Two decorated FBI counter-terror chiefs are demoted after they balked at investigating calls to Trump aide's wife

From the Newshound archive · first published 27 September 2026 · last updated 28 September 2026.

Michael Burgwald, head of the FBI's Washington counterterrorism division, and his deputy Courtland Rae lost their positions and were reassigned to bureau headquarters after raising objections to a probe into phone calls allegedly placed to harass Katie Miller, wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. Their team determined the calls fell below the threshold required to justify an FBI investigation and identified no terrorism connection. Stephen Miller and FBI Director Kash Patel were reportedly furious that the two agents had questioned whether the inquiry was warranted.

A former FBI official put it plainly: 'Harassing phone calls aren't even in the ballpark of terrorism unless an actual terrorist is doing the dialing.'

The FBI's Washington field office maintained that Patel 'did not order this decision', describing it as a personnel matter driven by 'mission needs'.

Burgwald, a West Point graduate, received a national security award in 2016; Rae worked on the Boston Marathon bombing case.