By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - FBI Co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey said on Monday he is resigning his position, leaving the most prominent US law enforcement agency after a little more than a year.
Bailey, a Republican ally of President Donald Trump who left his job as Missouri attorney general to join the FBI, said he was leaving to return to his family. Bailey, serving under FBI Director Kash Patel, helped oversee election-related investigations and was present earlier this
year when agents seized 2020 election ballots from Georgia.
"I am confident Director Patel will continue to reform the FBI, combat violent crime, defend the homeland, ensure strong organizational accountability, and restore public trust in this institution of excellence," Bailey wrote on social media.
The deputy director's post, which oversees day-to-day law enforcement operations, has traditionally been apolitical and filled by career FBI officials. Trump has installed political allies in the role as he overhauls the agency to align with his agenda.
Bailey initially served as co-deputy director alongside Dan Bongino, a former US Secret Service agent and conservative podcaster, who left the FBI in January.
Christopher Raia, a veteran FBI official, has more recently served as part of a three-person leadership team with Bailey and Patel.
Bailey joined the FBI following a series of high-profile stumbles by Patel, including botched handling of investigative files on late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein that caused political headaches for the Trump administration and internal tension at the Justice Department.
The latest high-profile departure at the FBI occurred about five weeks before the US midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. The Trump administration has mobilized federal law enforcement agencies to investigate voting in elections by non-US citizens.
Bailey during his tenure at the FBI has helped manage the Trump administration's investigations into election issues. The FBI has scrutinized election records from several states, but has not produced evidence to substantiate Trump's false claims that widespread voter fraud led to his electoral defeat in 2020.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Paul Simao)
