FBI Reportedly Reassigns Two Counterterror Chiefs Over Handling of Katie Miller Harassment Case

The FBI has reportedly pulled two veteran counterterrorism supervisors out of the Washington Field Office after their team decided harassing calls to Katie Miller, wife of senior White House adviser Stephen Miller, did not meet the bureau’s bar for a full investigation.

Michael Burgwald, the special agent in charge of counterterrorism at WFO, and his deputy, Courtland Rae, were stripped of those jobs Friday and sent to headquarters.

Bloomberg Law reporter Ben Penn broke the news in a post on X.

SCOOP: FBI removes two veteran counterterrorism leaders over frustrations from Stephen & Katie Miller that they hadn’t made progress in probing allegedly threatening phone calls Katie received https://t.co/ODzEIaE40g

— Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn) September 26, 2026

Anonymous sources told CNN the field team reviewed calls Katie Miller received from unknown numbers, found no terrorism nexus, and said the conduct did not clear the FBI threshold.

Those sources claimed that finding did not sit well with bureau leadership.

MS NOW reported that Burgwald and Rae questioned the legality of a threat-assessment request on a person believed to be making the calls, and that Stephen Miller and FBI Director Kash Patel were unhappy with the pace.

However, FBI’s DC chief Darren Cox told Penn, “Director Patel did not order this decision. This was a personnel decision made at the Washington field office level alone based on our constant evaluation of mission needs. Any suggestion otherwise is false.”

Updated w/ statement from FBI’s DC chief Darren Cox: “Director Patel did not order this decision. This was a personnel decision made at the Washington field office level alone based on our constant evaluation of mission needs. Any suggestion otherwise is false.” https://t.co/Zj3Qc7U3FY

— Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn) September 26, 2026

White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Bloomberg that Stephen and Katie Miller never met Burgwald or Rae.

“Senior leadership at the FBI determined they were stifling investigations into very serious threats and made a unilateral decision to remove them.”

Last year, after flyers attacking Stephen Miller went up in their neighborhood, they pushed for a stronger response and later moved with their children into military housing.