On MSNBC’s Deadline: White House on November 5, 2025, Nicolle Wallace brought on regular guest — former FBI General Counsel and senior Mueller prosecutor Andrew Weissmann — who played a key role in the Mueller investigation into alleged Trump–Russia collusion, an investigation that ultimately did not establish any Trump–Russia conspiracy. Weissmann complained about what he sees as a lack of accountability under new FBI Director Kash Patel, arguing that Patel’s FBI is failing in its core duty: prioritizing the safety of the American people through the best possible agents, analysts, and staff. Instead, he claimed we’re seeing political firings and no post-incident reviews.
Despite being one of the most influential figures in the Mueller probe — which drove years of collusion headlines and relied heavily on the discredited Steele dossier and selective leaks — Andrew Weissmann has never admitted to any wrongdoing or ethical misconduct by the Mueller team — only that they “could have done more,” meaning he wished they had gone harder against Trump.
Weissmann:
“I think people need to just step back and say, when you have a director of the FBI, you want their loyalty to be to the safety of the American people. You want them to be thinking about having the best agents, analysts, and staff at the FBI possible. Um, and that is just simply not what we are seeing.
There still has not been an after action after the what appeared by all accounts to be the clown show of how the FBI handled the Charlie Kirk assassination. Um, when you would normally expect the FBI to be showing itself at its absolute best in the reports of, of what Kash Patel were doing were, you know, truly outrageous.
And, and, you know, for me, having been trained by Robert Mueller, you know, I was trained, and you know, if you make mistakes, you own up, you have reports, you do a whole after action of what happened, how are we gonna deal with this better? And, and this is just the absolute contrary, um, result, which is firing people for political reasons. Um, and then the plane. Um. There’s a whole protocol for how that’s supposed to be dealt with, with the general council signing off on that. And it appears that none of that is happening for this to come out this way. For Kash Patel to be handling it in this fashion.”
Weissmann says he was taught by Mueller to own your mistakes. But he and Mueller never did.
Wallace then reinforced his claim about “firing people for political reasons.”
“It’s just an interesting anecdote about retribution on top of retribution — and what a culture of retribution ushers in, right?
The firings en masse are because of Donald Trump’s desire for retribution against every agent assigned by Chris Wray and others to work on the J6 or the documents case. But the culture of retribution has ushered in retributive conduct by Kash Patel, who — based on Bloomberg’s reporting — is punishing someone who had some ancillary role in the existence of the logs.”
During the segment, Weissmann told viewers how to think. He said, “I think people need to just step back and say…” and then pushed the claim that Patel was “firing people for political reasons.” Wallace took that framing and blasted it even louder — hammering the word retribution six times in just 20 seconds. That’s not accidental; repeat a claim often enough and viewers start accepting it as truth. This wasn’t news — it was an attempt to convince viewers that everything President Trump and Kash Patel are doing is “retribution.”
While Wallace pushes Democrats’ narrative, the FBI under Patel is delivering real justice — crushing cartels, criminals, terrorists, and traffickers at record speed. Kash Patel and the FBI he leads have done more to secure America’s safety in months than the entrenched bureaucracy ever could — purging politicized holdovers, refocusing resources on real threats like border security and domestic terror, and demanding performance over loyalty to the old guard.
MSNBC won’t touch any of these wins — they’d rather push a political narrative than report actual law enforcement success under President Trump.
FBI Major Achievements Under Director Kash Patel (2025) Include:
Counterterrorism & National Security
ISIS-Inspired Halloween Plot Disruption (Oct 31): Arrested 5 suspects in Michigan targeting LGBTQ+ sites; used “pumpkin” code for assault.
Hamas-Linked Crypto Scheme Disruption (Mar): Shut down laundering network funding affiliates; multiple indictments.
Illegal Aviation Exports to Russia (Feb–Nov): Charged foreign nationals; seized $4.5M+ in parts.
Joint Task Force October 7 (Ongoing): Pursued justice for 2023 attack victims, addressing Hamas threats.
Gangs & Organized Crime Takedowns
Operation Chalkline (Oct 22): Arrested 22 cartel-linked gang members in Wisconsin; seized 4 kg cocaine, 260g fentanyl, 23 guns.
Tren de Aragua Surge: 350 arrests nationwide; added leader to Ten Most Wanted (Jul 17).
MS-13 Arrests: 195 members captured.
Multi-State Mafia Indictments (Sep–Oct): Spanned 9 states; targeted racketeering/extortion.
Weymouth Street DTO Dismantling (Oct 24): Charged 33 in Kensington fentanyl/heroin/cocaine network; 24 arrested.
East Coast Drug Distribution Disruption (Jun–Oct): 13 charged in CA-NY/NJ shipments; 14 corrupt officers indicted in MS Delta.
Drug Interdictions
Port Everglades Offloads (Apr–Nov): 70,000+ lbs seized ($509M+ value).
Operation RapTor (May 22): 270 arrests for fentanyl trafficking across 4 continents.
Mississippi Delta Conspiracy (Oct 31): 14 law enforcement officials arrested for aiding trafficking.
Fraud & Cyber Scams
National Health-Care Fraud Takedown (Jun 30): Charged 324 defendants; $14.6B in schemes.
Operation Level-Up (Ongoing): Notified 6,475+ crypto scam victims; prevented $500M+ losses.
Forced-Labor Cyber-Fraud Prosecutions (Oct): Indicted Chen Zhi; seized $15B in bitcoin.
Operation Tidal Wave (Aug): Recovered 141 illegal firearms in NY fraud/gun probe.
Kansas Bank Fraud Recovery (Mar 26): Recovered nearly all $8.2M swindled.
Child Exploitation
Operation Grayskull (Jul 23): Shut 4 dark-web sites; 18 U.S. convictions.
Operation Restore Justice (Apr 28–May 2): Rescued 115 children, arrested 205 offenders.
Nigeria Sextortion Op (Apr 24): 22 arrests targeting U.S. teens.
Indian Country & Other Wins
Operation Not Forgotten (Apr): Supported 500+ cases (900+ homicides).
Ten Most Wanted Captures: 3 added/captured.
Artifact Repatriations (Jul–Aug): Returned 3 cultural items.
But MSNBC barely shows you these wins — and when they do, it’s only to portray Patel as a blunderer, never to acknowledge lives saved or cartels dismantled. Instead of highlighting actual results, the network brings on establishment insiders who frame Patel’s personnel changes as retribution— spinning necessary reforms as personal vendettas.
It isn’t. Justice is not retribution.
While Wallace sticks to the same tired script, Patel’s FBI is producing weekly takedowns — cartels, criminals, terrorists, traffickers — delivering results the old guard never did.
The truth is simple: Patel is cleaning house to protect Americans — not settle scores.