Paul Abbate
Paul Abbate, the former head of the Detroit FBI and the current acting director of the agency in Washington, abruptly resigned Monday on the same day Donald Trump took office, the New York Times reports. The resignation was effective at noon.
His resignation left unclear who is the acting boss.
Abbate served as the head of the FBI in Detroit from 2013 until 2015 before going to Washignton to head up the field office, one of the more prestigious offices that investigates everything from public corruption on Capitol Hill, violent crime and international terrorism. In 2021, he was named deputy director, the number two person in the FBI.
Abbate was a career agent unlike FBI Director Christopher Wray, an attorney, who was appointed from the outside by Trump after Trump fired James Comey.
Abbate was named acting director this month after Wray resigned in anticipation of being replaced when Trump took ofifce. Trump has nominated Kash Patel to be the director, a controversial pick who has yet to be confirmed by the Senate.
Abbate is 57, which is the mandatory retirement age at the FBI. But in special cases, with key personnel, agents are granted extensions. Wray had given Abbate an extension to stay on.
The New York Times reports that In an email to senior F.B.I. officials, Mr. Abbate wrote: “When the director asked me to stay on past my mandatory date for a brief time, I did so to help ensure continuity and the best transition for the F.B.I. Now, with new leadership inbound, after nearly four years in the deputy role, I am departing the F.B.I.”
With a new director coming in, Abbate’s future at bureau would have been uncertain.
Abbate joined the FBI in 1996 and was initially assigned to the Criminal Division in the New York Field Office. He was also a member of the SWAT team.
He worked in different offices, including headquarters. At one point he served as the FBI on-scene commander in Libya.
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