents internally referred to as the 'payback squad,' and their next target is former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan, who could face criminal charges in a matter of weeks.

What the 'Payback Squad' Actually Is

NOTUS, citing four sources including two current government officials, reported on Wednesday that the team was put together specifically to handle politically sensitive cases on behalf of the Trump administration. The agents are described as people who 'know what they're signing up for' and work in rotational shifts at an off-site location away from standard FBI field offices.

A senior FBI official denied a team existed with that name but confirmed the existence of the Director's Advisory Team, a unit created in early 2025 under FBI Director Kash Patel to investigate alleged 'abuses of power' during the previous three presidential administrations. The unit was initially detached from the FBI's Washington Field Office and has since added agents from New York.

The confirmation came on the same day Patel faced a contentious Senate Appropriations hearing on Tuesday, where Democratic senators grilled him over allegations of excessive drinking, erratic behaviour, and misuse of government resources. Patel denied all the allegations and agreed to take an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test.

The Florida Connection Everyone Is Missing

The detail that makes this investigation different from past political probes is where it's happening. The 'grand conspiracy' case against Brennan is being run through the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Florida, led by Trump-appointed Jason Reding Quinones.

Working alongside him is Joseph diGenova, an 81-year-old Trump loyalist who was sworn in as special counsellor to the attorney general on 20 April 2026. DiGenova previously represented Trump during Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and again during the aftermath of the 2020 election. He replaced career national security prosecutor Maria Medetis Long, who was removed from the case after she reportedly told supervisors the evidence was insufficient to support charges against Brennan.

Court records show a federal grand jury was impanelled in South Florida in late 2025. NOTUS separately reported that diGenova has been travelling between Miami and Fort Pierce, Florida, where US District Judge Aileen Cannon sits as the sole jurist. Legal observers have described this as venue shopping, positioning any future grand jury disputes in front of a judge who has consistently ruled in favour of the Trump administration.

A Broader Pattern of Political Prosecution

The Brennan investigation doesn't exist in isolation. It follows the federal indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, whose case was ultimately tossed by a judge in Virginia. Federal prosecutors in North Carolina then brought new charges against Comey over an Instagram post showing seashells arranged to read '86 47,' which the government interpreted as a threat against the president. Comey has denied any such intent.

New York Attorney General Letitia James also faced charges in Virginia that were similarly dismissed. More than 150 subpoenas have been issued in the broader investigation, and prosecutors have interviewed current and former CIA employees involved in the 2017 intelligence assessment on Russian election interference.

Why This Matters Beyond Washington

For ordinary citizens on both sides of the Atlantic, the existence of the 'payback squad' signals something that goes beyond any single case. The FBI has spent decades building a reputation for independence from the White House. That wall is now gone.

If a former CIA Director can be targeted through a hand-picked team of agents, a Trump-appointed US Attorney, a loyalist prosecutor, and a carefully chosen venue, the precedent doesn't stop at intelligence officials. It extends to any public servant, law enforcement officer, or career government employee who crosses the administration.

The investigation reportedly encompasses grievances stretching from the 2016 Russian interference probes through the 2020 election and beyond.