The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has officially ended its long-standing partnership with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a Jewish advocacy organization that for decades collaborated with the agency on hate crime monitoring and training.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the decision on Wednesday through a post on X (formerly Twitter), writing: “James Comey wrote ‘love letters’ to the ADL and embedded FBI agents with them — a group that ran disgraceful ops spying on Americans. That era is OVER. This FBI won’t partner with political fronts masquerading as watchdogs.”
Patel’s remarks directly linked the ADL to former FBI Director James Comey, who was indicted last week on perjury charges. Comey had overseen the early stages of the Russia-gate investigation, which many conservatives view as an attempt to undermine former President Donald Trump’s first term.
The break comes after mounting pressure from conservative figures, particularly following the ADL’s decision to add the late activist Charlie Kirk and his organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA) to its Glossary of Extremism and Hate. The glossary entry accused TPUSA of fostering ties with “right-wing extremists,” “anti-Muslim bigots,” and “white supremacist alt-right” groups. The ADL later removed the glossary on September 30, acknowledging that some of its entries were “outdated” or “misused.”
Still, tensions between the ADL and Trump-aligned conservatives have been simmering for years. In 2023, Elon Musk accused the ADL of attempting to drive advertisers away from Twitter after his acquisition, sparking the viral #BanTheADL movement online. Many on the right increasingly came to see the group as politically biased, particularly against conservative organizations.
The FBI’s decision to cut ties means the end of joint training programs, the halting of data-sharing arrangements, and a scaling back of federal cooperation on hate crime monitoring. For its part, the ADL responded cautiously, issuing a statement saying it continues to respect the FBI and law enforcement, while avoiding direct confrontation with the Trump administration.