As the Department of Justice pulls together a sweeping criminal conspiracy case against President Donald Trump’s perceived enemies, the FBI has reportedly assembled a team of agents labeled the “payback squad” to handle politically-charged cases.
The team is composed of agents willing to target Trump’s supposed foes, according to NOTUS, citing two current government officials, a former official and a fourth person familiar with the bureau’s work under FBI Director Kash Patel.
A senior FBI official denied that such a group exists with that name but confirmed the existence of the Director’s Advisory Team, which was launched last year to dive into internal documents and other government materials in an effort to expose and discredit federal law enforcement officials who investigated Trump and his allies.
That team was uncovered by members of Congress last year. Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, discovered that the group had a written list of names targeting FBI officials and agents who were “in the crosshairs” for forced retirement or removal from the bureau.
This group now appears to be linked to a growing investigation in Florida, where DOJ officials are pursuing long-gestating MAGA-linked conspiracy theories that accuse Democratic officials of trying to take down Trump across federal investigations that spanned more than a decade.
The Independent has requested comment from the FBI.
A top federal prosecutor has already issued more than 100 subpoenas in that case, which has enlisted a who’s who of Trump allies in a Florida district run by Trump-appointed judges.
In October, a grand jury notice signaled that the Justice Department was preparing to investigate the FBI raid at the president’s Mar-a-Lago compound and what his allies have labeled a Democratic “conspiracy” against Trump.
Subpoenas were issued seeking information and testimony from prominent officials close to the intelligence report alleging Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Trump has repeatedly labeled these findings as a “hoax” and a “witch hunt” against him.
One month later, Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones called a meeting of major crimes investigators after two top prosecutors resigned from the Southern District of Florida over the handling of the investigation.
That same month, Trump ally Mike Davis told The Charlie Kirk Show that his “buddy” Quiñones received court approval to impanel a grand jury that “should be fully up and running by January.”
A court document that appears to match that description then appeared on the south Florida court’s website, The Independent previously reported. The order does not mention what the jury will be investigating but had a start date of January 12, 2026.
Former U.S. Attorney Joseph diGenova, who is 81 years old, is leading the “grand conspiracy” probe, which appears to encompass Trump’s grievances from his 2020 election loss and the Justice Department’s inquiry into Russian interference in 2016.
Career DOJ prosecutor Maria Medetis Long was forced off the case after she allegedly resisted pressure to quickly bring charges against former CIA director John Brennan.
DiGenova, who represented Trump during his 2020 campaign and throughout the Russia investigation, now has the title of counselor to the attorney general.
Also assigned to the case is Christopher-James DeLorenz, a former clerk to District Judge Aileen Cannon during the Mar-a-Lago investigation who was transferred to south Florida from Washington D.C.. He was previously an aide to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former criminal defense attorney.
Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, dismissed the Mar-a-Lago case against the president, who was accused of illegally withholding classified documents at his home and then obstructing law enforcement efforts to get them back.
She is the only judge in Ft. Pierce district in Florida, where a bulk of the “grand conspiracy” case appears to be playing out.
Charges could still be months away.
Trump — after campaigning on a theme of “retribution” and pledging to be a “warrior” and “justice” to those who were “betrayed” by the government — has publicly demanded his Justice Department prosecute his opponents.
Blanche is leading the Justice Department after Trump ousted Pam Bondi as attorney general, allegedly in part because she did not prosecute the president’s critics quickly enough.
Patel, meanwhile, is under fire for a series of blockbuster allegations that have painted him as a deeply paranoid figure prone to drinking to excess. The FBI director vehemently denied the allegations but has agreed to take a Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test to verify whether reports of his drinking rise amount to a problem.
