The administration’s fallout over the Epstein files just keeps getting worse. And who but FBI Director Kash Patel to land himself smack in the middle of the mess—at one point or another?

According to PunchUp, a sister publication of the Daily Beast, a FBI whistleblower had documented a complaint alleging Patel was threatening to punish their subordinates unless they met a “made-up” deadline to redact the Epstein files, which created fears among staff that this became a one-stop shop excuse to fire people.

“The Director has threatened to fire [staff] if the job is not done by his made up deadline,” the employee wrote, in an email that was obtained by PunchUp via FOIA. Speaking of Patel’s then-apparent appetite to reduce the workforce, the source added: “What better way than to fire us for making mistakes during this ever changing process, or as scapegoats for the DOJ’s lack of following procedures”?

PunchUp adds that the FBI has shrunk by at least 7% under Trump’s presidency (though it’s also had no problem lowering the bar on its hires!). It’s not clear whether any of the sweeping firings did, indeed, include staff who were redacting the Epstein files.

The whistleblower report adds some more detail to a New York Times report published in January, in which dozens of current and former employees spoke out on what it was like to work under Patel. One of them, a former section chief in the intelligence division, talked about what it was like to work on redactions. When one of...

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