On May 12, 2026, NOTUS reported the existence of a dedicated FBI team, informally called the 'payback squad' by bureau personnel, that is building criminal cases against former officials perceived as Trump's political enemies. The team was created in 2025, and NOTUS cited four sources: two current government officials, one former official, and one person familiar with operations.
A senior FBI official denied the team uses the 'payback squad' name but confirmed the team exists under the formal title 'Director's Advisory Team' and described it as a 'special investigative' unit tasked with 'getting to the bottom of some abuses of power that happened' during the prior three administrations. Per the New Republic, the team works out of an off-site location separate from standard FBI field offices and pulls personnel from the New York and Washington field offices.
The immediate planned product is the indictment of former CIA Director John Brennan, expected within weeks, likely in the Southern District of Florida. The case would charge Brennan with a 'grand conspiracy' against Trump and would follow the template of the recent prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey, who was indicted in April 2026 over an Instagram photo of seashells arranged as '86 47.' Former FBI agent John Eckenrode and Joseph diGenova, Trump's newly appointed special counselor, are coordinating with the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
NOTUS described the agents on the team as deeply loyal and aware of the political nature of the work: members 'know what they're signing up for.' The operation is the institutional architecture behind the pattern documented in Patel's published '60 enemies' list, the Comey indictment, the investigation of Atlantic reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick, and the home raid of WaPo's Hannah Natanson.