In a major course correction, FBI Director Kash Patel is officially severing the bureau’s controversial relationship with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) — a partnership deeply embedded during James Comey’s tenure, one that critics say turned the FBI into a political tool rather than a law enforcement agency.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Patel didn’t mince words:
“James Comey disgraced the FBI by writing ‘love letters’ to the ADL and embedding agents with an extreme group functioning like a terrorist organization… That was not law enforcement, it was activism dressed up as counterterrorism, and it put Americans in danger.”
Patel made it clear: the bureau under his leadership is turning the page.
“That era is finished. This FBI formally rejects Comey’s policies and any partnership with the ADL.”
Patel’s remarks are a direct rebuke of Comey’s public displays of affection for the ADL, including a 2017 speech at the ADL National Leadership Summit where Comey declared:
“Three years later I can say, from the perspective of the FBI, we’re still in love with you… Love, the FBI.”
For many conservatives, that “love” translated into biased investigations, weaponized definitions of extremism, and selective enforcement of justice — all under the guise of “equity.”
The timing of this split is no coincidence. The ADL is currently under fire from both conservative lawmakers and high-profile critics like Elon Musk, after it categorized Turning Point USA (TPUSA) — a mainstream conservative student group founded by Charlie Kirk — as an extremist organization.
The backlash intensified when Kirk was tragically assassinated at Utah Valley University, yet the FBI, guided by the ADL’s definition of “hate,” reportedly spent more time probing TPUSA than finding Kirk’s killer.
Musk slammed the ADL’s influence over federal agencies, tweeting:
“The FBI was taking their ‘hate group’ definitions from ADL, which is why FBI was investigating Charlie Kirk [and] Turning Point, instead of his murderers.”
In another post, Musk called the ADL “a hate group.”
Facing growing public pressure, the ADL announced it would retire its controversial “Glossary of Extremism and Hate” — which included over 1,000 entries, many of them aimed at conservative figures and groups.
In a statement on X, the ADL claimed the glossary had become “outdated” and was being “intentionally misrepresented and misused” — though critics say the real reason was exposure and public outrage.
The organization now says it will “explore new strategies” to present its data — translation: rebrand the same old smear tactics under a different name.
Still, the ADL insists it respects the FBI and law enforcement.
“ADL has deep respect for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and law enforcement officers at all levels… who work tirelessly every single day to protect all Americans,” the group said in a statement posted on social media. It also reaffirmed its commitment to fighting antisemitism.
The ADL’s targeting of TPUSA — labeling it as tied to “alt-right” and “anti-Muslim bigots” — has only added fuel to accusations that the group is less about fighting antisemitism and more about policing conservative thought.
As Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) put it:
“Seems to me like if they don’t agree with you, they will label you a ‘hate group.’”
Meanwhile, a liberal professor — in a rare moment of sanity — wrote an op-ed in The New York Times explaining why he chose to sponsor a TPUSA chapter on his campus despite opposition from his faculty peers. Even in academia, the ADL’s bias is starting to wear thin.
