CBS News
· collected 2026-10-08 · by Sarah N. Lynch, Daniel Klaidman
White House homeland security adviser Stephen Miller spoke at a training conference for counterterrorism agents at FBI headquarters just over a week ago, days before prosecutors
a man with making disturbing calls and texts to his wife, Katie, multiple sources told CBS News.
asserted
sources → speak → News
Former Justice Department officials called the visit unusual, given the historical norm of insulating federal criminal investigations from political officials.
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officials → call → officials
The administration and FBI have said Miller's visit was appropriate, pointing to his role at the White House and the administration's broader focus on cracking down on political violence.
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visit → say → violence
Miller told the agents that President Trump's initiative to counter domestic terrorism was personal to him, citing the 2025 assassination of his friend, conservative Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, according to a source who was briefed on the meeting and a senior FBI official.
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who → tell → meeting
In his comments, Miller spoke about the need for federal law enforcement agents to be more proactive in investigating threat cases and told them that no case is too small, whether the threats are directed toward a congressman, a spouse, friends, loved ones or a speaker at a college campus, the senior FBI official said.
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official → speak → campus
The FBI official said that Miller's remarks reflect a broader push by federal law enforcement to try to get out ahead of mass-casualty events by stepping up investigations into cases involving threats and harassment because those crimes can be precursors to violence.
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crimes → say → violence
The training on Tuesday of last week was attended by FBI assistant special agents in charge who specialize in counterterrorism, as well as officials from other law enforcement agencies, including IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Secret Service, multiple sources added.
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sources → attend → Investigation
A White House official said that Miller's presence at the training was appropriate, given his role as homeland security adviser.
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presence → say → adviser
In that capacity, he is tasked with carrying out Mr. Trump's executive order on countering domestic terrorism and political violence.
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he → task → terrorism
"As Homeland Security Advisor, Stephen Miller interacts with all law-enforcement agencies on a regular basis related to public safety, national security, and counterterrorism," a White House spokesperson told CBS News.
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spokesperson → interact → News
She added that Miller is tasked with carrying out the president's executive order to "investigate, disrupt, and dismantle all stages of organized political violence and domestic terrorism."
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Miller → add → violence
An FBI spokesperson called the executive order "a critical directive for this FBI's work to combat domestic terrorism and political violence threats all across the country."
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spokesperson → call → country
"Stephen Miller has been a valued partner in this work – and the conference was thrilled to have him be a part of discussing the important priority," the spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → have → priority
But multiple former Justice Department officials told CBS News that his participation at an FBI training conference is not customary, and runs afoul of the post-Watergate norms that historically insulated the Justice Department's criminal investigations from political interference by the White House.
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that → tell → House
His appearance at the event is also unusual because he is an alleged victim and potential witness in the Boston-area case involving the man accused of cyber-stalking Katie Miller, they said.
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they → allege → Miller
That role is further complicated by the fact that Miller and his wife have repeatedly asked the FBI's Washington Field Office to investigate political activists and others they allege have threatened or harassed them.
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they → complicate → them
In an unrelated case last year, Stephen Miller asked the bureau to allow agents to go undercover in his Virginia neighborhood's political activist group, several sources with knowledge of the matter told CBS News.
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sources → ask → News
"Politically well-connected people who are related to victims do not have a right to jawbone FBI supervisors to do what they want them to do, and if they are political and throwing around their political connections, it's even worse," said Jeffrey Breinholt, a longtime former counterterrorism prosecutor at the Justice Department who frequently provided training to FBI agents.
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who → connect → agents
In the days leading up to Miller's appearance as a guest speaker at the terrorism training session, the two most senior counterterrorism agents in the FBI's Washington Field Office were
by its leader, Darren Cox, after the Miller family complained the agents were not moving swiftly enough on an investigation into a man in Massachusetts who was allegedly sending taunting texts and voicemails, sources told CBS News.
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sources → lead → News
Their removal was first reported by Bloomberg Law.
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removal → report → Law
Two days after Stephen Miller made his presentation, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston charged John A. Proia with one count of cyberstalking Katie Miller and her family.
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Office → make → Miller
Proia has pleaded not guilty.
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Proia → plead → ?
White House officials have said that the Millers did not speak directly to the agents who were reassigned, nor did they ask for the personnel change.
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they → say → change
A White House spokesperson said that senior FBI leadership determined the agents were "stifling investigations into very serious threats and made a unilateral decision to remove them."
In a statement provided by the FBI, Cox said: "This was a personnel decision made at the Washington field office level alone based on our constant evaluation of mission needs.
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This → say → needs
Chris Raia, the deputy director at the FBI, said in a statement that the personnel decision was based on "a number of factors" that have not been reflected in the media's reporting on the incident.
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that → say → incident
Asked about investigations related to the Millers, an FBI spokesperson said the bureau "pursued these cases based on appropriate predicate and evidence of alleged crimes — not because the White House ordered an investigation."
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House → ask → investigation
The Boston case is at least the second one that the Millers pressed the FBI to bring related to alleged acts of harassment or alleged threats.
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Millers → press → harassment
Last fall, Stephen and Katie Miller
to investigate local Arlington political activist Barbara Wien after she protested outside their home and distributed flyers containing their address, prompting the Millers to move into military housing.
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she → investigate → housing
The federal case hit roadblocks after a magistrate judge twice rejected a search warrant, CBS News
.
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judge → hit → warrant
But Miller repeatedly pressured the Justice Department to act, asking FBI counterterrorism agents to go undercover and regularly calling the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Virginia for updates, sources with knowledge said.
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sources → pressure → knowledge
As recently as December, FBI agents were interviewing Wien's neighbors and acquaintances, despite not being able to obtain a warrant to search her phone.
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agents → interview → phone
CBS News could not determine the status of the investigation, which remained open as recently as this summer, one of the sources said.
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one → determine → sources
The state prosecutor who was investigating the case, Arlington and Falls Church Commonwealth Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, formally declined to bring charges earlier this year, writing in a court filing that "nothing in the proceeds of the search warrant supports criminal prosecution."
Her office is the same one that is prosecuting
, who was arrested earlier this year on state charges of attempting to murder Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought.
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who → investigate → Vought
Her office brought the case after federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia declined to bring federal charges, sources told CBS News.
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sources → bring → News
The training at FBI headquarters was centered on an executive order issued by the White House last fall known as "National Security Presidential Memorandum-7."
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training → center → Memorandum-7
That order called on the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force to coordinate a national strategy for combating domestic terrorism and political violence.
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order → call → terrorism
It also tasked the attorney general with prioritizing such cases.
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It → task → cases
While there is
, the Justice Department has historically used a variety of other criminal laws to charge violent extremists and pursued terrorism enhancements at sentencing.
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Department → be → sentencing
Some types of charges, such as providing material support to terrorists or civil disorder, require consultation or approval by the National Security Division.
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types → provide → Division
In December, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo to prosecutors and law enforcement that broadened the scope of the kinds of crimes that might be pursued as domestic terrorism cases, such as doxxing members of law enforcement or parading with the intent to obstruct the administration of justice.
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that → issue → justice
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
