FBI Director Kash Patel personally pushed a senior bureau official to respond to an anonymous social media account criticizing his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to newly released internal communications.
The February exchange involved Patel and Benjamin Williamson, the FBI’s assistant director for public affairs, and was released this week following a Freedom of Information Act request.
The records were published through the FBI’s Vault as part of a larger collection concerning the bureau’s review of investigative holdings related to Epstein.
According to the messages, Patel forwarded Williamson a Feb. 4 X post from an anonymous account that was mocking the FBI director amid criticism surrounding the bureau’s handling of Epstein-related records.
Patel instructed his communications team to counter such criticism by posting statistics highlighting what he described as the FBI’s strong enforcement record.
“What i asked you and your team to do is find them, and post our record year results back at them all, continously [sic],” Patel wrote, according to the released messages.
The exchange quickly turned into a disagreement over whether the FBI should respond directly to the anonymous account.
Patel initially interpreted one engagement figure as showing hundreds of thousands of responses to the post.
Williamson corrected him, explaining that the number represented views rather than replies and that the post had received only about 400 responses.
Williamson then pushed back against the proposed response.
“Yes. we’re not responding to” the account, he wrote, adding, “That would look bad on you.”
Patel responded that his concern was not the identity of the account but the audience seeing the criticism.
“Its not about them, it is about the number of views, because people see it and need to be seeing our stats,” Patel wrote.
The records do not establish whether Williamson or other FBI staff ultimately carried out a broader campaign responding to users criticizing Patel, according to People Magazine.
The FBI declined to comment when contacted about the messages Friday, according to People.
The correspondence surfaced after the Democracy Defenders Fund obtained FBI records through a FOIA request concerning the government’s handling of Epstein-related material.
The watchdog organization said its review uncovered internal FBI and Justice Department communications that it argues should have been released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The group has provided additional records to the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General as part of an ongoing audit.
The bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act was signed into law by President Donald Trump in November 2025 after passing Congress with broad support.
Democracy Defenders Fund claims the Justice Department has publicly released approximately 3.5 million pages from roughly 6 million pages it reviewed, though that figure represents the organization’s characterization of the department’s compliance.
The February social media exchange came shortly after the Justice Department released more than 3 million Epstein-related files and one day after Patel appeared in an interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier.
During that appearance, Patel said he accepted the official finding that Epstein died by suicide in a New York City jail in 2019, despite persistent conspiracy theories alleging foul play.
Williamson characterized the anonymous account in his messages as an “‘Epstein didn’t kill himself’ bot account,” indicating that he viewed direct engagement as unnecessary.
The newly released communications provide a glimpse into how Patel and his communications staff discussed responding to online criticism during a period of intense public scrutiny surrounding the Epstein records.
They also show Patel emphasizing the reach of negative posts and arguing that users who encountered criticism of his leadership should also see statistics promoted by the FBI.
The episode comes as the bureau continues publishing Epstein-related material through its public records archive while outside groups continue pressing for additional disclosures.
