Yates, a former Capitol Hill staffer, last year served as one of the FBI's representatives on the Interagency Weaponization Working Group, which is composed of dozens of government officials from at least 12 different government offices who are tasked with carrying out President Trump's quest for retribution against his political enemies, according to other sources with direct knowledge of the matter. He has also been involved with the Justice Department-led Weaponization Working Group on topics including the prosecutions of Jan. 6 rioters and the potential reinstatement of fired former FBI agents who have claimed they were removed during the Biden administration for complaints about COVID-19 protocols, the Jan. 6 cases and other issues, those sources said. Former Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll and other former senior officials have filed a lawsuit filed against the FBI, alleging that the then-head of the D.C. office begged FBI Director Kash Patel and Yates in a meeting not to disclose Giardina's name to Capitol Hill, telling them that Giardina's wife was dying of cancer and that doing so would also "trigger a torrent of online abuse and threats of violence."
Author: Daniel Klaidman, Sarah N. Lynch
Published at: 2026-02-25 23:16:13
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